A cute, fun addition to our water toys

Sprinkler Shower Chicken スプリンクラーシャワーひよこ

Brand: Resort World

Price: 1780 yen

Place of purchase: Shimachu Homes

Rating:

The main positive about this is that it’s just plain fun. It’s quite amusing, watching the crest spin around and water spray out, and I was laughing myself when the water first got going. The chicken itself is obviously pretty cute, and my kids think it is hilarious. The power of the spray is pretty decent, How much water comes out and how forcefully will depend on how much the tap is turned on, which means it’s reasonably easy to control. Setting up the chicken sprinkler proved easier than expected too. The fully Japanese instructions on the back initially looked a little challenging, but it actually proved straightforward. We were able to set it up pretty quickly using these very easy steps: 1. Take it out of the packet 2. Partly fill up the base with water 3. Inflate the main chicken body - I used a cheap balloon pump to do this and it only took a few minutes 4. Attach the hose, and done! The ease with which I set it up meant I felt quite fine with emptying it and (partially) deflating it to dry out for the day. Finally, the chicken sprinkler can be used both in the pool and outside it, ie. You don’t strictly need a pool etc. to enjoy it. It’s also only about 30 centimeters in diameter, which means it doesn’t take up a ton of space.

Am I fully convinced that this thing is providing that much more entertainment than my kids were getting with the hose and a ready water supply? Honestly, not really. On its own, it doesn’t do that much and my kids were close to getting over it pretty quickly until they incorporated it into other games and brought out other toys to go with it. It is a little gimmicky, and I battled a bit with my conscience about buying yet another thing made of plastic. It’s surviving thus far, but I’m not sure how resilient the inflatable plastic will ultimately prove to be. I’m unwilling to say it was worth the price I paid for it until I’m sure it will last more than a couple of plays. My children immediately found ways to argue about it, tattle on each other about it, and shake their backsides over it. The latter “issue”, at least, kept them entertained, which brings me to my conclusion - this is great as one of a number of water toys, rather than a single source of entertainment in its own. Fingers crossed it exceeds expectations and lasts us awhile, as I expect it will get a good bit of use over this summer vacation.