In our home we’re gently trying to fight gender stereotypes by showing our kids that dad also cooks and does the laundry (actually Dad does ALL the laundry!) and mom also drives the family car when Dad is around and (occasionally) takes the bins out. It seems to be working in that despite Kira gravitating towards all things pink and sparkly, she can flip between rough and tumbling on the trampoline to a fairy princess dressed to the nines with her ‘clip clops without even batting her eyelids. Judah loves the colour pink and Ilan can spend hours playing with Barbie and Ken and their superhero buddies.

So when Ross, owner of Lil Peanuts said he’d like to send us a kitchen playset to review (yes please!), I suggested that we go for a white and grey design because kitchens aren’t only for girls and also it’ll be pretty enough to set up in our lounge. When I told the kids that a kitchen was on its way, they leapt to their feet every time the doorbell rang from that moment on. The kitchen arrived a few days later fully assembled in a a big box that is almost as much fun to play with as the kitchen itself. The only thing you’ll need to do is attach the microwave and washing machine doors with the screws provided – I managed to do it on my own with the back of a knife because the kids were inpatient and Dad and his toolbox were not around.

The quality of our kitchen is incredible and it has provided hours of imaginary play for our kids who have incorporated cooking a pretend meal into almost every game that they play. It’s very compact but has so many kitchen elements included on it. Judah especially loves turning all the knobs and the kids love whipping off their clothes to chuck them into the wash and give them a good pretend clean. The hot and cold taps move and when the stove is turned on, the hotplates reveal red underneath – the unit is truly interactive. I love this kitchen playset because it creates open ended play opportunities for kids because there isn’t just one way to play with it. I also love the large bottom drawer where you can store all the plastic pots and pans out of sight. Win!

Local is always lekker, so if you’re thinking of investing in a classic wooden kitchen playset for your kids, why not order one from a local PE dad who started this small business from home. We got the Jellybean kitchen in white and it retails for R2500 but there are some cheaper options ranging from R1850 and almost everything, including colour, can be customised. Take a look at the website for more info: www.lilpeanut.co.za 

*This post was written in collaboration with Lil Peanut who sent us a Jellybean kitchen to review.