Our Hot Wheels Tub Racers arrived Monday afternoon, and Elliott (3) was very excited to find out a package had been delivered just for him!
Immediately, we had to sit down and put it together. It was quick and easy to assemble, so he was able to play with it right away.
When he realized he could take it into the bathtub with him he asked for a bath. I told him he could have his bath before bed like always and he said "Buuuut...I think I'm dirty now."
As you can see, it floats well, and doesn't take up too much room for a 3 year old, though I can't imagine taller kids having enough wiggle room. The one thing I didn't like about it during bathtime was that when you pushed the blue pump, the water squirted in all directions, which seemed to be right at eye level when you're in the bathtub. I know it's supposed to be a "water park" race track but he didn't seem to care for that part of it.
Elliott brings it out throughout the day, and brings all of his extra cars to play, and Emory just watches from the sidelines.
Recommended Age: 4+ Elliott just turned 3 in December, and it is perfectly suitable for him. However, the palm trees come apart (and will probably be lost before long) and would very easily pose a choking hazard for the baby, so Elliott has to play with it at a distance.
The track was listed as $19.99 on ToysRUs.com but at $29.99 on Amazon. I would not pay $30 for this toy, and I would only pay $20 for it on a very special occasion. In all reality, this is probably not something I would even buy under normal circumstances, but I can see it's appeal, and I am very glad Gather gave us the opportunity to review it. My son loves it, and when he is happy, I am happy. This will definitely make a great rotation for our bath toys.
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Comments: 22
My boys luv it.
He loved the new toy, though. My husband dug out his Lightening McQueen cars that are Hot Wheels size, so he played with them. He stayed in teh tub until he said his fingers hurt.
Elliott has a few Lightening McQueen cars, and asked me to find them, but then when we get his other hot wheels out, he won't put them on the racetrack, because they didn't come with it. He's very particular about playing with the "rigth" toys.
We house sat for an elderly couple that travels in the winter, and because they lived closer to the main roads, my MIL would stay with us when the weather was bad. He always went to bed and fell right asleep until she started coming over, because he would want to sneak out and see her. She got into the habit of "helping" Elliott to bed (i.e. laying there with him) so then he thought I was supposed to do that every night too! I was in the first trimester and after working FT I didn't argue and usually fell asleep in his room. So then when we came home, and the sun was out later, it would be like you said--after 11 before he'd go to sleep. I asked the babysitter to cut his naps back, but because he wasn't sleeping at night, he would crash for 2-3 hours at her house. I was miserable, until after Emory was born and since I was staying home I just quit putting him down for a nap. We'd take long walks every day and that helped too...but of course that's hard to do now that it's cold.
Right now his bedtime is about 830, and I rarely have a problem getting him in bed by 845, unless my husband isn't home until after 8, then we let him stay up until a few minutes after 9. He does usually sleep until around 830 or so, but he's up at least once during the night to play.
During the summer it's a whole different story, though. We do A LOT of stuff outside during the summer, but it doesn't seem to wear him out unless we put out the pool. And even though we let him swim in temps that still have a lot of people dressing their kids in long pants (not people that live HERE, but my mil is always horrified to hear that Elliott is swimming when the temp is 70, and reminds me that her neighbor's kid is wearing jeans and long sleeves lol), it still just doesn't happen often enough. My kid can seriously get up at 8 am, walk 10 miles throughout the day (and that isn't an exaggeration, we walk a lot during the summer), not take a nap, and STILL want to stay up until 11 or later. I'm thinking it must be genetic or something. I rarely sleep more than 4 or 5 hours a night, especially during the summer, unless I'm having health issues.
Elliott's bedtime is preferably 8, except Wednesday nights; then it's just when we get home which is a little after 8:30, so it's usually about 9:00 when he goes down. Family Night is supposed to be Thurday nights, but with everything going on at my husband's work right now, he's getting home much later than usual, and Elliott won't let you forget that it's family night, so we will usually play one short game before bed.
If I only got 4 hours of sleep I would be useless. I'm one of those that could sleep all night and still take a nap. It was hard at first when the baby was born, and I did make Elliott nap then, or at least stay in his room for quiet time, but Emory only cat naps now, so I really can't take a nap anymore...cat naps just make me more irritable!
As much as I sleep, my husband sleeps even more, and I'm the one home all day. He falls asleep as soon as Elliott goes to bed
On the weekend, he will sleep 10-12 hours straight, then nap on and off all day long on the couch, oblivious to the world. Must be nice, since I'm the one up throughout the night. Last night when the baby woke up at 2AM to eat, we both fell asleep in the chair, and the next thing I knew, it was 3;45, LOL! I'm so used to the baby's old schedule though, that I still stay up late because he used to be up so much at this time.