Tree Fu Tom Ranger Utility Belt
We are huge Tree Fu Tom fans in our house - Bud loves Tom's moves and I love that the show encourages children to think about their environment and being kind to other creatures and the world around them. Bud always wants to copy Tree Fu Tom's moves to 'send the magic to him' and I'm always pleased to hear the dulcet tones of David Tennant, one of my favourite actors, voicing Twigs, Tom's best friend. For those less familar, Tree Fu Tom is a programme shown on cBeebies which features a little boy who magically transforms into a fairy to enter Treetopolis, a tiny woodland world. Tom can perform big world magic to save the day in Treetopolis and encourages children to help with this. His range of moves have been developed with the Dyspraxia Foundation and those used are similar to those used by occupational therapists to promote movement.
We have a couple of Tree Fu Tom toys already so when we were offered the chance to review one of the new offerings from Flair I was fairly sure it would be a big hit here! We received the new Tree Fu Tom Ranger Belt Utility pack which allows your child to accessorise just like Tom I was pretty sure Bud would be impressed. The Ranger Utility Belt arrives with all of the items that Tree Fu Tom fans would expect, you receive:
- The Belt which is fully adjustable, made from a seatbelt like canvas and features a holographic sapstone for the full 'the sapstone in my belt is glowing' moment
- A working compass shaped as a leaf to clip on to the belt
- A magnifying glass which clips on to the belt
- A pouch to contain your wildlife spotting notebook and identification cards, you feed this on to the belt using the loop on the back
- Two clip on ranger badges, which also clip on to the belt
- A scarf and woggle
I'm very impressed with the quality of the belt and all of the items. Bud's Daddy is a scout leader and we've both commented on how Tree Fu Tom's belt and scarf reminds us of scouting equipment. Bud already has a compass but he is particularly keen on this one as it clips on to his belt. The clips on all of the items are good quality and Bud is able to clip and unclip them himself. We did have a momentary panic when we thought one of the ranger badges had broken but they are designed so that they come apart if put under stress by your heavy handed four year old so no damage was caused.
The belt itself is rather large. It adjust easily with a slider but, at it's fully adjusted length it fits Ian's 36" waist! Bud is not a small boy and I've found it a little too large for him even when adjusted to the shortest length. We clip it so it sits snugly on his waist using a crocodile clip. I think that, if there was adjustment on both sides it would allow the perfect fit for the smallest of the age three and above children it is meant for.
Here's a video which shows each element of the belt in a little more detail, and exactly what Bud made of it:
Since receiving the belt Bud has played with it every day. He loves being able to dress up as one of his favourite characters and we've had 'Tree Fu Go!' echoing around the house. It's a great toy for promoting role play and encouraging children to pretend too. Bud has made up so many different stories using it. The Ranger Utility Belt has an RRP of £19:99 and is available from all good toy stores and Amazon
