Count Down to Christmas - Little Tikes 3-in-1 Trike with DS Dash!

Thinking of toys I remember from my childhood and there are a few stand out ones which always spring to mind. If you think back to your play grounds and friend’s back gardens I bet you’ll remember the same toys I do because there are just a certain few which were the best and we all knew it! It’s not really a surprise then that some of these toys are still on the market today! One of the most well-loved from my memory is the Cozy Coupe made by Little Tikes. I didn’t have one myself but I remember playing with them at play groups and my brothers (who are younger than me) had one passed on to them from cousins. They’ve been around entertaining children for 30 years would you believe! The ones I played with didn’t have eyes like they do today and some small changes have been made but for the most part it’s still the same design and it’s stood the test of time rather well I think you’ll have to agree! I know people who have had them third, fourth, fifth hand even – they were certainly built to last! When my Mum bought Florence a ride on toy for her first birthday a couple of years ago it was with no hesitation then that she decided to get her one of these cars too! It didn’t actually cost that much money if I’m honest and I know that it will last for all my children to play with then we will be able to pass it on to someone else. Even if it’s been in the garden for winter after winter I know it will still be working and children will love it – now that’s what I call money well spent! There’s a durability to Little Tikes toys that make them brilliant value. We also have the Whale Teeter Totter that’s been in my Mum’s garden for yonks now and it just never tarnishes and keeps on being good as new!

My brothers playing in their cozy coupe some 20 years ago!

Almost two decades on from her Uncles and Florence on her first birthday with hers! She’s nearly 3 now and still has years of play left in this toy as will Jimmy!

I love the fact that these toys can be kept for years. As a Mum on a budget I’m a tremendous fan of any toy which might have longevity – give me a toy that they’ll be able to play with for years and I’m happy to pay a bit more for it even. Not only am I a Mum on a budget but I’m a Mum without a great deal of space. The Cozy Coupe and Teeter Totter are sadly toys my children have to play with at my Mum’s house and garden because we just don’t have the room… Choosing toys to keep in London at our house always ensures even more dilemmas because they’ve got to be good value, last a long time and be either compact or worthy of taking up space. So we know I love Little Tikes toys and we know I don’t have much room. It is with great delight then, that I can tell you about our latest find from their extensive range – something which is entirely worth taking up a bit of space for and something which BOTH my children can enjoy despite being totally different ages! The 3-in-1 Trike with DS Dash is fabulous and we have all been enjoying playing with it recently as I’m sure we will do for many years to come!

First of all I have to say that I am fairly familiar with the concept of these type of toys – the trike which can be pushed by parents for smaller babies and changed as they grow into finally being a trike they can peddle on their own. We have used other brands in the past and although I have enjoyed using them I have found faults that I haven’t found with this Little Tikes version. The Little Tikes 3-in-1 trike is the same in the sense that it accommodates a baby as young as 9 months up to 36, it transforms at the same stages and the basic design is pretty standard. Where it changes and becomes better than others I have seen is in the detail. So, for the stage one – for a baby from 9-18 months – there is a 5 point harness which some other brands don’t have choosing instead to only harness over the lap. I particularly liked this as it made me feel secure knowing my baby was properly strapped in and could neither loll forward or fall out. Jimmy is only 7 months old but I had no hesitation in letting him have a go in the trike and he absolutely loved it! This trike also has an all singing, all dancing dash-board which not only encloses the baby in the trike even more securely but provides them with endless entertainment! There are buttons to push which produce various sound effects from the ignition starting to a honking horn and many in between! And then there’s the steering wheel! Jimmy just loved turning this and watching it make the indicator lights flash in whichever direction he had turned the wheel! I thought he would be too young to play with the electronic features but he absolutely loved them and then when you remove the dash for an older child they can also play with it separately! What a good idea! For this first stage the pedals can be disengaged and the handle bars locked so steering comes from the pushing parent!

Stage 1 – Guided. Jimmy loved it in the trike! And I felt very secure that he was safe! He, like his sister is not a big child yet fitted nicely in here! As you can see, it was a freezing day and we’d no need to use the sun canopy but found it easily maneuverable and it will be fab on a sunnier day!

Going out for a walk and it makes a nice alternative to taking the buggy! (Can you see our whale teeter totter – see, told you we love Little Tikes!)

Now, we don’t actually have a baby at the stage two phase but Florence is tiny and even fits in the trike on the smallest setting (the seat can be in three different places) so she demonstrated the change from stage 1 – 2 for me.

Stage 2 – Learning.

As you can see, stage two is again for the parents to push with the five point harness still in place and the pedals disengaged. The foot rest is down (at stage one the baby can’t really reach the foot rest so it doesn’t really matter if it is down or up) but it can be pushed back when not in use. The handle bars are also still locked which is good because the little one can’t veer you of on a course you don’t wish to take, something which I have known other similar trikes do. This is a great mode to pop to the shops as you have the truck at the back of the trike to fill with shopping, the handy bag which fits on the handle bar pushed by the parent will roomily will fit your purse, keys, phone, nappies and a change of clothes and the cup holder on the pushing bar is very handy for a toddler drink! The toddler has more freedom now that the dash-board is not there but they still are not quite old enough to be in control of the trike themselves. This is a happy medium recommended for ages 12-18m.

Florence is old enough to use the trike at stage 3 but she enjoyed being pushed and the pushing handle is very simple to add or remove so it can be changed quickly if needed.

Then we came to stage 3. Florence is very almost 3 and at the upper age limit for the trike but I would say she still has plenty of time left to play with this one. As I mentioned earlier, the seat can be put back twice more from the starting position (which she still needs it at now) and she is only half the upper weight limit of 23kg! I think the age is a guideline and if you know you have a really tall and heavy child then you know it will definitely be ok until the age they state but if you have a smaller little one then I’m sure this toy will last and last!

Stage 3 – Independent. Florence can reach the pedals with the seat furthest forward and ride herself in the trike! We use it both in and outdoors as I find the wheels very easy to just wipe clean!

So at stage three the handle for the parent is removed, they no longer need the harness, the pedals are engaged so they can ride themselves and the handle bar is unlocked so they can independently steer! The truck at the back can now be filled with whatever they want to ride round with them and off they go! You can remove the harness entirely or as I have done, just do it up behind the seat which means you can then choose quickly and easily to change stages as the other items are clicks and pushes to fit!

Florence fills up her truck and enjoys playing outside too!

All in all I have found the 3-in-1 trike with DS Dash to be of excellent value, it has the exceptional quality and feel of durability that I have come to expect from Little Tikes and with all the extra features it’s perfect for the age range specified and beyond in my opinion. I have found when putting together other products from Little Tikes and again in this case, that although the putting together process is straight forward and depicted in great detail from the instructions, it does take longer than expected and often a second person is needed! Not one to be left for Christmas morning and definitely to be built beforehand. Saying that, it’s not something which is frustrating or fiddly, all the tools apart from a Phillips screwdriver are included and it’s straight forward – it just takes a bit of time. Oh, and 3xAAA batteries are required which do not come included! I remember many a birthday or Christmas and not having the batteries for a new toy so that’s definitely one to be remembered in advance!