REVIEW Melissa and Doug's Band in a Box

In every family, there is that one family member who gives the noisy toys to the nieces and nephews. Through the recorders and drums and bells, you swear that when they have kids you're going to give them exactly what they gave to you. For my family, that member is my boyfriend, T. He has always gone out of his way to find the noisiest toys possible for his nieces and nephews and I know that payback is on the way.

The funny thing is that after ten years as a nanny the noisy toys don't bother me anymore. That is mostly because I rotate out a lot of the toys so that I can get a break from them and also because for many of the noisy toys my nanny kids have had there is a reason behind them being given. They have some kind of educational value that is more than just the noise and it's because of this that I really get in on the gift giving with T and hand out musical instruments. 

Music is an amazing thing for children of all ages to be a part of. Most children enjoy music and regardless of the type, they're always willing to listen and have a dance. But there is an educational point to music that isn't just to do with them learning to play an instrument. 

Whether a child is singing, listening, dancing or playing along with music, they are involved in a process called aural discrimination and sequential learning which are skills that are important later when they are beginning reading comprehension. On top of that, research shows that music involves both sides of a person's brain regardless of whether they are physically playing it or if they are listening to it. 

It's why being a part of some kind of music class is great. However, not everyone is able to have access to those kinds of classes, which is why having instruments in your home is a great alternative. If you don't have room for a piano or a drum set that's fine - and I honestly wouldn't suggest them until your children get bigger and show an interest in playing bigger instruments - but having a box like Melissa and Doug's Band in a Box is a great alternative, especially for young children. 

The box comes with six different instruments, all in the percussion range, and are amazing quality. The set that you can see in the photos is the same set we have had since Miss F was six months old and they have been lovingly played with since then. 

They all make a great noise when you play with them and because of the differences in the instruments I've found the Miss F enjoys playing with each one, one after the other. The majority of them are made out of wood, with the exception of the skin on the tambourine, the symbols, and the triangle, so they're all really heavy duty and won't break really easily. 

If you're worried about the noise, don't be. The loudest instruments in the box are the tambourine and the triangle and you can use them to demonstrate soft playing on top of allowing them to just go for it when you're feeling up for it. Everything else needs a lot of effort in order to sound like a marching band of elephants is coming through your house.

What I also love about this set is that it's not abundantly bright like some children's toys. It stays in the primary colour's range mostly but it doesn't look as if a unicorn has invaded the painting area of the factory. As someone who doesn't particularly like overly colourful children's toys, I appreciate this. 

Now, as amazing as I find this box there are a couple of things that you do need to know. The maracas and the triangle are surprisingly heavy, so be aware of that as we have had a couple of energetic shakes with the maracas that have ended with an egg-shaped lump on Miss F's head. The triangles baton is not attached to the triangle so it could be easily lost. We've countered that by attaching a piece of ribbon to the triangle so everything stays together. 

The create that you see in the picture is what it comes in and because it's wood as well it's great to storing everything in. It's also big enough for us to add the other instruments that we have collected to add to our growing selection. To add onto our collection we've purchased some castanets and some bell rattles so we have a bit more of a variety for Miss F to play with.

I don't want to come across as if I'm trying to sell you this product, because although I'm going to link an affiliate link below, Melissa and Doug are not sponsoring me in any way. This is just a product that I recommend to a lot of friends who have kids as I do with a lot of Melissa and Doug's toys because I find them to be such a great investment.

Melissa and Doug's Band in a Box retails at about $46.95AUD depending on where you buy it from as you can get it cheaper in other places. However, if you're interested in buying it on Amazon you can find the listing here.

What instrument do you or your little one like to play with?