Home > Categories > Toys > Action Figures > First Friends figures review
A selection of characters across a range of sets, all with clicking, moving arms and legs and squeaker tummies. Ideal for making connections and finding out about environments and people.
Learning Values:
• Connecting ideas and understanding the world.
• Imitating, mirroring, moving and imagining.
• Discovering and learning about his/her body.
Product reviews...
Another great toy that survives an early learning centre environment. These brightly coloured hard plastic figurines are also lots of fun to play with. The push buttons on their tummies squeak when you push them...hard to do for the babies but they enjoy the squeak noise when a teacher or older child pushes the button. The moveable arms, legs and head also promotes fine motor skills as the children move these parts, which also make a clicking sound to show movement of the toy.
These figures have been at plenty of centres that I have worked in and I haven't seen one broken or missing a limb and all the push buttons on their tummies have all been in good working order so they definitely are tough enough to stand up to constant play by big and little hands.
The bright colours of the figures are visually appealing and all the different little figures that are available you can collect the whole family and different accessories like a house and car, different animals etc...all mind from sturdy plastic. Definitely a toy that will last and can be played with in so many different ways that every time you play with them will be different.
Yes the figures are worth a lot of money but buying them is a great investment because they will be around and still looking brand new after many years of play....they will last for generations...well worth the money in my opinion.
I was given one of these for my daughter. I think Tolo's First Friends figures are really cute but have never bought them because of the price. They are a quality product and built to last. Ours has been played with for nearly three years and it still looks brand new.
We have the girl with the sun visor. She has so many features. Her ponytail and head turn around. Her arms and legs move. These all make a ratchet sound when they move. The flower on her dress squeaks when it is pressed.
My daughters have actively played with the Tolo figure since they were about twelve months old. Now my eldest is nearly four years old and the figure now plays with her My Little Ponies, goes for rides in her pocket, is her dolly's baby and more. This is truly a toy that grows with the child.
These are great little toy figures for tiny hands to play with. There is a wide range of figures, from people in various trades, sports, ages and both genders are well represented. There are also a number of animals available, both wild and domesticated, so you could build up any type of collection you desire really.
The arms, legs and head are poseable, and in the case of some animals, the tails as well... however the hands and feet are fixed, and this can sometimes leads to cry of frustration from the tinier players when the characters refuse to stand/sit/run etc.
Personally, I was quite taken with a couple of the characters who appeared to be injured! With the 'uninjured' and 'injured' versions, your little ones can explore how someone looks when they are in pain or unhappy, and their imagination can be let loose (and explored by observant adults) to see if they are the type who play-act the helping or, or the injuring of, the little characters. This could be an important factor in how you help guide the development of that child, as one teacher pointed out to me. Children who play-act as the 'helper' type are less likely to need 'empathy training' whereas the trainee sadists may need to be gently guided into more positive mental avenues where empathy and sympathy are brought home to them. Save the animals... buy some 'First Friends' and prevent cruelty.
Overall, I personally would be quite happy to buy quite a few of these, if they were a little cheaper. $9.90 would be about as high as I would go. The quality is extremely high, the durability is brilliant, and the animals are lots of fun to watch younger kids play with. My only gripe is a simple one that most parents probably wouldn't agree with... I *hate* squeeky toys... and all the 'people' have push-button squeekers in their chests. My favourite humanoid characters were the ones where the squeeker was damaged or really hard to work... -ahhhh- Silence is bliss...
Random listing from 'Toys'...
Ages and Stages - Let's Discover!
With it's spinning gears & bright chunky pieces, the exploration station encourages hands on discovery.
Comes with a shape sorter and a drop slot. Includes 25 pieces and a removable spinning turntable for standalone fun.
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