Maxwell is a happy and energetic toddler who loves to run around inside and out so when we were recently sent Neil the Seal by Tomy to review, Maxwell was keen to try it out.
Neil The Seal is an activity toy aimed at children 18 months +. Neil is part of the play to learn range from Tomy and he is here to help your child's dexterity. Neil loves to balance his beach ball on his nose. When you push Neil along you need to catch the ball in his flippers. Once he catches the ball in his flippers, Neil magically goes on to balance the ball onto his nose. The ball spins as Neil is pushed along!
Neil The Seal is very colourful and can be fun for all the family. When you push Neil along he makes a loud clicking sound which Maxwell enjoyed hearing. Maxwell enjoyed pushing Neil around but at first he did have a little trouble getting Neil to pick the ball up and this made Maxwell frustrated. We found that if you run towards the ball the ball will push away so the idea is to walk slowly towards the ball so Neil is able to scoop the ball up with his flippers. After a lot of practice Maxwell now manages to get Neil to pick the ball up and he loves to see Neil spin the ball on his nose.
Neil comes in two parts and is very easy to assemble. Neil is easy to transport to places and is easy to store at home as he is not a large toy. Neil does not require batteries which I think is great as we spend a fortune normally buying them.
One of my main worries about this toy is that Neil only comes with one ball. Without the ball Neil would not be the fun toy that every child would dream about. I have found that Maxwell has misplaced the ball on several occasions and I often worry if he was to loose the ball how the toy would be functional.
Neil makes a perfect toy for the summer as well as the winter as he has been designed to be played with inside the house and outside. When playing outside I would say Neil is more suitable to be played with on a flat concrete surface. Maxwell played with it on the grass however Neil didn't respond to catching the ball very well and the ball kept rolling away.
Although I had a few concerns about the toy Maxwell enjoyed using it and it is now a firm favorite from his toy box. We have had this toy for 2 weeks and I have already noticed that Maxwell's hand and eye co-ordination is much better. Maxwell continues to play with Neil and he hasn't shown signs of getting bored of it yet.
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I did not receive any financial reward for writing this review.However we did receive the product for review purposes. Everything written in this post is my own, honest opinion.