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Melissa & Doug Stainless Steel Pots and Pans Pretend Play Set

Curated from 116 real Reddit conversations

Refreshed on: January 22, 2025

Melissa & Doug Stainless Steel Pots and Pans Pretend Play Set

Brand: Melissa & Doug
Price: $17
Snoop Score:
6.5
Sentiment
7.5
Popularity
7.0
Technical
5.8

Snoop's Take

The Melissa & Doug Stainless Steel Pots and Pans Pretend Play Kitchen Set for Kids includes eight pieces of high-quality play cookware designed to stimulate imaginative play in children aged 3 to 6. This delightful set features hand-polished stainless steel pots and pans, along with wooden utensils, all neatly organized in a metal storage rack. Consumer sentiment regarding this product is overwhelmingly positive, with many users noting its ability to encourage imaginative play. One satisfied customer remarked, "It is a very consistently used toy, even 2 years later," showcasing its durability and lasting appeal. However, some users did express concerns about the practicality of cleaning multiple kitchens, stating, "But you will regret it as you'll find yourself cleaning 2 kitchens," and noted that the paint quality may deteriorate when wet, with one user mentioning that it was "completely ruined with paint coming off in chunks." Overall, despite some cleaning and quality concerns, the Melissa & Doug Stainless Steel Pots and Pans Pretend Play Kitchen Set is highly recommended for fostering creativity and fun in young children, making it a great addition to any playroom.

Not for you? Check out our other rated Kitchen Playsets

It is a very consistently used toy, even 2 years later.

Positive Feedback

But you will regret it as you'll find yourself cleaning 2 kitchens.

Negative Feedback
Product
6.5
Melissa & Doug Stainless Steel Pots and Pans Pretend Play Set
Imaginative Role Play
1 / 10
Educational Play
1 / 10
Indoor/Outdoor Entertainment
1 / 10
Gift & Party Activity
1 / 10
See how this compares to all Kitchen Playsets

What it does well!

Key strengths users can’t stop talking about.
Encourages imaginative play
It is a very consistently used toy, even 2 years later.
I love it.
Wow, the comments are overwhelming positive! I'm getting one!

Where it needs some work!

Areas to watch—feedback on possible improvements.
Cleaning multiple kitchens can be burdensome
But you will regret it as you'll find yourself cleaning 2 kitchens.
Paint quality may deteriorate when wet
it was completely ruined with paint coming off in chunks.

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Core Power Plays

The specs and strengths that make it shine.
Preference for play kitchens with various features
Ours doesn't get much use for cooking play pretend but its a secondary toy storage shelf now.
Kitchen playsets are not essential for development but can facilitate imaginative play.
I think the best question here to ask is what is in your child's best interest?
Preference for non-plastic and wooden food items
My son currently has some seriously questionable plastic food that we got as a hand-me-down. He bit into a piece of toy bread and the plastic went *CRACK* into his mouth and I'm like yeeeah nope this isn't gonna work.
Ikea has a bunch of pretend food, they are all felt I think. Always a first choice for nontoxic toys personally.
I would look for Melissa & Doug wooden food as the more budget friendly option. For nicer, I have a few food items from le toy van and it is great quality.
Yeah, I still feel better about an object that has a thin coating on the surface than one that is 100% plastic particles 🤷🏻‍♀️ whenever our play food eventually reaches the end of its life and it needs to be disposed of, I feel better about the amount of microplastics from wood + paint eventually decomposing into the environment than polyester fluff.
Rotating toys can improve play engagement
Agree with this comment! The playroom is a great idea but maybe you can so shelves and switch out toys so that he has something new to play with, but not too many toys that he gets overwhelmed.
Yep, my daughter's behavior and play got way better when I put away about half her toys.
Imaginative play is valued and often linked to kitchen playsets
My girlfriend has now ruined two of my stainless steel pots.

Hidden Hero Hacks

Unexpected tricks and side‑door uses you’ll love.
Preference for wooden over plastic kitchens
I find the plastic ones: space is smaller inside the fridge, oven… because the plastic walls are bigger, the counter space ends up being rounded or curved and so there is less room to place things.
Wooden toys - Grimm’s, Ocamora, etc. Magnatiles. Wooden blocks. Duplo. Sumblox. Schleich animals and dinosaurs. Wooden play kitchen. Felt or wooden play food. Stainless steel pots and pans for play kitchen. Indoor swing.
DIY or low-cost options are popular
I got ours from buy nothing. It’s a kid Kraft and it’s super heavy but keeps their interest.
Preference for traditional and basic play kitchens
My kid loves it. He uses it as a kitchen set, but also as a variety of other things like a truck garage and an office.
What Melissa and Doug toys do your toddlers love? And what is their age?
Play kitchens are often customized with decals
The IKEA one is kind of plain, but there’s a pretty solid market for decals and decor for it on Etsy.
Play kitchens often customized by users
Kids play w play kitchens for YEARS

Buyer’s Cheat Sheet

What to check before you click ‘Add to Cart.’
Frequent use of kitchens by young children
It gets daily use at 3. Her 7 month old brother also loves it.
Both my kids have exclusively pooped while playing with their play kitchen from like 18 months to 2.5. It serves an essential role!
My daughter is almost 4 and has gone through phases of playing with it but it still gets a lot of play for how simple it is.
Preference for secondhand options due to longevity
I feel like it’s one of those things that people are always getting my rid of because their kids outgrew it, but they hold up really well.
Preference for secondhand options due to cost
Kitchens can be pretty expensive if you buy them new and there’s no guarantee that your kid will even like it.
Mixed opinions on brand comparisons
I third IKEA. My sister had the ikea so I got the Melissa and Doug and while it’s fine my son plays with the ikea one more
We got a second hand ikea duktig for her second birthday and she loves it!! So my vote goes to Ikea as well :)
Secondhand kitchen sets are popular for cost-saving.
Doesn't have to be the biggest, bulkiest toy kitchen in the market.
Our daughter lovesssss it.
Libraries offer Melissa and Doug toys for borrowing
ours has tons of Melissa and Doug puzzles and other toys that we can take out for two weeks, it's a perfect rotation.
Comparison to other brands like Hape and Coco Village
We have lots of Hape toys and they are really good quality.
I like Coco Village. They have big sales throughout the year!

Cautionary Callouts

Know the pitfalls before they catch you off guard.
Imaginative play is more important than features
They will use any features they have, and use imagination for the rest!
The extra features are cool and get used but she doesn't look at hers and then ask to go to the library XD
Recommendations for toddler kitchen I’m overwhelmed at the choices and vast options when really she might lose interest after a day.
Toy kitchens - a gimmick or something a child will actually enjoy?
Kids love opening and closing cabinets
The best part is the sink is removable, so he loves dropping things down and retrieving them.
Concerns about lead testing accuracy
Melissa and Doug Toys Positive for Lead I swabbed some of my daughter’s toys and surprisingly the set of play cookware and the shopping cart by Melissa & Doug are positive for lead.
Those tests are crazy inaccurate. They're notorious for false positives, partly because of contamination from other sources (tap water, air pollution).
Preference for wooden items can lead to safety concerns
See I really like that because my son is really into throwing everything for no reason
So I have a thrower too, and honestly the wooden play toys aren’t my favorite.
Concerns about lead testing and safety
Are they good quality ? I only learned of the lead into the 2000's bit recently looking through old threads on here.
Some brands are considered to last longer than others
Kids still play with it.

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