1st musical set

I take my daughter to a baby and toddler group once a week and the group starts off in the church where we all have a sing along. Little uns are invited to come forward and help themselves to a musical instrument to play along - or just make as much noise as possible as is often the case Lily loves playing with the instruments so it seemed only fair that we got her her very own set.

Finding instruments suitable for Lily's age group didn't prove easy. There were plenty on the market but most were only suitable for older toddlers - assumably because they have small parts. This was one of the only products I found that were marketed at the 12 month plus market and to my surprise I came across it at Tescos (supermarkets can be a surprisingly good place to source baby toys and often the price point is much better than at mainstream toy shops).

The set comprises a xylophone, maracas, clacker and tambourine - all neatly stored in a drum container which doubles up as a drum thanks to its lid. Oh and there are two drumsticks too.

This was brilliant value and Lily has had lots of fun playing with the set since she opened it on Christmas Day. But there are two things to draw your attention to. Lils loved bashing the drum lid and would spend some time taking it on and off its base. When I was tidying away her toys one night I noticed a massive crack in the lid. I can only assume Lily had stood on it while cruising around the furniture and if that was the case then I am a little disappointed that it could break so easily. As we weren't able to fix the lid it had to be thrown away and so Lily no longer has the drum element to the kit. The other point is with regards the drumsticks. They are great for letting Lily bang the keys on the xylophone and the drum (until it broke!) but children Lily's age have a habit of sticking things in their mouths and I became concerned at the amount Lily was crawling around with the stick in hers. My worry, obviously, was that if she could fall forward. I have chosen, therefore, to keep the sticks separate from the kit and only offer them to Lily when we are participating in more supervised play with her.