Melissa & Doug First Shapes Jumbo Knob Wooden Puzzle

Because the shapes are not symmetrical, they can only be used in one direction. Wow, I adore Melissa and Doug and their toys' designs, so you can imagine how taken aback I was when I saw this. Granted, I purchased this toy for my 9-month-old, but it is clearly designed for older children, so if your child is older, more advanced at puzzles, and no longer mouths items, you might find this toy useful. br>br>However, the puzzle has three major flaws, and it's not only something I wouldn't recommend or buy again, but it's also something I'm throwing away after just one day of use (see photo). ONE day! br>br>1) MDF, or compacted paper, is used to construct the puzzle. When the paper is wet, it's a different story. That's correct. Because my child is still teething, he naturally smeared saliva on the puzzle pieces, which caused them to disintegrate. Yay, he gets to eat paper and the chemicals that bind it together! 2) The images are paper glued to the MDF rather than painted on. So, yup, if the paper gets wet. I was removing blue paper shards from his mouth with my fingers. In fact, I peeled off the majority of the paper to prevent him from eating it. br>br>3) As mentioned in the video, the main reason I bought this puzzle is that the pieces fit in any direction. FALSE! The square and rectangle are the only two shapes that can be used. One-dimensional shapes such as the oval, triangle, and circle Because they are hand-cut and have a low tolerance (too low, in my opinion, for a "first" puzzle), the eccentricities prevent them from fitting in any other direction. br>br>4) A slightly less serious complaint is that the puzzle pieces are bandsawn rather than C-shaped. Individually C'd or scroll sawn, which means there are cut lines in between the shapes for a single continuous cut. It's unsightly, but that doesn't bother me as much as the fact that when the bandsaw hits a puzzle piece, it digs into it and leaves a sharp notch, which is the final straw. br>br>I spent a lot of time researching puzzles for my baby, and this one won for concept, but I wish I'd gone with a higher-quality construction, even if it meant a harder puzzle!.

Camila Lehman

| Mar 23, 2021

The large wooden handles and vibrant colors were particularly appealing to us. However, the quality is so bad that it's useless. Within a week, the puzzle's cardboard base began to crumble. When the baby chews on the pieces, the paint peels right off! Under normal conditions, it began peeling within the first few minutes, and it supervises play (the baby bangs the puzzle pieces together). We've gotten rid of the puzzle. So disappointed in a product that had the potential to be fantastic.

Ellianna Harrison

| Jul 09, 2021

It isn't made entirely of wood. We were dismayed to learn that it is primarily made of MDF or particle board, rather than solid wood. It's made of paper pulp or fine wood fibers that have been pressed together and glued together with an adhesive, and it quickly disintegrated in our baby's mouth when she chewed on the puzzle pieces, as well as the paint on top. The pulp, as well as whatever adhesive they use, cannot be safe for a baby to consume. Melissa and Doug's decision to make a puzzle for 12 month old babies out of this material astounds me. At the age of twelve months, babies gnaw on everything. We've had better luck with some of their other products, but after this incident, we're no longer confident in their quality. This wasn't expensive, but it was a complete waste of our funds. We got rid of it and replaced it with a solid wood peg puzzle from a nearby store. It is more expensive, but it is made of baltic birch, which does not disintegrate as easily as the Melissa and Doug puzzle did. We will never buy another one, and I strongly advise you to avoid doing so as well. This is, by the way, made of wood, according to the product description. It must change in order to reflect its true nature.

Ayden McCarty

| May 08, 2021

My experience with both of my toddlers who had them was that the puzzles didn't hold their attention until around the age of one, and by the time fine motor skills and cognitive development skills kicked in, the puzzles were too boring. Instead, choose an alphabet, numbers, or shapes puzzle to teach them the ABCs, counting, shape, and color recognition (since almost every puzzle piece has a different color to identify). )br>They're also big and bulky, making them difficult to store with other puzzles. Above all, they are not engaged at any point during the process from 1- 3. So put your toy money somewhere else. Try the apple and worm threading toy if you already have number, letter, and shape puzzles! Excellent fine motor skill, very portable, and has always kept my toddlers' attention at all stages.

Mabel Caldwell

| Nov 20, 2021

There was a distinct odor of manufactured wood and plastic as soon as I opened the package. Further inspection revealed that the puzzle was covered in significant dust/wood particles (not ideal, but not fatal). Then I noticed that the puzzle's circle shape was discolored in one of the corners, which was disappointing but not fatal. When I examined each puzzle piece, I noticed that the rectangle had been sloppily cut, almost shaving a corner off, and the triangle had been poorly cut, barely fitting into the slot. Removing and replacing the triangle on the board required a significant amount of force (which a baby would not possess) and would undoubtedly frustrate a small child. Will be returning it; if you can find one that isn't defective, it's a nice size puzzle board that I would have liked to use to insert baby pictures.

Ariella Simmons

| Sep 07, 2021

Both of these puzzles were scratched, and the screw that holds the knobs to the puzzle pieces left indentation marks on the puzzle board. The pictures have some noticeable discoloration as well. I also dislike the fact that the puzzles are littered with small "wood" shavings. I put wood in quotation marks because it appears to be cheap particle board that will deteriorate around the edges of each piece over time. I'm so disappointed because these looked so cute, and the pieces were the perfect size for me.

Dalary Peterson

| Jun 04, 2021