My Favorite Things Countdown: Day 23 - Doctor Kits
Today I’m going to cheat and highlight two very very different doctor kits, both of which we own and love equally. We used to have one of those plastic doctors kits that all kids seem to own at one time or another. Total junk. Never used. Consider these instead.
The first is the Haba Doctors Suitcase. If you aren’t aware of Haba Toys, you will quickly learn a lot about them if you follow my Favorite Things because I LOVE Haba! They are German which I love and adds a certain level of charm and I absolutely love stuff that isn’t plastic.
The Haba Doctor Suitcase is tin, like a little lunchbox. Inside you will find a paper prescription pad & pencil, a tongue depressor, a wooden syringe, a little wooden tube with little wooden pills inside, a wooden tube of ointment, a spoon, a wooden thermometer, bandages and a gauze wrap. The bandage wrap was, by far, the highlight of the kit. Even though we’ve sort of lost pieces here and there over the years, that yellow bandage still hangs around. When Addison gets a little older, I know we’ll be buying this one again.
The Haba Doctors Suitcase retails for around $24 but you can score one for only $18.50 at BabyOliver.com
The second kit we own is called The Doctor’s Office. It comes in a big cardboard box that is really sturdy as far as cardboard boxes go. It stands up on end and folds out to become the little office. Sounds sort of tacky but it really is pretty cool. But the best part is what’s inside the box: real doctor stuff!
Specifically:
- A medical degree certificate
- A welcome sign to hang on the door
- An eye chart
- A diagram of the human body
- An xray
- A doctor’s checklist
- An intake/history pad
- A prescription pad
- A clipboard
- Real gloves
- Real medical grade stethoscope
- Tools like dropper, a real syringe (minus needle, of course), tweezers, scissors, etc
- Real supplies like bandages, gauze, cotton swaps, cotton balls, cups, tongue depressors, tape, empty pill bottles, etc
- A plastic doctor’s suitcase, for house calls!
All of this fits back inside that sturdy cardboard box. I have to admit I totally wanted this thing for the longest time and just had to while away the years until one of my kids was old enough to appreciate it. If you have a kid who really likes to pretend using “real” stuff, they will think they died and went to heaven with this kit! It retails for $40 and as far as I know, its only available at Toys To Grow On.
You can’t go wrong with either one of these kits. Both are fantastic in their own way. Both are used exclusive of each other. I think a slightly older child (able to read and write) would have more appreciation for the doctor’s office while the Haba Doctors Suitcase is perfect for the 3-7 year old age range - the kid who you would normally consider buying those junky plastic doctors kits for. Skip the plastic, you won’t regret it. Either of these kits are a wonderful better option.
December 2nd, 2007 at 9:48 am
I love these! Haba is a favorite of mine as well. (I own a preschool)
And last year we got rid of ALL of the plastic and battery operated toys. It was the best thing we have ever done. Now instead of just pushing buttons on some noisy toy the kids are learning to do all sorts of things they normally wouldn’t have wanted to do.
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December 2nd, 2007 at 1:50 pm
This is great. Thanks for the tip. Chloe has one of those plastic doctor things. We got it on a whim at the grocery store, but she adores it and uses it often. A better and more substantial one would be a good investment.
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December 2nd, 2007 at 8:45 pm
We had the Haba Doctor Kit and we all loved it, unfortunately we lost all the cute little pieces, like those adorable little green “pills”.
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December 4th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I remember when Noah was having one of his “doctor days” and tried to make me swallow a green Haba “pill” and fill out my own prescription all in one day!
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