Garden Activity Cube. Wood Shape & Color Sorter, Bead Maze & Counting Baby Toy

This is one of my favorite things for my baby! I bought it for her when she was about 7 months old and we've had it for a month now. I found this particular product because of an article that had STEM toy recommendations for girls by age. That article recommended it for ages 6 months and up but I noticed the manufacturer recommendation on the packaging was 18 months and up.Pros:1. Price. Compared to other similar options, this one is very economical.2. Construction. Very well built and solid. I expect this to stand the test of time.3. Appeals to young children. My daughter will play with all of the sides and loves the bead and critter mazes on the top. I rotate it periodically so a different side is facing forward to maximize her interest.4. No batteries, sounds or lights!Potential Concerns:1. If you are using it with a baby like mine that is pulling up on things to stand, they will find this toy very handy for doing just that. You may want to temporarily put this toy away or act as a spotter for your baby while they are new to standing and wobbly. I chose to act as a spotter and she has the hang of it now without incident so it was never really an issue for us, but it is definitely something to be cognizant of, especially since I suspect this particular issue is the reason for the manufacturer saying 18 months and up.2. Losing the magnetic blocks. We've lost one already. I'm not concerned about choking from these parts, however, because my daughter couldn't fit them in her mouth, let alone choke on them.All and all, I would highly recommend this toy to pretty much anyone with a very young child.

I purchased this toy for my 7 month old to encourage her fine motor skills. The gears are a big hit, the bead maze too, and she also likes the critters on top. She tried to pull herself up on the toy (this was the first time she tried to pull herself up on anything) but it was slightly tipsy. I will also monitor her closely with the magnetic pieces until she grows into this toy more. The overall construction is beautiful. It arrived fully assembled with nice ties to hold beads from moving around during transport and a little bag for the magnetic parts. This would make a really pretty, high quality gift.

Absolutely love the "play -station" as my husband has started calling it. The recommended age is much older than our daughter who's only 6 months. She loves laying on her tummy and moving the wooden pieces - and also "army crawling" around it to see what the other sides have to offer. She will also push up on her arms are peak to at all the great things on top of the box. We also sit her in front of it so she can move the beads. Common sense applies here - as she can still topple over any direction while sitting. So we sit with her and she thinks it's great. Another word of caution is this is very very tempting to pull up on. It's quite sturdy - but even our string bean (35% weight) can cause it to rock a little when she really gives it a hard pull. There is a lip under the box which would provide enough space for it to be secured to a large board - or as another reviewer suggested - you could easily place a sandbag or other weight on the shelf underneath.

My 8-month-old got this from her grandparents for Christmas, and she loves it! Since she is still small, she only really understands how to play with the beads on top and the side. She uses the cube to pull herself up to stand, and it has held up most of the time, but is not as heavy and sturdy as I originally thought so be careful. It does have a hole in the bottom so I may put some weighted bags in there to keep it upright when she pulls on it. I also put away the magnetic blocks as they are on the smaller side and my daughter could fit almost the entire block in her mouth. Otherwise I think it is a great toy that seems to be good quality and full of activities that can be played with by many ages. Great price for a toy that will be used for years!

I just purchased this for my 10 month old. He plays with it for hours. Not only is he learning fine motor skills, problem solving, and coordination but he will be able to use this for years to come. He will be able to learn numbers, colors, and shapes. The product seems to be very well built.Only flaw is it is light enough for my son to tip it on its side. But then he just rolls it around and has fun with it that way :) There is a piece of wood on the bottom that is not shown in the picture. There is a fist size hole in it (cut out and on purpose). Eventually I will put something heavy in there so he can't tip it over.Glad I bought this!

My 9 month old loves this! It's sturdy enough that she can pull herself up. There are plenty of things for her to play with. Very well made other than in a few areas some chipped paint on the metal tracks the wood beads slide around on. Clear nail polish should fix that. I put the detachable magnets up. They'd go straight into mouth. I would have actually gotten it two months sooner. I'm updating this review after giving plenty of time, and I try to do that with most reviews so that they are actually helpful. Even now at 10 months she loves it for a few days, grows bored of it, then comes back to it. 10-15 minutes at a time. Being mobile now lends to much more exploration. That's part of why I wish I would have got it a few months earlier while she was less independent! Don't wait. Early minds need this time of toy, and they'll enjoy it at 1 & 2 as well.