Dora Swim and Splash Mermaid

...is a big fan of Dora the Explorer so she was highly delighted when she received this Dora Swim and Splash Mermaid as a present from her nan on her fourth birthday. I was also very pleased because this is a bath toy and most of the bath toys we have, we have had since the girls were babies so they seem to have outgrown most.

The toy is about 25 cm tall and although it has Dora's face, instead of legs she has a mermaid's tail. She has ...
...so as you would expect, Dora does actually swim - or I would say she has a pretty good attempt! The key to getting Dora to swim is to turn the jewel on her necklace clockwise. It's a bit stiff but when you do manage this, Dora's flipper actually flaps which enables her to move along in the water. She will either swim on her back, or perhaps sightly more worrying, with her face straight down in the water. Once she has stopped it does look a little ... more

MY daughter is a big fan of Dora the Explorer so she was highly delighted when she received this Dora Swim and Splash Mermaid as a present from her nan on her fourth birthday. I was also very pleased because this is a bath toy and most of the bath toys we have, we have had since the girls were babies so they seem to have outgrown most.

The toy is about 25 cm tall and although it has Dora's face, instead of legs she has a mermaid's tail. She has long black hair and a beautiful jewelled necklace around her neck. I'm sure that my daughter would be perfectly happy just to play with her in the bath as she is (because she thinks she is so pretty), even if she did nothing extra at all!

But of course there is more to this toy because this is a 'swim and splash' mermaid, so as you would expect, Dora does actually swim - or I would say she has a pretty good attempt! The key to getting Dora to swim is to turn the jewel on her necklace clockwise. It's a bit stiff but when you do manage this, Dora's flipper actually flaps which enables her to move along in the water. She will either swim on her back, or perhaps sightly more worrying, with her face straight down in the water. Once she has stopped it does look a little like she has drowned. I have not shared this gruesome thought with my daughters and they have not mentioned it either so Dora's fate is obviously not worrying them as much as me!

The doll is mainly made out of plastic and has a moving face and arms. She has normal doll's hair and I did think that this might get a bit messy after a few sessions in the bath, but once she has dried off, the hair always returns to its original pristine condition. She does also come with her own special comb which the girls use on her either in or out of the bath.

Once she is wound up, Dora's flipper probably keeps going for about ten to fifteen seconds which does get her a fair way down the length of the bath splashing as she goes! The flipper is quite noisy when it is going, although no way as noisy as the shrieks of laughter and hilarity from the girls as they enjoy their bath! They really enjoy playing with Dora in the bath and seem to have discarded most other bath toys in her favour!

The toy is suggested as being suitable for the age of three years plus, and as with all bath toys you are reminded that you should be supervising your children playing in the bath which obviously is common sense. The packaging also states that it is not suitable for under threes because of some small parts.

The Dora Swim and Splash mermaid is definitely a welcome addition at bathtime and I'm very pleased that by having toys such as this my daughters are never reluctant to take a bath - long may it last!

The toy is made by Fisher Price and at the moment it can be bought for £14.69 from Argos.
 

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