Thelife- I'm a parenting editor and mom of three kids under the age of 7.
- As a working parent, I'm always looking for activities and toys that will keep my kids engaged.
I have three kids, ages 6, 4, and 4. I also work full time, and while my kids attend Montessori school, they are usually home before my workday ends. Because of that, I'm always looking for ways to keep them entertained and playing with minimal parental supervision.
That's a lot to ask from a toy or an activity, since my kids are at an age where there's a lot of competition between them while also still needing a lot of help from me. Crafts are a big no-no because someone inevitably ends up covered in glue or glitter. We try not to do any screens during the week, which means no TV shows. We recently moved our play kitchen out because it was just sitting there, collecting dust and clutter.
When I got an email saying a new play couch called the Chunk was coming out, I was intrigued. I got one immediately, initially thinking it was for my twins, who are still toddlers. But it's been a hit with all three of my kids ever since the huge orange box arrived at our doorstep.
We have other play-couches
A couple of years ago, we moved our family from Brooklyn to Maine. With three little kids, we knew we needed more space than our Williamsburg apartment could offer. One of the first things I bought after we moved was the Nugget, a coveted play couch that kept selling out drop after drop.
We set the Nugget up in my oldest kid's room, thinking he'd be more into building forts. He did play with it for a while, but my vision of him spending hours playing solo while I took care of the twins was short-lived. He stopped being interested, and so the Nugget turned into a couch, where we still sit every single night to read stories together to this day.
The Chunk captivated them immediately
Still looking for something to keep them entertained and having rearranged their room since they don't sleep in cribs anymore, there was suddenly a ton of empty space left unused.
That's when I heard about the Chunk, a play ottoman by the same company that invented the Nugget.
As a parent who likes to throw money at problems, I went ahead and bought a light purple one for the room in hopes that it would get more attention than the rocker horse that also sat there unused after they grew out of it. (I'm realizing I need to move him out of the room, too!)
When the Chunk arrived in a huge orange box, I think I was more excited than my kids, but that all changed when we opened it and pulled out the four discs that make the play ottoman.
Now, they play alone for hours
Putting together the Chunk was pretty easy. Just like the Nugget, the pieces fall together with ease. Two discs go inside a larger one, and the last one covers it all to make it look more like an ottoman when kids are not playing with it.
That doesn't happen around here often because my kids are always playing with it. The second they get home from school, they run upstairs to take turns jumping off of it, hiding inside, rolling discs up and down our hallway, and more.
I was surprised on Sunday while meal-prepping when I realized I had been standing in the kitchen alone for over an hour, and no one was screaming or crying. This play couch is magic.
The Chunk comes in 10 different colors — from vibrant to more mute — and retails between $179 and $199, depending on the color and fabric. And what's even more fun is that the company has come up with imaginative ways to combine the Nugget and the Chunk for endless play. If there's something that sending my kids to Montessori school has taught me, it is to always look for open-ended play to inspire them to use their imagination and creativity.
I won't lie; I'm debating getting another one in a different color to expand their range of imaginary play activities.