Trio Gears Review

by | Dec 12, 2011 | 4 yr old, 5 yr old, science | 1 comment

Sweet Pea also received Fisher-Price Trio Gears for his birthday. Cutie Pie absolutely loves them and has sort of claimed them as his own! Sweet Pea doesn’t seem to mind that much, though. Since they are loved I thought I’d share my review of them, like last week’s built it review, just in case you need inspiration for yet another toy for your child!

Have you seen or played with Fisher-Price Trios? They are heavy duty plastic cubes that are made to clip together. There are holes on each side to allow the assortment of accessories to be attached in various ways. The basic set comes with the simple pieces and a great pamphlet of building ideas. The theme sets come with the fun accessories (like eyes and rods that can be used like arms) and the instructional pamphlet of ideas, all of which are clearly explained with step by step pictures. Trios are generally recommended for children age 3+. I have found that a three year old needs help clipping them together in addition to following the instructions, but Cutie Pie (at 5yrs old) requires help mostly with deciding what to build (because there are so many choices), how to get started and making sure the accessories are pushed in tight enough. I’m imagining an 8 year old would still have fun with this toy with a lot less adult intervention.

Finishing touches
In action

The Gears set has been a really fun addition to our other sets of Fisher-Price Trios. (We have the fire department set, the crane construction set and the basic set.) Cutie Pie was anxious to get them out of the box and play with them before Sweet Pea even realized what they were! The Gears are traditional Trios, but with a simple gear attached to some of the single cubes (you can also find several cubes attached together to make building a little more simple in sets of Trios) and several big gears as well as accessories like a propeller. You assemble different toys by connecting the gears in a certain way, rotating the handle shaped gear and the gears work together to move! Cutie Pie gets so excited when we finally finish his creations and they work just like he hypothesized they would!

Cutie Pie loves to count (like I said in at least one past post) and when he plays with Trios its the same ~ he follows the picture directions and counts the number of cubes of each type as well as counts how many cubes should be attached together when finding a longer piece. He also loves to describe what he wants to make (when he has the idea) as well as how he thinks it will move (if he’s using Gears). He seems to love the process of building with Trios! (science, coordination, fine motor, concentration, predicting, sequencing, comparing, math, creativity)

The only thing I wish to change about all Trios is that sometimes they come apart a little too easy. I’m sure this is because they have to fit together snug enough to hold, but not too snug or little fingers would have a hard time fitting them together. We can live with this as often Cutie Pie will attach what fell off somewhere else and make a new creation!

To put how we feel about Fisher-Price Trios Gears simply:

  • Pros: fun, simple, heavy duty, clear picture directions, colorful, educational (science, logic, math)
  • Cons: sometimes not tight enough connection between pieces, adult help may be needed for younger children (if this is something not desired it makes it a con, otherwise it would be a great child-parent activity!)

If you are looking for a Christmas or birthday toy for a child between the ages of 3 and 8 I would definitely recommend Trios! For the older child in this age range I would recommend the Trios Gears for additional imaginative play!

Fisher-Price has in no way provided compensation for this review. This review consists of honest opinions of my family and myself and has in no way been influenced by Fisher-Price or it’s affiliates.

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1 Comment

  1. My Beautiful World

    This is a great post thanks for sharing. So nice to meet you, I have just found your lovely blog through the blog link up wonderful to join in. I’m now following you hope you visit me and follow back so nice to find new friends to catch up with. Have a great day.
    Always Wendy

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