James Spence

As a Toyologist, I am happy to review any toy that Toys R Us sends me, but I must admit I love it when I get a toy that Elwood is the right age for. So when the Fisher Price Step n Play piano arrived at my door, we could wait to put him into it.

It is certainly no small toy (so be aware of the storage implications).  It is a bulky play centre that the baby sits in and plays both with piano keys in front of him and at his feet.  In addition to the piano, there are loads of other buttons and components that make sounds.  Allow me to elaborate…

At the time of drawing the comic above, Elwood was 3 months.  He’s now 4 months and still absolutely loves the Fisher Price Step n Play piano.  In just one month, we’ve seen the way he interacts with the toy change.  Before he seemed to hit the buttons by accident.  Now, it is clear that he is trying to hit them.  As an experiment, we tried him in it without switching it on, and he was very unimpressed – he really wanted to hear the sounds when he hit the keys!

Elwood is happy sitting in the piano for twenty minutes or so before he wants to move on to other toys.  Let me assure you, something that can occupy him for twenty minutes is no small deal!

The sounds that it makes are pretty funky.  The guitar riffs are pretty cool and the piano has a nice honky-tonk feel.

When in song mode, it is clear that it is an American toy.  The ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ is the ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ for example.  However, as Tiffany is American and Elwood is therefore half-American, we’re happy with it giving him the USA versions.  I know, however, that some non-American parents prefer it when a toy is tailored to their own country.

I would recommend the piano to anyone with a baby and I’m sure this toy will get used a lot over the next few years.

Fisher Price Step n Play Piano is available at Toys R Us.