First Learning Pop Up Tunnel: Simple Toy Will Keep Kids Entertained in Many Ways

After seeing how much my nephew liked crawling through tunnels at the mall, my mom knew we had to get him a tunnel to crawl through at home. We found this ...... tunnel at KB Toys (when they were going out of business) and grabbed it right away. He's had the tunnel with Christmas and he still wants to play with it every time he's at Grandma's House.

This tunnel starts out as a thin layer stored neatly in a zippered package. Since my nephew isn't over Grandma's everyday, they store the tunnel tied up in the package it came in. This makes it very easy to store in a closet, on a shelf, or behind the couch. My nephew loves pulling this package out from behind the couch and unzipping the bag to take out the tunnel. However, he can't yet untie the strings that hold it closed so he has to hand it to an adult for that.

Once untied, the tunnel instantly pops open. It works like a spring in that it is meant to be opened to it's fullest point for the most part. This means there is no worry of it collapsing while my nephew is playing with it. Adults can squish it down but it won't stay squished unless you hold it or tie it with the attached strings, it's meant to remain open.

Crawling is more fun with this tunnel! We gave this to my nephew after he was able to walk (about 16 months old), however he didn't hesitate to get back on his hands and knees once he saw this. Crawling is suddenly a whole new experience for him. He will crawl through from end to end, turn around and repeat. Sometimes he'll just go sit in the middle of it and play with his blocks. We bought the tunnel alone, but you can also buy tent attachments to attach two tunnels together. We decided to make our own tents with chairs and just have the tunnel exit into the "tent". This is another fun game for my nephew who gets to crawl into his own secret tent!

Adults can help with other games. Crawling isn't the only way my nephew enjoys this tunnel. He also likes it when adults play with him too. For example, we will lift the tunnel over him and trap him inside and he laughs and laughs. He also likes a new game where we squish the tunnel down, he steps inside, and he tells us when to "go" which means lifting the tunnel real fast around him so he is inside. If we are just trying to make him laugh, we will hide in the tunnel, standing up, and that always is good for a few minutes of fun! A final game we've played is with a flashlight. As he's inside the tunnel, we shine the flashlight against the tunnel and he follows it around with his hands, trying to guess where the flashlight will show up next. As you can see, there are loads of ways to play with this simple toy.

This toy isn't meant for learning colors and letters, it is meant for pure fun! We do buy lots of learning toys for my nephew, but we like to give him toys that are just fun as well. The tunnel doesn't have any learning tools, it's only one color (with a yellow stripe) and it doesn't say or do anything - yet he still loves to play with it. We've found ways to make him learn while using the tunnel though! For example, putting letter blocks inside the tunnel and having him go get the letter we ask for.

Overall: If you want your young ones to have some fun, then this tunnel is a great gift. It will last for years because it seems to be good quality material and it's also big enough for an adult to fit in. Buy this tunnel alone, or buy another tunnel and matching tent to make it even bigger. Enjoy!!