Melissa & Doug Basic Skills Wooden Puzzle Dress-Up Activity Board

Everyone said they didn't like this because it is a puzzle and the pieces come out when the little ones try to complete each task, I think they are using this Backwards! What I believe the point is to take each of the pieces of clothes off the bear 1st, then have the child shut each item (button, buckle, snap, zip, etc.) and then once the task is completed you put each one on the bear where it belongs. My daughter is 3 1/2 and has had no trouble in using each of these items seperately. She has fun getting the bear dressed. If anything I would say that this toy is so much better than one of the stuffed animals that has all of the zippers/buttons/shoe laces on them because with this toy there is only one task at a time and a child won't get so distracted easily. This is a heavy duty, quality toy that I think will last a very long time. Quality I've come to expect from Melissa & Doug doesn't disappoint.

Daughter is really into things that snap or click together and has been for just over 2 months (19 months currently). When she was given this her eyes lit up with excitement and thinking of the satisfaction of being able to snap, click, lace and zip for hours. I would have never thought this would be such a fun thing to do for kids but it goes back to the saying that they will play with the box the toy came in longer than the toy itself I guess. Anyway, the toy is a little advance for her still in some ways. The puzzle aspect of it is a bit tricky for her age, same with the belt and laces but this is to be expected and not a negative because she will grow into the toy and it will last that much longer. The board itself is very well built out of a heavy wood material, same with the individual pieces. I suppose this could be a concern for a drop on the foot or toe while carrying, typically we are sitting with her anyway if using the entire board. More times than not, she's only interested in one puzzle piece to work on at a time anyhow.

I bought this to entertain my toddler on a road trip to prevent too much screen time, and it was a HIT. My child loved putting the puzzle together, and had a blast working the fine motor skills on each individual piece - the zipper was a particular favorite. I will likely put little pieces of adhesive Velcro on the back of the individual pieces for future road trips, as the pieces didn’t stay in the puzzle holder and a few pieces fell between seats. It will also offer additional opportunities for working new skills.

First, I am reviewing this as a mom with a kid who had been diagnosed with a developmental delay since he was a micropreemie and is a little behind in some skills. I got this a year ago, and my son struggled with it as a puzzle even though he was 2 years old then. He is 3 now and I think I will try bringing it out again (he got so frustrated that I had to put it away). He is more into puzzles now and has an interest in various things like putting socks and shoes on, so maybe he will want to try it. As far as the item, it is durable and made of wood base with materials that seem very sturdy. I don’t think it is good for travel necessarily because there are different pieces that could fall from car seat, but I guess if you have a cup holder that you could place the pieces in or always have someone in back seat with kiddo then you can catch the falling pieces. I do think this is a good activity board for home, can do on floor or table.

This is a pretty nice, high quality puzzle for toddlers. We have several Melissa & Doug puzzles/games and my daughter loves them all. My daughter does like to put the lace up part on her foot and hobble around calling it her shoe so that's fun for the whole family. Some of the parts are a bit harder than others to open up but they'll probably wear in over time or she'll outgrow it and it won't be a huge issue. The big button on the blue part of the sleeve for instance really needs more slack to open easily. The belt is a little tricky on ours also. We're happy with this and even when our lab puppy chewed 2 pieces my daughter likes it so much, and its cheap enough, that I just bought a second and swapped in the 2 chewed pieces. I'd recommend this to anyone with kids.

Melissa & Doug has done it again. Our 4 year old is a "velcro, or ask Mom and Dad to do it" kind of kid. We wanted to have him work on his own on the skills that would help him take a more active roll in his dressing, etc. This bear is a puzzle and a skill builder, so we use it by saying he can put each puzzle piece in once he completes each skill on the piece. We pretend to time him and he will work on the skills with the motivation of completing the puzzle quickly. Other dolls/dogs/etc. have not been as effective in getting him to work on the skills. I would recommend this toy for anyone whose child may be a little behind or unmotivated in learning to zip, button, tie, etc. The puzzle is too easy to be a toy on its own, but as a motivator, it is great.

The flaw with this toy is that it is also a puzzle in that each section comes out. I myself found it difficult to buckle/zip/button/lace the loose piece in my hand or my lap and my 3yr old very quickly became frustrated. More time is spent holding the piece down than learning the buckling/zipping ect... As others stated gluing them down was a thirty second solution (I used a hot glue gun so it was ready to go almost immediately). As soon as the pieces were glued down she could focus on each task. I found the button a bit too tight and with a scissor snipped the button hole a tiny bit wider. Besides the tying of the green lace into a bow, the zipper is the hardest part because the teeth stick. I had searched for one of those large soft dolls that had the buckles and laces and so forth, that I recall from my own childhood with no luck. Overall this is a good learning toy to have, in addition to others.

I am a big fan of Melissa and Doug wooden products. My kids love them, they are well made, colorfully designed and priced fairly. The only issue I have with this product is that the pieces come off the board. There really is no need for them to come off the board, they fit different ways so it is not teaching puzzle skills. I think we are going to glue the pieces down so it become ONE solid piece for the boys to play with. Very good toy, love it. One thing, the string from the shoe lace comes completely off so mind your younger kids real well when they play with it.