1-2-3 Just Play With Me {a review}

I first heard about 1-2-3 Just Play With Me (from Milestones & Miracles) last fall when I read this review by fellow pediatric speech-language pathologist Katie at Playing With Words 365.  I was immediately intrigued!  And excited - I had just found my Christmas gift for my soon-to-be-born niece (and brother and sister-in-law). Peanut (my niece) is Ben and Katie's first child.  So I wanted to find a gift that would be useful to Ben and Katie...and as a SLP Aunt, I wanted to find something that would help encourage Peanut's development.  Play is so, so important to child development.  But for first time parents, play can be difficult to support and encourage - especially when they are babies.  This product just seemed like a perfect fit.  When it arrived, it took all of my self-control to not tear it open and check it out.  If you are wondering, I was good!

A few days after Christmas, Katie pulled the box out to show her mom.  I finally had my chance!  Katie's mom has a background in early education (and is a mother and grandmother).  And I am a pediatric speech-language pathologist.  I ended up kneeling next to Katie's mom and together we looked through the cards.  Actually, we kind of "geeked out" over them.   

We found cards organized by age (in 3 month spans from birth to 3 years old) covering the five domains of child development: fine motor, gross motor, speech & language, cognitive, and social/emotional (color-coded by domain).  The cards highlight developmental milestones for each 3-month age span and offer some suggestions for activities to support those skills.  At the back of the box are several cards listing additional resources/references.  You can find more detailed information on "what's in the box" here.  From our brief perusal, Katie's mom and I were both impressed.  But we both have a wealth of background knowledge and related education.  I was curious to get the perspective of a couple of "newbies".

Ben and Katie graciously agreed to help me review this product via a Q & A interview.  Peanut was crawling around in and out of view as we chatted via FaceTime.  So I'll be paraphrasing their responses.  At this point, they are nearing 1 year in.

Disclosure: I purchased this product and gifted it to Ben/Katie/Peanut.  None of us have received any compensation for this review, and the opinions expressed are our own.

Q: What do you like most?  A: The little tasks/activity suggestions.  Those have been helpful.  Also, having the milestones listed for each age ("at this age your child may be able to ...").

Q: What do you like least?  A: Not really something I liked least, but I (Katie) was hoping for more in-depth information.  As a first time parent, all the books seem to say the same thing (basic milestones).  The milestone information in this seemed like the same information you read in most parenting books.  This product seems a little more high-end, so I was hoping for a little more detail or a little more insight into the bits of information that are in all of the books.  I was fortunate to be able to do a lot of reading while I was pregnant, so I just wish this had something different from the books.  With my mom having a background in early education, I have a small library of books.  And I was blessed to have the time to read them.  But for someone who isn't reading all of the books, this is SUPER useful.

Q: Is it easy to use and understand?  A: Incredibly!

Q: Life-hacks: how do you use it/work it into your busy lives?  A: The way that it's set up in 3-month increments, at each 3-month mark I read through the next set of cards.  I pick out activity ideas that sound the most interesting.  Some are cleaver enough that I remember them.  Sometimes I will put the card up on the refrigerator as a reminder to do it later.  I also keep the box in an easy to access/visible spot (on Peanut's bookshelf) and will pull them out when I am sitting there and re-read  the current cards throughout the 3-month period as a refresher. 

Q: Do you have a wish list for future updates?  A:

1 - More game ideas.  Some of the suggestions included are things that seem obvious.  I would like more suggestions for things that as a new parent (and one that has not specifically studied early childhood development) I wouldn't think of or naturally do.  Ideas that an early childhood educator might come up with - like something if Peanut was going to a really good preschool or daycare might do, but that I probably wouldn't do at home without the suggestion.

2 - There is a section on signing [sign language], but more suggestions/games for signing together.  Like nursery rhymes or songs with signs you can learn/do together.  Or key signs to learn/use at different ages (e.g. at this age use 'mommy', 'daddy', 'milk'; these are good food signs at this age, etc.). 

3 - And more in-depth information. 

Q: Is it a useful/helpful product?  A:Yes, absolutely.  It's quicker/ briefer, which is nice, than pulling out a book to read about the age/stage your child is in or will be in next. 

Q: It is designed to use through age 3. Will you continue to use it?  Why/why not?  A; Yeah, it's quick enough.  That's the good side to it being brief and not as detailed as I would like.  It is quick enough to pull out and read through and pick out the interesting ideas, that I think we definitely will continue to use it.

Q: I was thinking of making this my go-to baby gift.  Yea or nay?  A: Yes.  Absolutely.

Q: Advice for other parents?  A: Just remembering it.  If it's out of sight...it's out of mind.  With a little one there is so much going on, but if it is somewhere in sight, it is quick and easy to incorporate.  Like, keep it by your bed, read a card a night before you go to bed and a few nights later you have read all of the cards for that 3 month period.  It's only a week every three months.  It's doable.  As long as it's in sight, I think it's very useful.

Q: Any other comments/feedback?  A: I like the material that it's made out of; the cards are very sturdy, the box is nice/very sturdy.  For me, more sign language stuff, more detailed information, and more practical ideas to implement and games to play would be nice.  More games!  More activities to do together.

 

I mentioned to Katie that 1-2-3 Just Play With Me is now also available as an eBook (so could have it on an iPad, for example).  She commented that would probably be nice, but that she prefers the tangible cards that she can hold and hang on the fridge if she wanted, etc. 

You can purchase the print version (that we reviewed) of 1-2-3 Just Play With Me on the Milestones & Miracles website, Amazon (affiliate link), or ProEd. 

If you are interested in the new digital version, you can read more about it on the Milestones & Miracles blog, or purchase on Amazon/Kindle (affiliate link), Barnes & Noble/Nook, or iTunes (affiliate links) [Birth - 1] [1 - 2 years] [2 - 3 years].  With the digital versions, be sure to check you are getting the age range you want!

From what I saw when perusing 1-2-3 Just Play With Me, Ben and Katie's feedback, and other reviews I have read, I now feel good about having this as one of my go-to baby/new parent gifts.  And I feel comfortable mentioning it as a resource to people who may be interested or benefit from it.  Happy playing!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.