Very occasionally, a new toy will arrive in our lives and become such an integral part of our daily life that I barely even notice it is there. The Little Tikes Jelly Bean Racer was sent to us for review a couple of months ago now and from the very moment that I unpacked it, Holly has been riding it around the house. Every evening when we get home from work, every night before bed, every morning before breakfast Holly can be seen shooting from room to room. At first it seemed a bit strange to watch her sit down on this ride-on just to travel two metres into the next room but now it has become such a common sight that it no longer feels strange.
Ever since Holly turned 1 (she is about to turn 3) we have been trying to find a ride-on toy that would work well on the floors inside the house. We had a good quality ride-on for use in the garden but we have always wanted an indoor option for Holly who has a lot of energy inside the house that we like to harness. To date, we had tried a number of options but they all either struggled on carpet, or else tipped over too easily. The Little Tikes Jelly Bean ride-on has worked perfectly for us - it is as usable for Holly on our carpets as it is on laminates or tiles and it seems very stable indeed.
The Little Tikes Jelly Bean Ride-On Racer is available from Online4Baby for £58.95. It comes in red or pink. We like it because it is so simple - it isn't trying to be anything other than a fun ride-on toy. There are no compartments to hide things in and no electric pieces to make noises. Holly just loves rushing around the house on it. The Jelly Bean has two thick handles for your little one to grab on to and a nice flat, thick seat area. There are four wheels which provide a good level of stability and it is sturdy enough and strong enough to use both indoors and outdoors.
The Little Tikes Jelly Bean Racer does look a bit like a jelly bean! I love the fact that it isn't branded or emblazened with TV characters and so Holly can enjoy it for what it is... a means of moving from A to B. Fast. It is suitable for small people from about 1 year old to around 3 years old (I think Holly has a good year's worth of use ahead of her!).
I think this is a great first ride-on toy and I just wish we had discovered it when Holly was younger and not wasted our money on other alternatives. If there is one slight downside, it is that the steering is very direct (point yourself in the direction you want to go) and Holly still finds that she needs to stand up, manouvre the ride-on and then sit back down again...I don't think she needs to, just that she hasn't found the steering to come naturally and when you are only ever travelling between rooms of the house, there isn't much need for steering.
