Little minds need imaginative play to help them develop and grow, and there is no better way to encourage creativity then introducing a new toy or game into their playtime. 

Our Junior Toy Analyst, Aria, tested out toys featuring two of her favourite things – Barbies and music.

Check out what Aria and her mum thought below  

Meet Aria, one of our littlest reviewers

Age: 4

Favourite colour: Pink … of course!

Favourite food: Ice-cream

Favourite toy: Barbie

Aria loves all things pink, glittery and shiny and you can usually find her on the lounge floor surrounded by her Barbies and all their accessories. She loves making up stories and we often overhear some very interesting Barbie dialogues! Painting her nails and changing her shoes several times a day are also among her favourite activities.

Barbie Fashionista

Playing Barbies is a firm favourite in our household so Aria was over the moon when she saw the latest addition to her tribe. All the Barbies she has are blonde and blue-eyed, so seeing her new darker-skinned Fashionista Barbie (who she promptly named Marina) amongst the others sparked a conversation between us. We talked about differences and acceptance, and how the world is a more interesting place because of all the different kinds and colours of the people in it – not a conversation we’ve ever had before, but one that felt very relevant when looking at what is going on in the world right now. When I asked her what she thought of Marina, Aria looked down at her and stroked her hair, smiling, “She’s beautiful”.

At the back of the Barbie Fashionista’s box, there is an image of all the different types of Barbies in this range and I was so impressed. Not a typical blonde, blue-eyed Barbie in sight. They are all shapes and sizes, colours and genders, and look, like … well, real people. Aria has already selected a few more in the range that she’d like to add to her birthday list and I am all for it – what better way to teach my little girl about inclusivity than through playing with her favourite toy?

Marina has fitted in well with her new family and has even been in the bath a few times (and only Aria’s favourites get bath time with her!). It’s lovely to watch Aria play with her Barbies, listening to the conversations she makes up for them and the activities she has them do together. There are endless hours of imaginative play to be had.

As an added bonus, the price point on this range is fantastic and I will definitely be looking out for them the next time I’m shopping for a birthday present, either for Aria or one of her friends. Every little girl needs one of these ‘real’ Barbies in her collection!

Trolls World Tour – Tiny Dancers Find Your Beat Pack

This is such a cute little pack if you have a child as into Trolls as Aria is. It also helps that she loves to sing and dance, so the concept behind the tiny dancing trolls is genius. The pack comes with six characters from the Trolls World Tour movie, each with its own little ring which clips easily into the back of the character so that you can slide it onto your finger tip. The head is stationary while the bodies and legs are moveable, so when you wiggle your finger it looks as though the Trolls are dancing!

Aria thought this was very funny and it made her giggle as she sang songs and made the Trolls bop along with her tunes. As soon as her older brother got home, she couldn’t wait to show them off to him and he thought they were just as entertaining as she did. The two of them then spent ages playing with them in a puppet-show style game, creating scenes that they made up as they went along. As a parent, listening to this kind of happy imaginary play between your two children is priceless.

This is a very simple toy pack, there is nothing complicated involved which is the beauty of it. I think this would be a fantastic toy to have on hand for any long road trips or flights – they could keep any child entertained and using their imagination to pass the time. They can also be worn as a ring on smaller fingers and attached to hairbands which makes them quite versatile (and fashionable, when you’re four years old!).

The toys in this review were provided to Kidspot by The Warehouse.

Has your child recently discovered a new favourite toy?

See more:

• Blink – will you be your family’s champion? | Kids review
• Build skills and explore with LEGO creator 3in1 | Kids review

If you have a child aged 8 – 15 who would like to be one of our resident toy, book and movie reviewers, fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch next time we need a kid reviewer.