We were given this as a gift from a friend of ours and it became a huge sourse of fascination and entertainment for my sons. The gears, which are all different colors but primarily are the same size and shap, are interchangable. I would watch my sons take out one cog which would then stop other cogs from spinning and it was hugely mezmorising for them. They obviously worked out that one gear needs another gear to rotate - it doesn't just happen. I was initially worried that their little fingers would get stuck in the rotating gears but they stop turning ever so gently if something gets in the way. There are no small pieces so it is really great for any age. As they got older I would watch them put little toys or action figures in the middle of the cogs and they would laugh as they all turned round in different directions. This was such simple fun but they played with it for years. If I had to be critical, it bothers me somewhat that Playschool is spelt incorrectly, especially at a time when the children may be learning to spell.

Penwoir

USA

My daughter received Playskool Busy Gears as a Christmas gift when she was one. She has played with it almost every day since she got it 4 months ago. She loves taking them off and putting them back on in different spots. My daughter loves stacking things, but she gets frustrated because you can't stack all fo the gears in one pile. You can stack all the gears with the top pegs, but the pieces with the hollow center don't stack. She tends to get frustrated with that aspect of the toy. The lights make it fun to play with in the dark. I was initially worried about her fingers getting caught between the gears, but it easily stops spinning and doesn't hurt if you stick your finger in it. It is sometimes challenging to keep track of all the gears as tend to get mixed in with all of her toys. I'm usually pretty on top of keeping her toy pieces with the original toys, so that hasn't really been much of a problem for us.

JENC825

Montgomery, IL

It is amazing to me how children are drawn to this toy. After spending six months helping out in a nursery of 18 month old to 2 year old children, I was convinced that this was a must have toy. The **Playskool Busy Gears **changed hands so many times over a forty-five minute period that I expected fights to break out almost every time I was in the nursery...it's a good thing the nursery had two! The children loved putting the gears in place and then watching them light up and move. I was especially impressed that some of the children quickly understood that interlocking the gears together allowed multiple gears to move. Who knew such a fun-looking toy could also be a learning tool too?! This is one toy that definitely captures the attention of children and for a suprisingly long amount of time.

gibbc

Reno, NV

Playskool Busy Gears is an awesome toy for kids and adults of all ages. My kids, for some reason, call thegear pieces bagels. I guess because, to them, they are sort of shaped like bagels. Anyway, the PlayskoolBusy Gears is fun to play around with the gears and seeing which gears will move and which ones won'tdepending on the gears you place. And one little button and they will all spin, or some will spin if youhave taken some of the gears off. A fun game we make is to see how little we can put on the PlayskoolBusy Gears while making sure that they all spin. Our kids love to watch the gears spin round and round.We have a one year old girl and a three year old and five year old boy and they all love this toy. Mykids also take the gears off and use them for stacking. Yes, I know...they are in to stacking things, theyeven stack their alphabet puzzle pieces. So, not matter what age or gender child you have, I think thePlayskool Busy Gears will give them hours of fun.

sarrisa

Thompsons Station, TN

My older son received the Playskool Busy Gears as a gift for his first birthday and they were an immediate hit. The gears are bright, fun colors that attract the attention of toddlers. The gears are large enough not to be choking hazards and are easy to grasp in little hands. There's one large button that the child pushes and it starts music playing and spins the gears. The gears can be arranged with one on each post or can be stacked up. My son had trouble stacking the gears when he first got the toy, but by the time he was a year and a half old he didn't have any problems. I like that this toy is really fun and is good for teaching. The bright colors of the gears are great for practicing identifying and naming colors. Some of the posts contain colored lights and the child can practice matching the color of the gear with the color of the light. Also, arranging the gears so that the teeth line up properly and learning to stack the gears helps with motor skills. Playskool Busy Gears has been enjoyed by both of my boys over the past two years and I would highly recommend it to other parents of toddlers!

kvautour

Ann Arbor, MI

we purchased the playskool busy gears toy for our son for his first christmas.  he had played with our neighbour's daughter's and seemed to like it well enough. it was a big hit!  he loves taking the gears off and putting them on and pushing the button and watching the gears all move around.  he loves the little tunes it plays too and will stand up and wave his arms in the air and bop up and down to the music. there is one gear for each of the sockets and the gears themselves are very brightly coloured.  of course as is with any toy with many parts we found that within a couple of days the gears had managed to get under the couch and in the other room.  i would advise tidying this up once your child is done playing with it for the day. he also got the ball and gears toy from playskool which has another 5 gears.  so we have many to mix and match and stack with which makes the busy gears today more fun than it already was.

gmscot

Stone Mountain, GA

We gave the Playskool Busy Gears toy to our almost 12 month old son for Christmas and he has been excited to play with it every single day since then!  He is always taking the gears off and rearranging them.  The colors and lights definitely keep his attention and he dances to all of the fun songs that play on it.  He learned very quickly to push the Playskool button to get it started and then he starts dancing right away.  Our son also loves to put a toy on the biggest gear and watch it turn on there too.  I would definitely recommend this toy to others, and I would have gotten it for him at a younger age, but I did not even know about it until recently when I saw it at a used store.  We played with it there and we knew it was a hit and were able to find one at Christmastime too.  I don't remember what the age suggestion is on the box, but the pieces are big enough so they are not choking hazards and the lights and colors would entertain at a very young age.  Also, it doesn't seem to hurt our son when he puts his finger between gears, but the only con is that it is very loud!

cole0349

Minneapolis, MN

I dont buy my daughter too many toys as I would rather have her running around playing in the yard but I saw this, read the reviews and bought it. She loves it! So does his little friends when they come over for a play date. I was under the impression that it was similar to yet another toy that looks like this and goes on the fridge. Although you can rearrange the gears, they are on certain pegs, so you're not really putting them ANYWHERE on the board that you want. It is pretty cool, but again, not the toy I expected. It is a good starter toy before you get the real refrigerator gears that are for two years and up i believe. The music and sound of the gears rotating isnt the best to listen to for hours but it keeps her entertained. She also enjoys taking the gears on and off. She also loves stopping the motion with her finger after starting it, and I have been amazed that this doesn't pinch her or cause the toy to break. It also doesn't come with batteries, and requires a small screw driver to install them but other then that its pretty impressive! Great for older babies and young toddlers.

amazingmom

Warren, MI

We received the Busy Gears set as a hand me down from a relative who's child didn't enjoy this toy, and it seems my son is no different. He usually ends up chewing on the gears or throwing them around. The gears get lost all the time--we're constantly finding them under the couch, across the room, carried to another part of the house, etc. And when you don't have enough gears, the toy is much harder to play with! When you have lots of gears you can make it work fairly easily, but when many are missing you have to plan it out so you can get it working. Maybe my son just isn't old enough for that step, but if it doesn't work easily he just gives up. He is mildly interested in watching us put it all together and making it work, but that wears out quickly. The toy is also annoying when it jams, which seems to happen often. If your clothes or another toy gets on there, the gears won't turn and they make a very annoying noise. Maybe I'll try putting this toy away to see if my son enjoys it more later, because right now it's just an annoying mess.

claritygolden

Evanston, IL

We got this for our daughter's first birthday and six months later she still enjoys it. This toy is helpful for teaching cause and effect, colors, and fine motor skills. She loves the lights and the music and of course moving the cogs all around. The con of this toy is that the cogs tend to disappear. We have not actually lost any, but sometimes they take a while to find. Another negative is that the toy is noisy. We use this at home, but I would be hesitant to take it anywhere because of how easy it is to lose the cogs and how loud it is. We have this toy at the daycare I work, and I have noticed that children ages 9-30 months seem to enjoy this toy. It is very gender neutral as well. This toy will keep my daughter entertained for several minutes and she is able to remove and put on the cogs on her own. I would definitely recommend this to others. I anticipate her liking this toy for several months to come.

Bookwormbabe

East Lansing, MI