I got this for my 14mo to grow into. I know, I know. She can't reach the microwave or freezer yet but I pull up a chair and she sits on my lap and we play - her putting things into the microwave & closing the door, me making noises pushing the button stickers and we both make a microwave hum as I spin the object in the microwave around. The ice machine is a super cool feature. She can load the ice machine but hasn't figured out how to push the lever in the door to get the ice out but thinks it's a pretty neat trick how I do it. She then runs around the house with the ice advertising 'ice' to everyone. She's not strong enough to turn the oven knobs on her own.
Drawbacks:
The backsplash is just printed sturdy cardboard, as expected, but it's the only child-sensitive piece on this. The smallest bit of liquid on it and the print goes away where it got wet. Which gets to my next point...
Intentional Montessori misuse:
I completely misuse this for Montessori setup. After my daughter eats, I pop this kitchen sink out and put about an inch of water in it and pop it back in. I then take my messy daughter to this sink for her to wash up. And she loves it. She's too young for a stool at the real kitchen sink and is awkward to hold her over the real kitchen sink, but she's perfect for this play sink. I just need to make sure she doesn't get too wild with the water. When she's finished, I pop this sink out and clean it in the real sink, dry it, and pop it back in this play kitchen. Bravo!
Assembly:
Assembly was easier than expected. Seriously. The instructions were very good except 1 unclear step that was easy to redo. Mommy brain makes me forget which step that was, I'm sorry. Time: It took me 2 episodes of Daniel Tiger to assemble.
During assembly, my husband was applying the door stopper thingies and was pressing down too hard on the freezer one and completely broke the shelf. So, this is strong enough for a kid but not for a husband hulking his way through assembly.
This product review was collected by the manufacturer.