Author: Gauri Kshirsagar
Copying adults and role playing everyday situations is important for children throughout the world. Especially during the years aged three to seven, role playing is an enjoyable way for the small child to process impressions, understand the world around them and practice being a social being. A play kitchen is one of the best toy investments you can make. They encourage creativity, role play, language development and more. And it will be played with daily for years and years.
There were a few important requirements I was looking for in a play kitchen:
- High quality and made of wood. Play kitchens get a lot of use, and I knew we would want it around for the long haul.
- Eco-friendly and non-toxic. This is super important with all kids toys, but especially those that will be played with on a daily basis.
- Have a small footprint since we would move in the future and never know how large our living space will be.
- Look nice enough to have it out in the living room or kid’s room. (i.e. no large plastic eye sores!)
I already had my eyes set on a wooden kitchen playsets online and in different stores for a long time, but the high prices made it not worth buying. In hamley’s for example a good wooden playset costs upwards 10,000/-, and conveniently they disappear during sales. The only piece worth buying was IKEA DUKTIG play kitchen, which was available on amazon.IN for a price which would, no doubt with shipping and import costs, would have exceeded the actual budget price. Since IKEA was opening up in India, I thought of waiting for a bit longer. So when I did plan to order their DUKTIG, I came across their newly launched SPISIG Play kitchen with curtains. If you are in the market for a cute play kitchen that doesn’t break the bank then I say this is the one!
It is called a play kitchen, but what it actually is – that’s up to little imaginations. It is a ‘Play from two sides’- maybe it will be a restaurant, café, shop, puppet theatre or something completely different.
It can be played from two directions – on one side a complete kitchen and on the other a blackboard to write the dish of the day and convert it into a Café or Fast Food centre. And in between there’s a window with added touch of soft gingham curtains, which transforms this simple play kitchen into something prairie chic and can be drawn together when it’s time to close for the day. Many families have limited space and it’s an advantage if the same toy can be used in different ways – and by several children at the same time.
The cost of this playset falls right under the budget at Rs.4,990/- with dimentions of L 55 cm X W 37 cm X H 98 cm.
About the kitchen, the stove’s knob clicks when the hobs are turned on and off, just like on a real stove, even the oven knob makes the ticking sound. The knobs are completely missing in the DUKTIG, in which small buttons light up the stove. I did miss the lit stove, but the knobs make up for it. The ‘oven’, a small cupboard and a shelf, make up for an ample space.
This kitchen is made of durable and sturdy material of fibre board and plywood that will lasts for more than one generation of food creators, shop owners and theatre directors.
The ‘do it yourself’ assembly is very easy, and just takes about an hour to assemble. Some extra brownie points for Dad for assembling it after clinic hours, and was was ready and up by the time they woke up in the morning. That’s some serious Daddy commitment!
I also bought the following kitchen accessories to go with the playset:
DUKTIG 5-piece toy kitchen utensil set (801.578.41) and DUKTIG 5-piece toy cookware set (001.678.39). They are made of Stainless steel and plastic parts of reinforced polyamide plastic, both durable and non-toxic materials.
All in all, it is a play area we all love and was most definitely worth the investment.
You can also check out the following Kitchen sets from IKEA:
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