SKIP IT to my Lou!
Written: Aug 28 '04
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: great activity for all the kids in the neighborhood to get involved with
Cons: only one child at a time can play. Counter isn't accurate
The Bottom Line: a great activity toy for a child ages 6 to 10 or 11.
|
|
|
| mom2ericha's Full Review: Tiger Electronics Skip It |
I went to the store a few weeks ago to search for a suitable birthday gift for my daughter. My daughter is chubby. She's been chubby all her life. She weighed in at a tiny 6 pounds 10 ounces when born, and two weeks later she was a hearty 8 pound baby. She has never lost that baby fat, and turning eight, I figured it was high time to cut television time, and encourage outdoor activity.
I figured I'd buy her a jump rope, and chalk to play hopscotch, and I thought if I could find a couple of long jump ropes, I'd teach her how to do double dutch jump rope, a game I loved as a kid. Then I got to thinking of a skip type thing that I had as a kid. I did a search on amazon and toys r us and found out the proper name for the "thing" I had as a kid is a "skip it". The name adequately describes the toy. The difference is that the end part of the toy is MUCH heavier than it was when I was a kid! I swear I don't know why they don't break their necks on this thing! It is a roundish ending, with a thin rope like plastic line and it has a round thing on the other end that goes over the ankle. They then toss it around and "skip" or jump over it as it comes around, using their other (free) foot. It sounds much easier than it is, and when I tried to use it, I almost fell on my keister! It was most likely a sight for "Funniest Home Videos", I'm sure!
Now, it sounds all simple, and I figured the toy would be really cheap, like a few bucks. I was surprised to see this little piece of plastic cost $10...I couldn't help but think "gee, whoever invented this thing is making millions!" I got lucky though, at end of the summer, and got the thing for half off, so I got a really great deal! I remembered what fun I had as a kid with a similar toy, and bought it for her as part of her birthday surprise. I'm glad now I did, because she has had MUCH more fun with it than I had anticipated! It's a big hit with every kid in the neighborhood too, and there is a little counter on it so they can keep track how many times the thing goes around, or how many times they skip over it. It can be reset and the kids can compete to see who does the most skips.
All in all, the Skip It was well worth the money I paid for it. I suppose I should be getting my 8 year old daughter to do this review, because she'd rave about it a lot more than I am doing! It's really popular and it also increases coordination. Believe me when I say my daughter needs all the help with coordination that she can get...the kid runs into walls because she doesn't pay attention to where she is walking! I swear she is the only kid who can trip over a crack in the sidewalk! She has not only improved on her coordination (at least with the skip it) but also with the jump rope. I think jumping over the skip it has helped her to learn to jump the rope a lot better too!
I would venture that any kid from about 5 years old and older would love the Skip It. I would venture a guess that the median age for this toy would be 7 to 9 though and guessing it would be a good gift for any child up to about 11 or 12. I am guessing it is more popular with girls, however I would bet even a boy would get into this at times...although they probably wouldn't want to admit it, since it is a predominantly "girls toy"!
Overall, the toy is very well made, made of hard plastic. The counter doesn't seem to sturdy though, and when I twirled it around a few times it didn't register. I doubt the counter is very trustworthy to show accuracy. This is the only thing I can find wrong with the toy, however. Overall, it's well made, and a good investment.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 10
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mom2ericha
|
|
Member: Linda Scott
Location: Madison Heights, MI
Reviews written: 136
Trusted by: 22 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.