If you love DIY and would like to share your passion with your little one, we have the best kids' DIY workbenches of 2021 in this guide. Made of quality materials and safe for your little budding handyman, these real-life toys will allow him to discover the joys of DIY while doing it "just like the grown-ups".
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Our selection
"Large and complete, this workbench from Smoby has everything to stimulate your toddler's motor skills and creativity with its 95 DIY accessories and playful electronic…"
"Give your child of 3 years old and more this toy combining the functions of workbench, hand truck and wheelbarrow. The toy's accessories are not…"
"This workbench promises your toddler hours of fun and endless creativity. This is thanks to the many accessories provided, including nuts, bolts, flat wrenches and…"
"Made of wood, this workbench designed by Hape is both sturdy and scalable to accompany your child until he is 6 years old. Apart from…"
Large and complete, this workbench from Smoby has everything to stimulate your toddler's motor skills and creativity with its 95 DIY accessories and playful electronic features that showcase super realistic details.
54,38 £ on AmazonFeaturing an array of 95 crafting accessories and some storage space, this large Black and Decker-inspired workbench has everything your child needs to discover the joys of crafting as early as age 3. By spending time in his craft room, your little one can learn to saw, hammer, screw, use a wrench, and do a whole lot more.
The workbench's sound and light effects also add to the toy's appeal. We also particularly liked the toy's construction cards that allow the child to build his own car with the parts provided. In short, for all that this toy has to offer, the price is still quite right. This is an investment you won't regret!
Give your child of 3 years old and more this toy combining the functions of workbench, hand truck and wheelbarrow. The toy's accessories are not very numerous, but the child has the essentials to freely indulge his passion.
21,59 £ on AmazonRecommended for children ages 3 and up, this workbench from Smoby comes with a crafting case, three tools, a vise, six construction rulers, four screws and four nuts. With this 3-in-1 toy, your toddler has the essential tools that any budding handyman should have. The case also has room for additional accessories if you're thinking of buying some for your little one.
In short, this 3-in-1 workbench is simply the best choice you can make if your budget is limited. Although the accessories that come with it are few, the toy still promises long hours of discovery and creativity for your little one. With this toy, your child will really feel like a real handyman.
This workbench promises your toddler hours of fun and endless creativity. This is thanks to the many accessories provided, including nuts, bolts, flat wrenches and many other equipment to discover without moderation.
91,20 £ on Amazon
Made of wood, this workbench designed by Hape is both sturdy and scalable to accompany your child until he is 6 years old. Apart from that, its design is ultra safe with careful finishing.
62,62 £ on AmazonThis workbench promises to keep your little tinkerer entertained for many hours. The many accessories (hammer, wrench, screwdriver, bolts, etc.) that come with it are sure to keep your child interested for a long time. Adjustable in height, this workbench from Hape will grow with your child until he is 6 years old.
The work surface is also very well organized thanks to its storage compartment located under the bench to store the DIY accessories provided. In short, this is a very good toy that has everything to keep your child busy while stimulating their creativity although the manufacturer's assembly instructions are not very explicit.
Any specific needs?
The best children's workbench in 2021
The best entry-level children's workbench in 2021
The best high-end children's workbench in 2021
Your guide :
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9/10 |
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| OUR SELECTION |
Smoby - Black & Decker Ultimate Workbench for Kids
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Smoby - Black & Decker - 3 in 1 Hand Truck + Box, Children's Workbench
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Klein 8485 Etabli Bosch pour enfant
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Hape - E3000 - Wooden workbench for children
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Large and complete, this workbench from Smoby has everything to stimulate your toddler's motor skills and creativity with its 95 DIY accessories and playful electronic features that showcase super realistic details.
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Give your child of 3 years old and more this toy combining the functions of workbench, hand truck and wheelbarrow. The toy's accessories are not very numerous, but the child has the essentials to freely indulge his passion.
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This workbench promises your toddler hours of fun and endless creativity. This is thanks to the many accessories provided, including nuts, bolts, flat wrenches and many other equipment to discover without moderation.
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Made of wood, this workbench designed by Hape is both sturdy and scalable to accompany your child until he is 6 years old. Apart from that, its design is ultra safe with careful finishing.
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Features
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Equipped with fun electronic features
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3-in-1: works as a workbench, hand truck and wheelbarrow
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Emits realistic sound effects, large workbench that can be played with several people
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Evolving : adjustable in height
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Age
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3 years and up
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3 years and up
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3 years and up
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36 months to 6 years old
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Material of manufacture
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Plastic
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Plastic
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Plastic
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Wood, plastic PA, PP, ABS
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Dimensions/weight
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15.35 x 31.1 x 40.55 cm/4.1 kg
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33 x 32 x 59 cm/2.19 kg
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62 x 42 x 19 cm/5.87 kg
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54,99 x 28,09 x 80,7 cm/453,59 g
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Number of accessories
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95
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19
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150
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35
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Before purchasing, check the height and width of the workbench. Ideally, workbenches have a fixed height between 83 and 91 cm. In any case, choose a workbench that is neither too low nor too high for your child. A height-adjustable model is a very good choice.
The workbench should also be wide enough to allow your child to play freely and to comfortably place and move tools. Also, remember to rely on the recommended minimum age before buying the toy.
Ask yourself the right questions before deciding. Will the workbench take up a lot of floor space? Will the accessories end up scattered on the floor? If you want to save space, look to a folding workbench. Also make sure it has a convenient storage system.
Also, for added convenience, some workbenches are both lightweight and can take the shape and size of a tool case for easy transport. So opt for this type of workbench if your child would like to take their workbench with them on vacation.
To ensure your child's safety, carefully inspect all workbench accessories. Make sure that each tool is not likely to cause injury or scratches. So avoid workbenches with sharp-tipped accessories or small parts that can be swallowed by young children.
Also, if the workbench you are interested in is made of wood, make sure that the finish of the toy is smooth and that the paint used is safe for toddlers. The same goes for the plastic. It must be light and non-allergenic. In all cases, favor workbenches with CE marking and NF EN 71 standards.
The number of tools provided with the child's workbench is an essential factor when choosing the toy. More parts means more possibilities, and for a child, this can make a huge difference. They can play with it longer and mix and match the various pieces. If your budget doesn't allow you to invest in a complete model, you can opt for a basic model that you can add to little by little.
The
most sophisticated children's workbenches can offer your child a more real-life play experience thanks to their sound and/or light effects. Some accessories even emit vibrations. Indeed, with a drill that perfectly imitates the sound of a real drill, your child will really feel like a real handyman.
The CE mark on the body of children's toys is only a marking and not a certification. This marking is the sign that the manufacturer is committed to respecting the safety requirements recommended by the European standard in the manufacture of the toy. As for the NF standard, it is a guarantee of safety proving that the toy has been subjected to meticulous tests meeting strict quality and safety requirements.
NF-standard toys must be free of chemical agents and have a design that is totally appropriate for children. This means: no small detachable parts for toys intended for children under 3 years of age for example, or non-allergenic materials in the design of stuffed animals, etc. For plastic toys, the material must be BPA and PVC free.
It is well known that plastic is light and easy to produce. However, plastic workbenches are far from being environmentally friendly both in their manufacturing process and in their recycling. Plastic also exposes the risk of chemical contamination especially if it is a cheap toy. It is important to note that prolonged exposure to certain plastics, such as PVC and BPA, can be risky for children.
However, plastic is not all bad, the tools and accessories in plastic children's workbenches look more realistic and are strictly tested and CE marked to reassure parents. In addition, plastic children's workbenches are very popular with toddlers, as they allow them to do what grown-ups do.
Wooden children's workbenches have the advantage of being sturdy, environmentally friendly and durable. They can also be easily refurbished and are low maintenance. Wooden toys are stylish and therefore not likely to stain a room's interior design. On the safety side, manufacturers paint their wooden toys with 100% toddler safe paint.
However, the downside with wooden workbenches is that the wooden accessories and tools that come with them don't provide a true-to-life play experience, not to mention that they are heavier than plastic accessories.
A craft workbench is a work surface that comes with many tools designed to entertain children eager to learn the art of crafting. Generally recommended for ages 3 and up, the workbench is both complete and stimulating for the child. Older children can also play with it if their learning abilities permit. The advantage of this toy is that it is specifically designed to introduce toddlers to crafts, unlike the activity table, which is less specific.
Just like the activity table, the workbench for children aims to awaken the senses of toddlers. In this sense, it has attractive colors to stimulate the sight of them and offers different textures and shapes for the great pleasure of little tinkerers.
Made of wood or plastic, children's workbenches are designed to be safe for children. The most sophisticated ones also emit sounds imitating real DIY tools to allow toddlers to tinker like grown-ups.
In addition, the most complete models come with more than a hundred accessories that have everything to entertain toddlers for hours and allow them to create and discover unlimited possibilities. All of which will effectively stimulate motor skills, creativity and hand-eye coordination in children.
The activity table, as its name suggests, is a toy that offers all sorts of exploratory activities for the sensory awakening of toddlers, this via shapes, colors, textures, etc.. This toy is a real sensory stimulus to encourage children to learn and develop their intelligence and motor skills as well as their hand-eye coordination.
Activity tables usually offer a variety of games such as mazes, abacuses, gears, role-playing games, and many others to fully satisfy the discovery desires of toddlers. Moreover, given the wide variety of games offered by the activity table, the child will not get bored and the toy will remain interesting in the long term. Other tables also have enough space to accommodate several players at the same time. This is perfect for encouraging children to socialize and learn how to handle conflicting social interactions.
Whether free-standing or on the floor, the activity table can be used for all babies as soon as they are able to sit up. The design of the activity table, whether plastic or wood, meets strict manufacturing standards to prevent injury to toddlers and provide a safe and stable play area. The activity tables feature a variety of themes in one product: farm animals, musical instruments, craft tools, etc. But the accessories that come with the toy are not as complete and numerous as those that come with a craft workbench.
However, some models of activity tables designed for little ones who can't stand up yet are not recommended by early childhood specialists. This is for the simple reason that hanging by the crotch is an unnatural position that is not good for a baby's spine and can cause foot deformity and tendon retraction.
Craft workbench or activity table? The choice is yours. However, if you want to introduce your little one to arts and crafts at a young age, invest in a workbench that is more realistic compared to the activity table. A child who has had the opportunity to play with a workbench has access to more knowledge in the field and will be more comfortable handling the tools as a result. On the other hand, a child who has learned how to do crafts with an activity table only knows some of the basics of crafts, since the toy offers all kinds of activities, unlike the workbench, which is more specific.
By offering a workbench to your child, you are stimulating his curiosity. The simplicity of the workbench's tools allows children to design and create anything they can imagine, pushing them to use all their intelligence to determine the best method to achieve it.
A child's craft workbench is a great way to develop thinking and problem-solving skills in toddlers. The more time a child spends at the workbench, the more they will understand how mechanical systems and gears work. They will also learn from their mistakes to determine the best possible method to better tinker. As they build their designs and encounter structural deficiencies, toddlers will develop the ability to identify where the problem lies and modify their approach accordingly.
When your child is working at the workbench, his whole body is in motion: crawling, crawling, moving, stretching, etc., which helps to strengthen his gross motor skills. Developing small hand and finger muscles with the workbench will help develop your child's fine motor skills as they clamp, unclamp, drill, screw, saw and nail with their tools.
While your child is playing with the workbench, he or she is improving hand-eye coordination. This is done by learning how to control the movements of their hands and fingers in coordination with their touch and sight. By picking up tools and placing them on the structure or connecting interlocking pieces, your child gradually becomes aware of the relationship between what he sees and his movements.
Larger workbenches allow children to play together, which builds strong communication skills and teamwork. By playing together, children learn to communicate their ideas, listen to each other's suggestions and work together to find the best approach to achieve a common goal. In addition, group play will allow your child to expand their vocabulary and become more confident in speaking and presenting their ideas.
In our opinion, the best brands of workbenches for children in 2022 are :
It is a major French toy manufacturer that owes its popularity to its colorful, attractive and childlike products. The company draws all its know-how from ultramodern production techniques based on plasturgy, which guarantees that the colors of its products will be maintained over time. In addition, Smoby's products are designed in full compliance with European standards to delight toddlers and reassure parents. The brand's crunchy, larger-than-life design of its workbenches is a major asset that makes them popular with budding DIY enthusiasts.
Theo Klein's children's workbenches are of premium quality with a sturdiness worthy of the German know-how. The manufacturing materials are harmless to little ones and the ergonomic design of the toys is exemplary. To this end, the company has ensured that its toys have rounded edges and child-friendly shapes for easy handling. Klein's workbenches have everything to stimulate children's imagination, spatial perception and motor skills.
Founded in 1986 by Peter Handstein, the Hape brand has always made its children's toys in the belief that learning happens through play. Since its inception, Hape has continued to innovate and put all of its expertise into providing children everywhere with toys that help them discover the world around them and help them improve their skills and talents. The brand is also highly regarded for its responsible practices with "eco-friendly manufacturing processes, packaging made from 70% recycled paper, non-toxic soy-based inks, harvesting their own Unesco-funded bamboo forest."
It is a brand owned by the Krakpol Company, a toy and packaging manufacturer. With almost 60 years of experience, it has managed to redouble its ingenuity to provide quality products to a very diverse clientele: nurseries, daycare centers, individuals, etc. It is a safe bet in the childcare industry.
Small
foot is a brand whose key words are quality and durability. To deliver on its promises, the brand uses only wood (solid sturdy and layer-by-layer glued wood that can withstand extreme stress) to make its children's toys, including workbenches, toys that are carefully crafted and completely safe for toddlers. As a guarantee of the safety and quality of its products, the company was awarded the annual toy prize at the world's largest toy trade fair in Nuremberg.
The diagram below will help you to get an idea of the typical prices for each price range (entry-level, mid-range and high-end).
However, more expensive does not necessarily mean better.
We therefore advise you to always consult our ranking before deciding, rather than blindly relying on price ranges.
The set-up
If you think assembling your child's workbench is easy, it's not always. Therefore, always follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully to ensure your child's safety. This will ensure that each component is in its proper place to keep the toy stable and that it is safe enough for your little one.
Bond with your child
When your child is having fun tinkering on his workbench, walk him around and show him some crafting tips that will help him improve his skills. At the same time, this will help you bond with your child.
Develop a taste for challenge in your child
Be part of your child's building experience, praise him when he does well and encourage him to push his limits when he can't solve a problem. This kind of attitude will help him stand out later in school, at work, but also in sports competitions.
Encourage talk
Try asking questions about what your child is doing. Try asking questions about what your child is doing. Ask about the tools in the workbench and what they do. With a little nudge, your child's vocabulary will really expand and he will also feel valued and listened to.
Let your child learn to manage stress
Try not to intervene every time your child loses his temper when he can't solve a dilemma. This will teach him patience and self-control.
It's best to wait until your child is 3 years old before buying them a workbench, because that's when they'll want to imitate the big kids. If you let them play with it too early, they may not understand how the toy works, they may get bored with it, and they may even choke on the small parts since young children tend to put everything in their mouths.
No. In any case, each workbench has an age limit set by the toy manufacturer. If this age limit has been set, it is for a good reason. In addition, the more accessories the toy has, the more possibilities the child has access to. This will only be beneficial for a child eager to learn and discover.
Yes. Thechildren's workbench requires batteries in case it offers electronic features. These include sound and light effects offering the child a more real-life play experience. This is via ultra-realistic details making him feel like a real handyman.
A workbench intended for 3 years and older is not appropriate for a 2 year old, as the toy may come with small parts that can be swallowed by the child. It is always best to use the recommended age set by the toy manufacturer before giving a workbench to a young child. However, if you think your toddler is more advanced than most children his or her age, you can let him or her play with the toy but always under your supervision.
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