Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Baby's First Blocks

Let me just start off by saying that I can't speak to the product safety other than the obvious. I don't get overly sensitive about toys' being made in China because, let's face it, pretty much all of my son's toys are made in China. I don't know about the whole "California says this toy might contain carcinogens" thing, either. I have no idea what California's standards are versus other states, and I don't know if the fact that this toy apparently used to have that warning but for some unknown reason doesn't anymore should be worrisome. According to another reviewer, a Fisher Price customer service representative confirmed that no changes had been made to its manufacturing in the interim, which implies that they just removed the warning for whatever reason. I have no idea whether this toy was "safe" the whole time or wasn't "safe" but now is or the standards changed now no longer declaring this toy "unsafe;" I simply can't bring myself to lose sleep over it. Anyway, about the toy... Overall, we have had a great time with it! First of all, it's a great price. Comparable toys made by other companies are almost always more expensive. I bought it when my son was only a few months old, and there was very little he could do with it. Now he's 10 months old and plays with it probably more than anything else. He likes to take the lid off, dump the shapes, pick up the shapes, put them back, smack them together, and he even matches them up. I'll see him, say, looking for the other blue circle to match the one in his hand. Some complain that the cover opens too easily. I see that as a plus, actually, since my son is clearly too young to be using a shape sorter. He can easily open, dump, and put back the shapes. I'm teaching him colors and shapes with it, and he finds it interesting when I put the lid on it and drop the shapes in their respective slots. I'm sure when the time comes for him to be actually using it as a shape sorter that I will continue to appreciate the lid's opening easily because he will be able to sort the shapes, then dump them and start over. My sister, for example, has a screw-on lid one with wooden shapes, which is nice, but when her boys are done sorting the shapes, they need an adult to open it back up and re-dump them. I guess it depends on the kid, but even if your child doesn't like it as a shape sorter, it's a good way to teach colors and shapes, as well as taking things out and putting them back in their place. My niece has the Fisher Price shape sorter with the little elephant on the front ( Fisher-Price Growing Baby Elephant Shape Sorter ), and I played with it over Thanksgiving with my son. At first I was sorry I didn't buy that one because (1) it was cute and (2) it had the elephant that spun on the front, but after playing with it for a little bit, I'm glad I bought this one for two reasons: (a) it has more shapes; and (b) the colors match - meaning both circles are blue, both squares are green, etc. The elephant shape sorter had, say, a red circle and a green circle. Like I said above, my son likes to find the matching pieces, and I think their having the same color helps him out with that, e.g., he can easily find the two orange stars. It's not a big deal, but it made me feel less bad about not buying the cute elephant shape sorter. Honestly I really have no complaints about this toy. If you're not sure about its origins and safety, then go ahead and buy something else. I'm not saying you don't have a point, but at this price I didn't expect this toy to be made in the USA with post-consumer recycled materials that I can compost down the line. There are definitely other options if you're worried about product safety.

I bought this when my daughter was 6 months old. She loved to chew on the blocks. Occasionally, I would try to get her to put the blocks in the bucket and yes she would just rip the yellow lid off. My thought process was she's just a baby and she doesn't have to know her colors and shapes and learning shouldn't be a chore at that age. Now that she is 2, she likes to put the shapes in bucket with the lid on. She knows the names of all the shapes but doesn't really know the colors just yet. She absorbs so much by interaction and by people saying the words to her. Not drilling her on a formal level, just by playing. You'd be suprised how much better kids will learn if you gave objects a name instead of saying "Pick that up over there, go get that. No not that, that!" Calling objects "that" does not allow children to learn that objects have different names and especially what those names are. I have said, "Where's the triangle? Go get the triangle. Let's put the triangle in this hole." When she was 13 months, half the time I'd have to go pick up the triangle because there were too many things and she didn't know which object the triangle was but eventually she learned it and now she knows which hole the triangle goes in. I'm sure if I was more vocal with colors she would be there too. I'm not too stressed though. She'll learn her colors eventually.

This toy is so much fun! The pieces are perfectly shaped where baby's fingers can pinch them easily; the way they are somewhat hollow with a rim around the outside of each shape makes for a much easier grip rather than a solid piece. I love that it comes with a little storage bin for the pieces when not in use, and my kiddo loves putting the pieces in and shaking the box to make it rattle. The only con is that the lid comes off WAY too easily; my kiddo just cheats and lifts the lid to put the pieces in rather than trying to fit them in the holes.

We got this toy when my son was 6 months old. At that time, he liked to chew on the blocks and the lid but had no other use for this toy. By about 8 months old, he also loved knocking over the blocks if I stacked them for him. When he started crawling, he'd shoot across the room toward me any time he saw me starting to stack the blocks. By about 9 months old, he got the hang of "in" and "out" and enjoyed dumping the blocks out of the bucket and occasionally throwing them back in (with the lid off). At 11 months old, he still has not mastered the shape sorting aspect of it, though he does sometimes try to put the shapes through the holes in the lid now. One thing I have noticed is that if I put the lid on top of the bucket, he immediately removes it. However, if I put it on the floor, he will sometimes try to put the shapes in the correct holes. Considering that I paid $8.99 for this toy and he's played with it for about 5 months now, I definitely think it's worth the price.

I read through several reviews before deciding to post my own. I noticed that several other reviewers gave poor reviews of this toy because their babies (ranging from 6 months up) simply took the lid off and dumped the blocks out instead of pushing the blocks through the holes. At a young age, this is NORMAL, and figuring out that you can take off the lid and put the pieces in and out of the box is actually a good learning experience. My baby played with the toy this way at first too. As she got older, she learned how to put the lid back on (she was quite proud of herself the first time she managed it on her own), and eventually she learned how to sort the pieces through the right holes. Now she's an expert at fitting the blocks into the holes, but that's thanks to her age, development, improved manual dexterity and experience playing with this toy. Please do not discount this toy simply because your baby plays with it as they should for their age and developmental stage! Instead, realize that there is more than one way to play with this toy. My daughter, who is now two years old, still enjoys playing with it in her own creative way. This is one toy that she didn't outgrow in just a few months. It was well worth the price.

Great for babies and toddlers to boost their fine motor skills by staying curious and producing problem-solving skills in the process.

I have two sets of these: one for the house and one for the car and travel so my daughter is never without one her favorite toys. I bought these years ago for my son and he also loved them and still plays with them on occasion- mostly when my daughter is playing with them because he needs to show her how to do it!. The box is smaller than expected but perfect for little hands. My daughter is 6 month old and she likes to get the shapes out of the box and chew on each piece. This is an easy toy to take with you too because of the handle. My only complaint is with the most recent set I ordered because the colors were not primary colors, they are kind of lighter tones which I don't like. The colors are not as vibrant as the first set I ordered and the picture on the box is not of shapes but zoo animals. It doesn't change my rating or advice to buy but is kind of annoying. They shoukd keep the product consistent. This is a good price too- I've seen it higher at other stores.

I just wanted to chime in since a lot of people are downing the sorter being the lid doesn't stay on. It's true the lid easily comes off but that doesn't make it a bad sorter. My daughter just puts the lid on the floor, takes the blocks out of the box then sorts them. The lid has enough lift that when she puts the shapes in the holes they are flush with the lid. Once she is done she picks up the lid & puts the shapes back in the box. We have another multi-sided sorter where the lid slides in place but I prefer this one because she(17 months) can do it on her own whereas the other one has to be more guided. This one has also taught her colors because each shape has it's own color. Some others I have seen have the shapes all one color. My daugher also likes to turn the bucket upside down & use it as a drum. This is a great value & I highly recommend this product.