Our favourite things

This post is part of the YummyMummyClub.ca and Fisher-Price® sponsored program. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. This post reflects my personal opinion about the information provided by the sponsors.

There they were, two mops of golden ringlets bobbing up and down on the living room carpet. Sisters. My heart was awash in maternal pride to see them playing together. I was also thrilled they were so into the Fisher-Price Little People Fun Sounds Farm that had just been delivered. Hey, this Fisher-Price Favourite farm rocks out sing-along songs and animal sounds. Of course they loved it. This sponsored post was going to be a breeze to write.

I tiptoed closer, camera phone in hand.

“No, Mary. I was playing with that. Give it to me!”

“WHAAA!”

“I had the cow first. Here. You play with this hay.”

“Stop dat, Weenie! Stop DAT!”

There was snatching and grabbing. Pushing and shoving. Somebody kicked the farm right over.

“Give your sister back that cow right now,” I said. “You will sit up and play nicely while I take some pictures or I cancel your birthday party. Don’t think I won’t do it.”

So I think it’s fair to say that they really like the Little People Fun Sounds Farm. My kids can’t get enough imaginative play and they loved exploring the farm with the farmer and his animals. The doors open and close to music and animal songs and sending hay up with the tip-up baler and then dropping it into the silo was lots of fun. Mary loved assembling and reassembling the fenced in area too. The cow, in particular, is a big hit.

But, really, when I think back on my childhood memories, all my favourite games and toys are tied up in a mess of emotions that involve fighting, sharing and otherwise negotiating with brothers and sisters, cousins and friends. I remember sitting in the basement with my Raffi album playing on the Fisher-Price record player, lyrics in hand, when my kid brother raced in and tried to change the record, scratching “The Corner Grocery Store” irreparably. I remember running around and around in circles, trailing my Little People School Bus behind me until an older cousin staked his claim to it. I remember sitting in my grandparents’ living room, quietly waiting for my turn to play with the Fisher-Price house. It was the one with the bell that rang if you hit the red button hard enough.

It was the one that my grandmother still has and that my children still play with, elbowing each other out of the way until they examine every last moving part and move on.

Our favourite toys are the ones we play with most, sure. But they’re also the ones we lose our cool over. We jockey for position and stand our ground, and sometimes finally even learn to share.

Ahem. And by “we,” I clearly mean the children. They’ll be fighting over that Fisher-Price Little People Fun Sounds Farm for years to come. (Because in all honesty it’s an awesome toy for toddlers and, apparently, their five-year-old sisters.) It’s probably for the best.

Read more product reviews on Fisher-Price® Favourites and new Fisher-Price®  toys for every stage of development.