Little Tikes Push & Ride Racer
by Little Tikes
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Our Price: $29.99 Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $24.00 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Little Tikes Push & Ride Racer
Customer Review: Best $30 ever spent on a toy
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the best money I have ever spent for a toy. It continues to be a huge hit. We purchased it when my daughter was about 15-18 months old. It was a little tricky to put together, but in my opinion is VERY durable -- much more so than the other ride-on toys I had researched. I had even purchased another one at first and returned it to the store. My daughter is now 3 1/2 and still finds a way to pick her feet up enough to cruise around the house. It seems to get used every day at some point. Her little sister, 15 months, learned early how to get on and off (it has a low seat) and to pick up her legs to take a ride when someone pushed her. She now is learning to ride it herself without a push. A relative gave the 15 month old another ride-on toy at Christmas and it doesn't get the same amount of use at all. (Wheels don't turn as easily, construction not as solid. And even though the relative's toy is a good brand, and has extras like a little compartment up front, a knob that spins, etc -- it is not as fun to ride.) I am thinking of purchasing another of the Little Tikes brand so that they can both zoom around the house together. (Note: we have a lot of hardwood floors and do not take this one outside, though I imagine it would be good outside as well).
Pros --
-- low to the ground makes it easier to get on/off.
-- very sturdy -- made of "tough" plastic. Also sturdy in that it doesn't "tip" when walking/pushing behind it.
-- handlebars do not turn (at first I thought this might be a drawback, but it is a BIG plus as kids can ride it forward or backward and shift weight to turn).
-- high front and back means kids can push and walk with it from either direction (behind or in front).
-- wheels spin nicely for a smooth ride.
-- small area behind seat to hold small doll/stuffed animal or maybe a sippy cup. I once thought we might be missing out on not having an underseat compartment but this hasn't been missed by the kids at all.
-- kids learn to take turns, push eachother, maneuver it and balance while getting on/off.
-- no batteries, no noise.
-- bright cheerful colors.
Cons --
a little tricky to put together.
A BIG 5 stars -- so glad we purchased it!
Customer Review: Great ride-on/pretend toy
Summary: 4 Stars
We chose this ride-on for its versatility. My baby likes using it as a walker (or be astride while someone else pushes him). My toddler likes to ride it by herself, or pushes it as fast as she can run.
The kids also enjoy pushing it like a shopping cart, with a doll or stuffed toy in the handle's seat. I have a feeling that the kids will use it far past the recommended ages (if it lasts that long). My sister, I, and all the neighborhood kids creatively used our very similar ride-on for obstacle courses, etc, clear up through junior high school. And it was a 'juvenile' winnie-the-pooh design!
The best thing about this toy is that it is open-ended. Since it isn't made to look just like a fire engine, a horse, or anything else, kids are free to imagine that it's EVERYTHING!
So far, it's been a horse, a car, a truck, a plane, a camel, a bike... you get the idea.
It's also nice that it is low to the ground and easy to mount/dismount. Even when my baby falls off head first, he doesn't get hurt.
The racer doesn't turn readily. But it is lightweight, so older kids can do a small wheelie and turn the front wheels. And we knew it didn't steer well when we chose it, so that wasn't a disappointment.
It looks weatherproof, but we haven't taken ours outside yet to test the theory.
Ours came without holes drilled in the blue base where the yellow push-handle attaches. Then my husband used the wrong drill bit to create holes. Consequently, our racer's back handle is not flush with the blue base. This may affect durability sooner or later. I don't know how common the missing holes problem is. But if yours comes without holes, use care when drilling your own!
Customer Review: Decent Push and Ride Toy
Summary: 4 Stars
This push toy seems to be pretty decent. I gave it 4 stars b/c even though it doesn't have any "bells and whistles", my daughter went right over to it the minute she laid eyes on it. Usually a toy has to be in the room for days for her to even bother with it. On the flip side, it did not get 5 stars because it was a real pain in the [...] to put together. There are no screws, but all these plastic pieces that have to be hammered together. And no rhyme or reason as to why some of these pieces are not pre-assembled. For instance, you have to hammer these caps into the ends of the handlebar. Don't know why they didn't just make the handle bar all one piece and not need caps. Or why that didn't come pre-assembled. Expect to spend between 30 and 40 minutes to put this thing together, and to have to put some muscle into the hammering. Sometimes the pieces don't allign very well either, and you really have to work to get the pieces alligned. So far my daughter can't stear this so well. She keeps getting stuck pushing the toy into corners, furniture, and walls, and can't seem to figure out how to turn. This could be because the toy is kind of long. And for a child first pushing things to walk behind, it will take time to figure out how to account for all that extra length in front. I'm assuming that eventually kids figure it out, since nobody else seemed to have this issue. I have tried her on other ride on toys/rockers and she hates them. But she loves having me push this toy around while she rides. Two more things.....the main part of this toy is now blue, with a red handlebar (back is still yellow). And while Amazon might not carry it any more, you can order it directly from the Little Tikes website.Customer Review: Wonderful Little Bike
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this bike for my son when he was 9 months old. He was a bit young for it then, but grew into it quickly. By 12 months he would sit on it while we pushed him around (we used a broom handel to push the bike to save our backs). By about 14-15 month he started scooting himself backward on the bike, a month of two later he figured out how to go forward. He is now 27 months and still loves riding the bike. He can get it going fairly fast and has even gone down small hills. He has caused the bike to tip a few times, but he got right back up, brushed himself off and jumped back on the bike.
We have a second son who is now 10 months old. The baby has recently started riding the bike. He is at the stage where we are pushing him around using a broom handle. His brother has even taken over for us a few times and pushed the baby around on the bike (with us watching carefully to make sure the baby didn't fall off). Both boys absolutly love this bike. It has been one of the best used toys in our house. It is sturdy and has stood up to some rough handling. As most other reviewers said, it was surprisingly difficult to put together for such a simple bike which is the only negative I have found so far.
Customer Review: Both of my grandsons love theirs
Summary: 5 Stars
I have 2 grandsons, both about 13 months old; the younger one is walking, the older one is moving from crawling to cruising. I bought each one this Push and Ride toy for their 1st birthday. They both love using this toy. The new model is not as good as the one that their parents had (why am I not surprised?), but it is still one of the few toys that is just that. No fancy anything, just a good all around fun toy that kids love and don't get bored of. When I contacted Little Tikes to find out where to purchase this toy (all the local chains were out of stock and had no idea when they were going to get more), I found them singularly obnoxious and useless (Amazon was definitely more help). Very disappointed with Little Tikes customer service and if I had found another company that made a similar product I would have opted for it in a second, but alas most toy companies seem to have chosen to go in the direction of loud, noisy, flashy and flimsy junk. Until somebody brings back the previous version of this riding toy, this is definitely the riding toy of choice (unless you have mega-bucks on some of the really gorgeous classic riding toys from the pre-plastic era).