Melissa & Doug Latches Wooden Activity Board

This toy was a hit with my little ones. I had opportunities to work with them on language as an slp. I don’t need to worry about them putting things in their mouth. This is definitely a fun and safe toy for little ones.

The Melissa and Doug Latches board is a beautiful toy. It has lovely, colourful designs, and behind the 6 doors there are animals in different colours for counting and colour educational value. The latches on our particular board are of good quality brass, and the whole thing is very finely constructed. Our boy LOVES it, as I knew he would, and spends up to an hour opening and closing the doors and manipulating the latches. Any child who is intruiged by locks and doors, enjoys fine finger movement or needs help with such would benefit from this toy.Our 17mo is easily able to open 4 of 6 of the latches, the exception being the latch with the slider chain, and the turning latch. He still enjoys it, although he seems able to work them out quicker than expected.As others have pointed out, some of the doors need to close before others will open, as they obstruct each other (the board would be prohibitively large if all the doors were able to open at once), but if you show the child this, they get the concept and happily close the offending door before opening the next one. My one criticism of this toy is that, like other Melissa and Doug puzzle boards, this one has a cardboard printed finish glued to the backing board, rather than a painted finish. If you want it to live through a drooling toddler, varnish the board before use. The cardboard is durable as cardboard goes, but not when it gets wet. If wet, the finish, along with the beautiful design, rub off VERY quickly. Stand by with a flannel if you have a dribbler, or wax or varnish it first.

Melissa and Doug brand to me has always been of upmost quality toys for kids. I can always feel safe buying toys of this brand because I know it will be made with safe materials and nothing crazy in it like lead paint. To me it is worth a little extra money to make sure our kids aren’t investing or handling toxic materials when simply playing with children’s toys. I would rather buy fewer toys that are safe than have a lot of toys made with unsafe materials. Less is more.This product is no different from all others I have purchased of the Melissa and Doug brand in terms of quality. The quality is top notch and impressive to say the least. My youngest is less than 18 months and she is intrigued by this toy, but does not have a the intellectual ability to be able to open/close mechanisms on the busy board itself. I think it will probably be in the next six months that she actually enjoys playing with the latches and locks on this particular toy! Right now she just enjoys watching me show her how to open and close the doors on the toy and she will mimic me by unsuccessfully attempting to do the same. At this time the toy only keeps her busy for less than two minutes at a time.

My girls are two yrs old and one is always, always fiddling with things trying to figure out how they work and is just fascinated. I found this latch board and thought it was perfect for her. She absolutely loves it. Now if I could just find something similar with zippers, buttons, and tabs...etc.*** Please note the recommended age for this toy is 3+ but I know my girls and felt this toy was age appropriate for them. That being said, I am considering an option to mount to the wall to avoid any accidents. If this toy were to be picked up and hurled across the room or used to smack another child it would most definitely cause some damage.~ Sturdy. Made of layered wood.~ Colorful. Not painted - the picture is a paper-like applique and now shows wear on the edges. But overall is holding up very well.~ Hardware is REAL hardware and is strong and sturdy. Each are different and not overly stiff or hard to function so little hands should have no problems using on their own.~ No screws. Hardware is riveted on.~ No rough edges.~ More than just latches.....the doors open and inside there is the coordinating color and a picture with the corresponding number on the door. So not only are they learning fine motor skills and dexterity from the hardware, there are also learning numbers and colors.Overall, I really love this toy. My girls love this toy. I would recommend to a friend.

While the board is listed as ages 3+, I imagine that has to be for liability reasons. My 18 month old can do 4 of the 6 latches easily, so it's probably not going to be very engaging for a developmentally-on-track 3 year old. It's a bit heavy to be a good toy for a plane or car ride, but it's definitely quality materials and good fun for younger toddlers!

This is a great busy board, but I will say it is best for supervised play as it is heavy and can cause injury if a child tries to pick it up, or uses it as a weapon against their sibling. :) My kids like to play with this, but I pull it out for them and put it away when not in use to avoid issues. This has definitely helped my kids dexterity and problem solving skills.