Toys that Grow with Your Child -- Fisher Price Learning Home

For a toy to be inducted into my personal 'hall of fame,'  it's gotta give a good bang for the buck.  By that, I mean a toy that your child plays with day in and day out, one that holds their attention so well, and/or they play with for such a long period of time that you are completely grateful you paid every cent for it. 

Behold, the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Learning Home.  One of our family's favorite toys EVAH.  My daughter got it for her first birthday.  She's 3 1/2 now, and still plays with it.  In fact, right now it's teamed up with a chair and a blanket to make a house/barn, depending on what she's pretending at the moment.

This thing retails around $85, give or take.  To me, that's a lot to shell out for a baby toy.  However, the Learning Home has proved its value many, many times over.   Here's how:

• Every time we have kids come over for playdates, they all gravitate toward it, whether they're still crawling or they're in kindergarten.
• It's big enough for several kids to play with at once.
• There's a lot to entertain small toddlers/bigger babies.  There are lights to turn on, songs that play, buttons to push, dials to dial and balls.  Balls are always a big winner.
• Pretty much everything on the Learning House lives up to its name...your child is learning colors, numbers, cause-and-effect, opposites (open/closed, on/off, day/night, etc.)
• It's sturdy enough for pre-walkers to pull up on, and there's a lot of incentive to do so...some of the fun features of the home are higher up.
• There are two different sound settings (learning and music) as well as a 'sound off' mode so your child can explore with different sound 
• There's enough sound and song variety to have less annoyance potential for parents.  I know some toys my daughter had as a small toddler only played a song or two, and it drove me nuts.   The songs are pretty appealing, at least to me.  My husband found the singing voice a little syrupy, but I think it's just a generally cheery voice.  
• You can make up a lot of games to play with your toddler using the Learning House.  Our favorites were hiding something unusual in the mailbox for Li'l Girlie to find, having her stuffed animals pop out from behind the closed window, and playing 'knock, knock, who's there?' with the door.  

I've even got a video of Li'l Girlie demonstrating the Learning Home on my Top Toys for Toddlers 12-18 Months website.  This toy is pretty much a home run for that age, and it lasts way beyond that too.