Dimpl review

Dimpl at a glance

Little fingers can't resist the beautiful buttons of Fat Brain Toys' Dimpl. Built safely into the sturdy ABS plastic frame are five vibrant silicone bubbles in varying sizes and colours. It's so simple yet satisfying. Push them all the way in to pop them through to the other side and encourage fine motor skills. Inspire giggles and hours of sensory exploration with the durable Dimpl sensory toy. It's also perfect for on the move - take it wherever you go.

We spoke to these real parent testers to get their review...

How did this product make your life easier?

Libby: This is a great table-top product that you can whip out whilst little one is in their high chair and you need an extra few minutes to prepare their food/wait for their food when eating out etc. It's such a simple design but definitely captures little one's attention with lots of learning opportunities, helping develop her motor skills, sensory exploration and language. She loves to say 'pop' when she succeeds in pushing the domes through and then works on the next one.

Gabriella: The Dimpl is a really hand size to take out and about with us as it fits in to the changing bag or if we know we will be spending a lot of time out the home we take a little activity bags of bits for my son and the Dimpl has become a firm favorite being part of it. My older daughter has lots of fidget toys which my son isn't allowed to play with yet as they are too small so he thinks he is very clever having his own!

Emma: My daughter loved this product! It meant I could get on with doing dinner or house hold chores and know she was safe and busy doing something. We particularly loved the size of it. It was perfect for younger children. My older children have different versions of this and I feel this one was a lot more sturdy and kept my toddler entertained for longer!

Would you recommend this to other parents?

Charlotte: I would recommend it as an independent toy, can go anywhere and is wipe clean. It’s something so simple pretty much any age can use independently, keeping little hands busy but not taking up any room in the toy box or nappy bag. I love the bright colours and how sturdy the silicone is, I never having to worry he may break it accidentally.

Isabel: Definitely! It was such a hit that I would consider buying it as a gift for mum‘s friends, I would also buy several if I had other children. It’s small enough to fit in the nappy bag but has averted several tantrums when destruction was needed. It was wipe clean which was fabulous, the only issue being that the silicon meant small bits of dirt stuck to the toy when it was in use. The design is nice to look at, bright colours are attractive to young children and the aim of the toy is immediately apparent. The only thing I would consider is that there are a lot of similar products on the market cheaper, the fidget poppers are relatively readily available for at least a third of the price and are very similar. I would recommend this one for a younger child though.

Nicole: The toy seems to really engage baby whilst they are playing with it, the bright colours and perfect size for tiny hands allows them to fully be immersed by the toy for a good few minutes. It doesn’t have any horrible plastic smell when first arrived and seems well built to withstand the day to day play of toddlers. I would mostly recommend for smaller younger babies which seems more the target, as I found my toddler quickly got bored with it.

Would you choose this product above all others on the market?

Rosalind: To be honest, if I had seen this product in the shop I would probably have ignored it which is why I am so grateful to have been able to test this as part of the awards. I was surprised how much joy it offered my son and after the initial play it was fun to think up new games and learning opportunities to incorporate with this toy. It's quality, portability and simple design makes for a wonderful and engaging toy. Furthermore, the fact it is so easy to clean with my messy boy around makes it a winner for me. I believe that this toy should win as it offers a stripped back toy without the noise and over sensory experiences of others on the market which has led to my little boy focusing even more on it than other toys.

Zoe: As a children’s toy this is pretty good because children want to play with it and it is engaging, however my son is a bit too young for it at the minute (he’s just under a year) and he can’t quite work out how to use it properly. The bright colours do attract him though so I’m sure in the future he will enjoy playing with it.

Libby: Whilst this is more expensive than similar products on the market I have seen, it is of much higher quality. Rather than all being made of silicone, the frame is sturdier and makes it more challenging (in a good way) to push the domes through and create a more satisfying 'pop'! The colours are vibrant and I like that there are different sized domes. Both of these features will help develop her language when she gets older and we start to explore vocabulary around colours, 'big', 'small' etc. For that reason, I would definitely choose it over other 'knockoffs'.

What changes would you make to this product?

Gabriella: It would be great if the dimpl had some sort of clip or hole where I could attach something to it so my son stops throwing it out the car seat, pushchair or anywhere really. As he can get quite excited and throw it without really meaning to then lose his favourite toy, he just gets a bit over excited by waving it around.

Emma: If I could change one thing it would probably be to add some other interesting features, maybe add a Velcro strap to attach to the buggy or to adapt it to be a black and white one. Black and white is appealing for younger babies. That being said I don’t actually think this needs changing. If something is not broken, why fix it?

Isabel: I would have a wider variety of size poppers on a product, I would make it slightly larger overall with a wider variety. I would also add numbers or letters to the poppers to enable that to be another layer of use, for example teaching a child to count or parts of the alphabet. I would also explore whether there was any way to make it from something that didn’t attract dirt like silicon does.