Gear to Grow with Your Child: Little Tikes 4-in-1 Trike Sports Edition

I have received this product from MGA as part of their toy tester program. All thoughts and words are my own.

Let me state the obvious for just a moment: kids grow really fast.  I was swapping out the summer shoes for our fall and winter ones today and I noticed how much bigger Bubbles’ shoes are this year versus the size they were last year at this time.  She’s growing so fast!

It always makes me a little sad when I change out the seasons or upgrade the size of our kid gear.  Not just because it marks the passage of time – though that does make me sniffle some – but because most of what we clean out still has a lot of life left to it.

So I was excited to find out that Little Tikes – a company we have long loved – has a cool product that will be something you can use for quite literally years.  The 4-in-1 Trike Sports Edition is good for ages 9 months up to 3+ years and can go through four conversions to match whatever stage your child is in.

Stage 1 (9+ months): Guided – Parents push and control the trike. When the blue waist bar is installed the child will be unable to turn the wheel.
Stage 2 (12+ months): Learning – Toddlers can learn how to pedal, but the child is unable to turn the wheel
Stage 3 (18+ months): Developing – Remove the waist bar and the child can now steer; the parent still has control with the push bar, though.
Stage 4 (36+ months): Independent – Remove the push bar and kids can go on their own with parent supervision

We’re (obviously) in Stage 4 right now so we assembled the trike directly into the last formation.  It probably only took 15 minutes or so to put together; I read the instructions and hubby did the actual assembly.  We generally like to tag team any DIY or assembly, but you could easily handle it solo, too.

I think the part that Bubbles (and I) loves the most is the basket on the back.  She loves to “collect” while she’s outside playing: leaves, rocks, whatever she can find.  And now she has a cool place to store it all.  Some other features include:

• Seat adjusts to 4 positions
• Parking brake
• Padded seat
• Weight limit up to 50lbs.

The Little Tikes 4-in-1 Trike Sports Edition would be really great for families that had young kids a few years apart, too.  Once the oldest is done using it, just convert it back to one of the starting stages, and the younger sibling can use.  I also think I will be giving this as a shower gift here and there.  Everyone always gives stuff you can use right away, but how great would it be to have something to look forward to a few months later?  You can find it on the Little Tikes Website.

Which stage of the Little Tikes trike would you use right now?

#spon: I’m required to disclose a relationship between my blog and MGAE. This could include MGAE providing me with content, product, access or other forms of payment.