I m already a fan of Munchkin 1 products for babies and children (see our review of the Munchkin White Hot Inflatable Safety Duck Bath 2 ) so was delighted to be asked to review a selection of their products. I was sent a box of goodies that were age appropriate for either my newborn (Baby L) or my 27 month old (R) sons. Goody Box!

Munchkin Bath Fun Monster Truck - Well, what can I say? It s a car you can take in the bath! It floats on water and rattles which is more than enough for R who has been known to spend literally hours driving die cast cars up & down the carpet.

He was also very pleased that he could wash and then dry this one with a towel, especially given that we tell him each evening that he can t bring any of his other precious vehicles into the bath. Post-bath, he also spent a considerable amount of time pushing it around the lounge, it s pretty quick actually must be the GT model! Rather handily, it doesn t retain water inside like so many other bath toys that require draining each evening.

Munchkin recommends this toy from 18 months of age and up but I d say if the child can hold it, then it s age appropriate as there are no small, removable parts. It s also great for sparking their imagination, the edge of the bath was a dangerous cliff for at least 20 minutes in the picture below! If you have a child who loves cars, then you ll understand that it s a great purchase.

It s available in 2 different designs and I m sure we ll be persuaded to purchase the other one too! The Munchkin Bath Fun Monster Truck 3 retails from 7 from a variety of online retailers. Brrrm, brrrm!

Munchkin Safety Bath Duck The dual purpose of this cute little fellow (yes, ours is a boy apparently) is to ensure the bath is a safe temperature whilst also functioning as a traditional bath playmate. The duck has a unique White Hot Alert which prevents bath time burns caused by placing a child in water that s too hot. It s set to activate above 39.4 degrees and if the water reaches this temperature or hotter, the underside of the duck will read HOT in white lettering and you ll need to wait for it to cool or add more cold water (genius!).

It s a great alternative to using your elbow, which I ve never found very practical or conducive to dry sleeves! Some people believe that getting the right temperature is common sense and perhaps when children get a little older it is but newborn skin is so sensitive, it really helps me determine very quickly that it s safe to pop Baby L in the tub. I m sure that first time parents (or grandparents) would find this especially useful.

This is safe for use from birth and is functional as well as fun (I was really tempted to type puts the fun into fun ctional but immediately started hating myself so I ll spare you!). If you purchase the Munchkin White Hot Inflatable Safety Duck Bath 4 it has the same built-in temperature warning. He s currently on special offer for 1.99 from Kiddicare 5 online, it would make the perfect addition to a baby gift bag and let s be honest, everyone needs a rubber ducky for their bath!

Munchkin 36 Bath Letters and Numbers - This is a set of foam letters of the alphabet and the numbers 0-9. The idea is that they stick to the bathtub and walls when wet. We already have a set of funny animals that do the same thing and these have proven incredibly popular with R although they have become somewhat dogeared as we let him have access to them when he was going through his chew on everything stage so many animals have ears or parts of their heads missing!

Consequently it s great to now have a more educational alternative. These are recommended from 24 months, which is about when most toddlers start showing an heightened interest in spelling and counting but as they re non-toxic I see no reason you couldn t use them before this age. They re more substantial and rigid than you might expect from foam.

Currently on sale in Asda 6 for 5 they are great value for money and will surely keep your little one occupied for a long time as well as being educational. Looking like he s done something he shouldn t have in the bath! Munchkin Bath Toy Scoop There are various problems associated with having a lot of bath time toys: you need to ensure you remove numerous toys from the bath when you re finished, drain them and place them somewhere to dry to prevent them becoming mouldy.

This is both time consuming and inconvenient when you re trying to balance a bath duck, 36 bath letters and numbers and a monster bath truck on the towel rail! This is where Munchkin s Bath Toy Scoop 7 really comes into its own. The idea is that using its large handle, you simply scoop all the various bath toys directly from the water into the scoop then hang the scoop in its wall mounted holder.

The water then drains from the bottom, ensuring that toys don t remain wet. Not only does it allow water to drain but also provides storage for a decent amount of toys, due to its large capacity. Apparently the scooping fun isn t reserved just for adults, R had a lovely time turning it into a hungry sea monster!

The transparent plastic allows you to immediately see what s inside. I think it looks like a manta ray or a whale shark but it reminds OH of something from The Octonauts! Is it a bird, is it a plane ?

As you can see in the first photo (above) included in the box is the scoop, the wall mount (with double sided 3M tape already attached) and a spare set of double sided tape, which rather handily has already been cut to size. To attach the wall mount to the wall, offer up the scoop and ensure that wherever you re about to stick the mount, allows the scoop enough room to hang. Then simply peel the baking off the tape and attach the wall mount.

Munchkin recommends you allow the mount to adhere for an hour before using the scoop. I have to confess, I was a little skeptical about this product and wondered whether it would actually allow the toys to dry out effectively. I also wasn t convinced that the scoop would remain attached to the wall, particularly when full of toys but it turns out my preconceptions were unfounded and weeks later it s still stuck firmly in place holding a bunch of dry bath toys hooray!

The bath scoop is currently available from Amazon 8 for 12.98. Feeding Products Munchkin Click Lock Spill Proof Cup I like the design of this cup. It has a narrow waist which makes it easy for toddlers to hold.

My 2 year old still has to carry some of this other beakers either under one arm or with both hands, which is just a bit impractical, but he can easily hold this single-handed. It has a large 10z (296ml) capacity as they soon outgrow smaller beakers and you end up having to fill them up again every hour or so. Using Click Lock technology, Munchkin guarantees this product to be leak and spill proof.

You can hear the Click Lock function when removing/replacing the lid. To remove the lid you simply twist it anti-clockwise, you ll hear it click when you start turning. Similarly to secure the lid again, screw it in a clockwise direction and you ll hear it click securely back into place.

It s also BPA free. Munchkin recommends this product from 9 months but personally I gave R cups from whatever age he was able to manage them, particularly the no-spill ones like this. The lids on this cup are interchangeable so if you buy a couple of them you needn t worry about which lid fits which cup.

The cup can be cleaned in the top rack of the dishwasher. The spout is made of soft, squidgy silicone and to clean it, you need to remove the silicone spout from the rest of the lid. Before first use (and after cleaning) you should also squeeze the spout to activate.

When I gave this cup to R, he tried it and said It doesn t work Mummy so naturally assuming he was doing something wrong, I tried it myself and the only way I could get this cup to release any water was to either bite the spout or squeeze it hard against the roof of my mouth whilst sucking. If the toddler simply sucks the spout they wont get any water. As far as I m concerned, teaching children to bite spouts isn t a great idea so I ve taken it away from R as I don t want him to get into this habit, especially as he s on the cusp of being able to use grown up beakers with no lid/spout.

Despite liking a lot of things about this cup, based on our experience, I wouldn t recommend this product. Munchkin Snack Catcher I ve been very slack of late in my no food in the lounge policy and consequently am forever finding morsels of food in weird and wonderful places due to accidentally upturned bowls so this product really appeals. It s designed so that even small snacks remain inside the pot until your child pulls them out.

You remove the lid by pulling around the edges, it s tight rubber which you need to slightly stretch to get on.I thought raisins might be too small for this and find their way onto the floor but thankfully they didn t. It s very easy and comfortable for R to get his hand in and out and he didn t attempt to remove it. As someone who has spent a considerable amount of time under tables in cafes picking up dropped food or picking it out from the seams of the pushchair (ewww!), I can vouch that it s also very useful for snacks on the move.

There s space on the underside of the catcher for you to write your child s name in permanent marker, which is a blessing for anyone who has ever followed their toddler around playgroup waiting for the moment they randomly abandon their possessions. It s BPA free (which I expect as standard nowadays from child food manufacturers) and best of all it can be washed in the top rack of the dishwasher. At 2.99 from Safe Tots 9 the Munchkin Snack Catcher 10 is great value for money and it s worth buying a couple for when one s in the wash.

They re available in a variety of colours. Munchkin Click Lock Bento Mealtime Set Firstly, I must confess that despite being a fan of sushi and my days in the City were spent consuming more food from Itsu than was wise for my finances, I didn t actually know what Bento meant. So, if you re as ignorant as I was (and if you re not then please just humour me) then here s some assistance; Bento is a thin box, made of plastic or wood, divided into compartments which contain small separate dishes comprising a Japanese meal.

The Munchkin Bento Mealtime Set 11 is exactly that! This is a well-made, bright and attractively designed children s lunchbox. It s a 9-piece set; Click Lock lid, fork, spoon, 2 removable containers with 2 lids and 1 large food compartment with lid.

The Click Lock lid clicks into place with sturdy locks on each side of the container. The fork and spoon snap into their own little dedicated spaces on the underside of the lid, which is both space-saving and hygienic. The 2 removable containers are perfect for fruit and veg and even have little apples and brocolli printed on them (cute!).

My OH thinks that knowing our son we ll end up removing them and using the space for a bag of Organix crisps instead! But that s the point of this box, you can use (or not use) the removable containers as you like. The large container is the perfect size for storing a sandwich or bagel.

Due to the wall between this and the removable containers you wont find your other food squishing your sandwich. It s dishwasher (top rack), microwave and freezer safe. It even has a handy space in which to write you child s name if they are taking it to a public place, where they re likely to leave it.

Suitable from 9 months of age (presume this is to do with the plastic fork?) it s perfect for lunch on the go, a picnic or for nursery/school. R has also started asking for his in-house lunches to be served in it *just call me Mrs Skivvy!* as the separate compartments bring added fun to his lunch. It s available from Amazon 12 for 7.50 with free delivery.

I think it s a little bit wasted on the kids personally and I may be borrowing this if I m lucky enough to be able to eat my own lunch myself one of these days! Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube Suitable for use from birth, this musical cube plays 5 different instruments: harp, flute, French horn, piano and violin. On each side of the cube there s a different instrument button and behind each button there s a light which flashes along with the tempo of the music when each once is activated.

Instruments can be played alone or multiple instruments added to the melody to create symphonies. You can add or subtract instruments without interrupting the tune. With the unit switched ON, to start an instrument simply push the instrument button, it will flash when activated.

To deactivate an instrument, simply press the button for that instrument whilst the music is playing. There s also an orchestra button on the base of the cube which plays all the instruments at once in a Mozart composition (hence the name of the toy itself). There are 8 Mozart compositions included which play in succession.

Most importantly for parents, the music from the Mozart Magic Cube 13 is actually quite nice. Which makes a change from the repetitive, innane rhythms of most of my sons toys! The buttons are nice and large and consequently very easy for small fingers to press.

The corners of the cube are rounded and padded with rubber to prevent nasty accidents. The rubber also makes it easy for little ones to handle as it provides grip. It is a rather heavy object though which wont be able to be easily lifted by very young babies.

Unless both OH and I have missed something blindingly obvious, due to the way the cube was attached to the cardboard display box with those bendy wire things (yes, that is the technical term) there was no way of easily removing these from the cube once undone. We tried threading one side through whilst pulling hard on the other and this didn t work (the plastic simply pulled off exposing bare wire). We contemplated cutting the wires and pushing the ends through into the holes but worried that little bits would remain sticking out which could easily injure a baby so OH trundled off to the garage to get his pliers.

This worked a treat but I m not sure you should really need pliers to remove wires from a baby s toy, there must be a better way of packaging this. Aarrrrggghhhh!!! R took to this toy immediately (and I did too if truth be told).

He uses it like a music player and loves dancing around the lounge to the different tunes. He s just too quick on his feet & I was unable to get an adequate photo of his Mozart Jig ! But you can see the Riverdance tiptoes if you look closely He also likes the fact he can control the various sounds.

I haven t the heart to tell him that it wasn t really intended for him but for his younger brother! Baby L doesn t look so sure in the photo below (don t be alarmed he always looks this grumpy!) but he really does like the flashing lights. I imagine he ll get more out of this when he gets a little older but I can definitely see the appeal of this toy and how it can grow with your child.

You also get an exciting lightshow if you use it in the dark! It comes complete with batteries but takes 3 AA batteries if you need to replace them. Instructions on removing the batteries are below.

1. Locate battery compartment 2. Unscrew and remove cover 3.

Pull out battery drawer & replace At 14.99 from Amazon 14 I think it s good value and I like the fact batteries are included. It really irritates me when you open a toy whilst your child is jumping up and down with excitement to use it and you realise you don t have any! Overall, I ve found the range of Munchkin products I was sent to be innovative, of very good quality and above all they re fun!

Many of them also make life easier for parents by solving those little niggly problems we encounter every day, such as dropped snacks or soggy bath toys. Everything has a contemporary feel and is finished in fresh and funky colours. If you were purchasing these products, they range from good to great in value and would also make affordable and fun gifts for friends or family.

The only product I personally wouldn t purchase from those tested is the Click Lock Cup. In addition, it would be great if Munchkin could look into an alternative way of attaching the Mozart cube to its box to avoid the need for pliers. However, I continue to be impressed with the Munchkin brand and I ll definitely carry on exploring their ranges.

Further details of all the products tested may be found on Munchkin s website www.munchkin.com 15 . In addition to Bathing, Feeding, Cups and Toys, Munchkin also has a wide range of Cleaning & Care products (nappy disposal systems, bottles, sterilisers, drying racks, etc.). I love the look of their Travel Booster Seat 16 for when the kids are munching on the move!

If you d like to keep up to date with the latest developments and new products head over to Munchkin s Facebook page 17 or Follow them on Twitter 18 (@Munchkin_UK) If you enjoy reading Little Rascal Reviews then please subscribe via email to receive posts to your inbox as soon as they re published (option in right-hand sidebar).

Little Rascal Reviews was provided the Munchkin products featured above for the purpose of honest review.

References ^ Munchkin (www.munchkin.eu.com) ^ Munchkin White Hot Inflatable Safety Duck Bath (www.littlerascalreviews.com) ^ Munchkin Bath Fun Monster Truck (www.munchkin.eu.com) ^ Munchkin White Hot Inflatable Safety Duck Bath (www.littlerascalreviews.com) ^ Kiddicare (www.kiddicare.com) ^ Asda (direct.asda.com) ^ Munchkin s Bath Toy Scoop (www.munchkin.eu.com) ^ Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk) ^ Safe Tots (www.safetots.co.uk) ^ Munchkin Snack Catcher (www.munchkin.eu.com) ^ Munchkin Bento Mealtime Set (www.munchkin.eu.com) ^ Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk) ^ Mozart Magic Cube (www.munchkin.eu.com) ^ Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk) ^ www.munchkin.com (www.munchkin.eu.com) ^ Travel Booster Seat (www.munchkin.eu.com) ^ Facebook page (www.facebook.com) ^ Twitter (twitter.com) Continue reading →