Kirti Bhartari

I am mother of one. Beside nurturing her the best way I can and taking care of my family fronts, I am passionate about cooking and ayurvedas. I also like spending time around intellectuals. And, in future, I would like to start my own NGO with one motive - helping humanity.

We all know how important sports are for a child’s physical and mental development. Given a chance, would you be able to name a single activity that you think will not only promote good habits or help your baby understand more about his surroundings, but also enhance his motor and mental skills? I am afraid, you won’t be able to name even a single game. While most companies are trying to usurp this section of the market, Flintobox is very close to the finishing line. Today, I would like to review Flintobox – House Explorer (for Toddlers Ages 2 – 3 Year Olds).

Packing

The Packing of Flintobox House Explorer is very colorful and attractive. Keeping children in mind, Flintobox has given special consideration to the choice of colors, illustrations, and material used. Most of the items are made of cardboard.

On the top, you can see the logo of the company.

On the sides, you can see the motto of the company i.e. Fun + Learning + Development. I think these three words (fun, learning, development) are explaining the philosophy of this product.

Inside the packing, you will get a storybook, activities’ timetable, a gift card of worth rupees 500 INR (with a 30 day’s validity), and 6 non-woven bags containing activities’ related stuff.

Overall, the packing of Flintobox House Explorer was great.

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Branding

Like other established brands, Flintobox seems very concerned about its branding and this shows their concerns about business reputation.

Be it the outer box, non-woven fabric bags, or the material within those bags, every little thing carries a Flintobox logo. I was really impressed as it certainly gave me positive vibes about the product.

Illustrations

Pictures and colors have been used exclusively in every activity of Flintobox House Explorer. I must say, every single illustration used is worth a praise. Amazing work was done by Madhuri.

I cannot think of a Flintobox without these pictures as removing these pictures mean killing the whole idea behind Flintobox.

This is not my daughter’s first cardboard game, and she has a collection of more than 50 of these. But, frankly speaking, I have never seen such a beautiful collection of illustrations, color combinations, and cartoon characters in a cardboard game, so far.

Impressive piece of work.

Printing Quality

Whether it is cardboard, pamphlet, or Emo’s house storybook, the printing quality is marvelous.

Every little piece is printed nicely and you won’t be able to find any flaw.

I don’t see any reason for not giving full marks to its printing.

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Selection of colors is tremendous

As I said in the beginning; choice of colors is awesome. As a matter of fact, kids love bright colors. And, after seeing the color selection, I can say that Flintobox did their homework.

This is a good way of teaching colors, as well. Now, my daughter can name most of the colors used in this pack.

Stories and Poems

The motive of this box is to teach important things in a game format. To make this task relatively easier, stories and poems are used.

Experts believe that children learn quickly from stories or poems, and they do take more interest in learning.

Activities

In this box, you will get 6 different activities, with the help of which your baby will be able to learn many important things, very easily. I will talk about these activities too (later in this article). The best thing is that you can repeat doing these 6 activities in as many ways as you can and this won’t let your baby feel bored or distracted.

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Ideology

I really like the ideology that works behind Flintobox. Like I said earlier, I have many more other board games, but after a few stages, they all become identical.

Flintobox House Explorer is a completely new idea and you won’t find any activity repeated. Although the main purpose of all activities is to promote coordination, logical thinking, motor skills, memory, care, sympathy, yet it is achieved through different activities and the infant feels that he is doing something new.

The Language (English) Used is Very Simple

Keeping 2 to 3 years’ old kids in mind, Flintobox used very simple language (English).

While learning about some good habits, a kid gets a chance to learn many new and essential words of English.

You Can Play it Anywhere

The best thing about Flintobox House Explorer is that you don’t need any special preparation to play this game. All you need is a safe place to sit and play. Unlike other cardboard games, you don’t need any extra material.

An Easy Way to Infuse Good Habits

There is no doubt that the upbringing plays an important role in the success or failure of a person. What kind of decisions a person takes in his life, hugely depends upon the kind of upbringing given to him; an overprotective kid will always shy.

Where some people believe that kids must learn it in a hard way (strictness and discipline), according to me, fun+learning is the best way. In this way, he will not only learn fast but will stick to those rules throughout his life. Flintobox house explorer is the best solution.

Future Creation

Every activity is designed in such a way that it can play an important role in shaping your baby’s future.

Through these 6 activities, your baby is going to have all those qualities that he must have to be a successful person.

Coordination Between Parents and Children

Nowadays, not many parents spend enough time with their kids. There are a few with restricted schedules, while there are a few who prefer to stay indoors because of heat, dust, pollution, insect bites, etc. Apart from this, there are many people who know nothing about the importance of brain activities?

If you are one of these, then Flintobox is for you. This educational activity box, not only improves the mental development of your child but also buy you a few moments of quality time that you can spend with your kid and family.

Stitching Instead of Stapler Pins

Unlike other story-books, for bookbinding, Flintobox opted for stitching instead of stapler pins.

We all know, how dangerous these pins could be and even a small negligence can be fatal.

I really liked its stitching. This also increases the life of the book because we all know how easily kids can damage these books.

Some Activities Are Not Age Suitable

I feel that some activities of Flintobox House Explorer are not suitable for 2-3 years old kids. Take ‘kitchen-fun’ for an example. I personally feel that this activity is a little difficult for a 2-year-old child. There are many such things that they can’t pronounce. Additionally, I think, it’s too early for a 2-year-child to learn about kitchen’s stuff. In my opinion, Flintobox can postpone this activity.

Some Activities Can Only Be Done in Your Presence

As per the packing, although parental supervision is a must, however, there are a few activities, especially locks & keys and house cleaning, where you cannot afford even a minute’s distraction. You have to do these activities in your own surveillance.

The keys are very small, and there is a choking hazard as the baby can easily swallow these.

Similarly, the handle of the mop (house cleaning activity) is nothing but a cardboard.

The mop heads are made of non-woven fabric.

We know, how kids of this age try to put everything in their mouth. I am not sure about the material it (mop handle) is made of, however, I am concerned about the safety of my kid.

Can Be Easily Damaged

Children between 2 and 3 years often put things in the mouth and incidents of spillage are nothing new. Since cardboard is one of the main material used and I feel no hesitation in saying that Flintobox house explorer’s content could easily be damaged.

Inside Flintobox house explorer box, you will find 6 different non-woven fabric bags with Flintobox branding. In each bag, you will find content for 6 different activities. Every activity directly contributes to your child’s brain development.

Through these activities, your baby will be taught about the various sections of the house such as kitchen, bedroom, bathroom etc. and the importance of cleaning the house. Additionally, he will learn a lot about values like sympathy, care, love, etc. Let us talk about the activities.

1. Explore the Home
2. Rock the Bed
3. 5 Little Monkeys
4. Kitchen Fun
5. Clean The House
6. Locks & Keys

In the first bag, you will see three different things.

A cardboard illustrating different sections of a house (such as bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom), a cardboard with 6 different (picture) tiles, and a pamphlet explaining more about the ways of performing & advantages of this activity.

You will see the same story on both sides of this cardboard. But the only difference is that on one side, there are illustrations. And, on the other side, a few of them are missing.

Here, you can help him pulling out a tile.

And, child sticks the tile according to the illustration.

On the flip-side, he has to do the same using his memory because there are no matching illustrations to help him.

Again, you can help him pulling out a tile.

And, ask him to stick one using his memory.

This is a great exercise for brain and memory enhancement. The main purpose of this activity is to enhance logic & reasoning, cognition, memory, and spatial relation.

This game seeks 5 minutes of parental involvement and at least 3 minutes of a child’s engagement.

Change in my daughter after this activity

After this activity, I have witnessed a few very interesting changes in my daughter. She has learned a lot about spatial relationships. In simpler terms, now she knows what belong to where. For an example, she knows from where she can have TV remote or her own sippy cup. I think this activity is not only improving her memory but her understanding
of spatial relations, as well.

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Now, if your baby begins to understand the concept of spatial relations from this age, I do not think he is ever going to behave like a lost cow. This is actually going to save him from becoming a chaotic personality.

The second activity of the Flintobox House Explorer series is Rock The Bed.

Again, in the packing, you will have three different things; a dummy bed, some essential (dummies) things like bed sheets, pillow etc. to make the bed, and a pamphlet explaining more about the ways of performing & advantages of this activity.

In order to make the bed, you will have to help the infant and once done, you can ask your baby to stick monkey face illustrations on it. Ask your baby to put a pillow under monkey’s head and cover him with the given bed-sheet. Then, tell your baby to rock the (dummy) bed with his fingers.

The main purpose of this activity is to develop imagination, care, and coordination in your child.

This game seeks 5 minutes of parental involvement and at least 20 minutes of a child’s engagement.

Change in my daughter after this activity

Since my daughter started this activity, I have noticed she has developed a special kind of attachment with a monkey (illustration). Now, before sleeping, she wants to make sure that her monkey is sleeping well. Every night before going to bed, she prepares her monkey’s bed. I am sure this activity will teach her about showing love and compassion for others. If my daughter is getting this big lesson from a cardboard game, then what can be better than that.

The third bag in the box of Flintobox House Explorer is of 5 Little Monkeys. Coincidentally, this is one of my daughter’s favorite poems. I remember, when I opened this bag and told her that there were 5 Little Monkeys, she was very happy, and she started the poem. “Five little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell down and bumped his head. Mamma called the doctor and doctor said, no more monkey jumping on the bed.”

In this bag, you will get 5 monkey faces (illustrations) made of a cardboard, a few colorful band-aids illustrations, and a pamphlet explaining more about the ways of performing & advantages of this activity.

In order to play this game, you need the same dummy bed (used in second activity). Your kid needs to stick those monkey faces in the given places. Thereafter, you need to ask him to rock the bed and you have to pretend like a monkey actually fell off the bed.

I can tell you when I play this game with my daughter and when the monkey falls down, my daughter lifts him up with a great care and sticks that band-aid (illustration) on monkey’s forehead. She acts like a doctor.

This activity promotes imagination, care and cognitive ability in your child.

This game seeks 15 minutes of parental involvement and at least 35 minutes/day of the child’s engagement.

Change in my daughter after this activity

I believe that this activity has nothing to do with the development of the brain, but it can seriously promote two most essential human emotions; sympathy and helping others.

Since my daughter started this activity, I have noticed these two aforementioned human emotions. Now, whenever I prank her that mommy is hurt, she immediately asks me to put a band-aid (illustrations) on the same.

In the fourth bag, you will find content related to the kitchen. In this bag, you will have a cardboard with an illustration of the kitchen, a small packet containing some cardboard tiles (kitchen accessories and eatables), and a pamphlet explaining more about the ways of performing & advantages of this activity.

Unlike first activity’s cardboard, where whole cardboard was divided into four different sections of the house, this time we have a cardboard with a detailed kitchen illustration.

This activity will help your baby to learn about the kitchen accessories and food items by their respective names.

This activity promotes coordination and logical thinking abilities of your child. Apart from this, your child begins to understand a lot more about kitchen things and their spatial relationships (what belongs to where).

This game seeks 5 minutes of parental involvement and at least 30 minutes/day of the child’s engagement.

Change in my daughter after this activity

I personally believe that a 2 to a 3 years old kid should be kept away from the kitchen. It could be dangerous because of many heavy and sharp objects. However, after doing this activity, my daughter now can identify several kitchen accessories by their names.

Fifth activity is one of my daughter’s favorite activities. In the bag, you will get a (dummy) mop, and a pamphlet explaining more about the ways of performing & advantages of this activity.

This mop is designed pragmatically. The handle of the mop is made using a strong cardboard and the mop head is made of non-woven fabric.

This activity increases the imagination of the child and at the same time, he learns about the importance of keeping his surroundings clean.

This game seeks 5 minutes of parental involvement and at least 20 minutes/day of the child’s engagement.

Change in my daughter after this activity

This is a very wonderful activity, as this makes a child understands the importance of cleanliness. I personally can’t bear any kind of garbage around me. Some people even call me a neat freak (a person obsessed with cleanliness). But, I like to take this criticism positively.

I believe, my daughter received the same (neat freak) genes from me. Should I try to land her on a dusty or muddy surface, she shouts as if I am going to land her on an insect. I think that this type of activity is surely going to make her a neat freak. Moreover, to keep your surroundings clean is a social responsibility of every human being.

In the sixth bag, you will have 5 different colors’ (blue, navy blue, green, red, and yellow) dummy locks, same color dummy keys, and a pamphlet explaining more about the ways of performing & advantages of this activity.

I liked the texture of the locks and keys. The choice of colors was also great.

Like the first and second act, this activity also increases the memory of the child, the ability of logical thinking, sensory, and coordination. Through this activity, you can not only teach your baby about colors but the importance of security, as well.

This game seeks 5 minutes of parental involvement and at least 25 minutes/day of the child’s engagement.

Change in my daughter after this activity

With this activity, my daughter now knows how to differentiate between two similar looking colors.

Your baby is a clean slate, and being a parent you are the first person to write anything on that slate. So, it is up to you, what you want to write on it. However, you must keep in mind that every single word of yours is going to define his personality, growth, and success level.

We know there is the difference between learning things under a strict or a friendly environment. Be it an adult or kid, we all tend to learn faster, when learning environment is friendly. Moreover, pressure affects performance.

Although you can force your kid to learn (good habit) something, yet this is not going to bring any positivism, and he is not going to perform to the level he can.

Therefore, I believe that if you really want to do something for the physical and mental development of the child and you want him to have all those qualities that a successful person must have, then Flintobox is your deal. Flintobox is the best way to teach your kid about several important lessons of the life and that too in a fun mode.

Investing in Flintobox is like buying a fixed deposit, on which you may not earn quick financial returns. However, you can expect some priceless results (via your kids) after some time.