Headu My First Words Review

Reviewed by Jo Hardy

This toy consists of twelve animal puzzles and thirty six stick on eyes.  It is suitable for children from three years up to six years. 

The puzzles are made from very sturdy cardboard so will withstand a lot of handling and pushing about and the box it comes in is also very sturdy.  All the animals are very bright and colourful and have the animals name written in bold black on the bottom, each letter on a separate jigsaw piece.

Depending on the size of the animal the individual jigsaws range from three pieces for the owl to six pieces for the turtle and for added fun when each animal jigsaw is completed for the first time you get to add the stick on eyes.  Some animals need two eyes sticking on and some who are in profile only need one eye sticking on.

I introduced these puzzles to the three year old in our family.  She is at the youngest age that this toy is suitable for and I think it was the first time she had attempted puzzles of this type.  To help her get started I picked out the pieces for the first animal and let her work out how to put them together.  She eventually got the knack of the best way the hold the pieces so they would fit together. I noticed from watching her just what an ideal size the pieces were for her hands to manipulate into place.  Once the first animal was made she very carefully put the stick on eyes in place then immediately chose the next animal to make up.  It wasn’t easy for her at first and I could see the concentration on her face, but once an animal was completed her smile beamed from ear to ear and she looked so proud of her achievements.  Together we then read out the name of the animal and made the noise of the animal.  I have to admit the noise a zebra and turtle make were a bit of a challenge for me.

Both my husband and myself commented that this was the first toy we had known to hold her attention for so long as normally she flits from one toy to another only playing with each one for five minutes or so. From just the second time we played with these puzzles I could see she was getting quicker at identifying the correct pieces and quicker at fitting them together.  This toy will be a great help to her future development and soon we will be able to try writing the words. 

My First Words is made in Italy by the Italian company Headu.  If you visit their web site you will find suggestions for various games you can play with these jigsaws as with as all the other toys the company makes.

Rating: 5/5

RRP:  The RRP of this product is £13.99. 

It is available from www.funlearning.co.uk priced at £13.00 plus postage and
www.lookagain.co.uk at a slightly higher price.