Stapelstein Mini Stepping Stones Review: We Love Them!

Finding an enriching and engaging toddler toy that's also aesthetically pleasing for parents can feel like searching for the Holy Grail. The Stapelstein stepping stones fit the bill, providing endless open imaginative play for ages one and up. We wrote an in-depth review of Stapelstein's debut product, the Rainbow Set.

When the Original Mini Rainbow Set launched recently, we had to put it to the test. It's a great complement to the full-size stepping stones and ideal for those with smaller spaces. Here's our Staplestein mini stepping stones review.

What are Stapelstein stepping stones?

Stapelstein stepping stones are innovative dome-shaped toys designed to inspire creativity and promote active play. Featuring an environmentally friendly, waterproof material resembling foam, they're suitable for indoor and outdoor use, as well as in water play settings. Children can engage independently in imaginative play, sorting, games and counting with these toys.

The larger Stapelstein stepping stones can be stacked for building towers, used for jumping challenges, transformed into bowls, or repurposed in any way that sparks a child’s imagination. The mini set is a compact option, roughly half the size of the original. They're usable on the go, whether you're travelling, eating dinner out or at the playground.

Who are the Stapelstein mini stepping stones best for?

Children of all ages can play with the Original Mini Rainbow Set with adult supervision. Infants can bang them together and have a sensory experience by touching them or stacking them. They have no sharp corners or edges and are water-, saliva- and UV-resistant. Toddlers will love them for sorting, counting and incorporating them into imaginative play. When you combine the original Stapelstein stepping stones with the mini versions, the possibilities are virtually endless.

Our Stapelstein mini stepping stones review

The Stapelstein mini stepping stones required no setup. We unboxed the set and were ready to play with them immediately. My 4-year-old was delighted at the bright colours and brought them to her larger Stapelstein stepping stones. She began integrating the minis into the larger stones, first sorting the large and small of the same colour. She then laid out the larger set in a classic stepping stone pattern and put the mini set on top, declaring them her Barbie's castle.

She's since used them for everything from bowls and swimming pools for her dolls and figurines, as hats, as vehicles for collecting and carrying leaves and other nature outside, for stacking and sorting and even for playing with her infant sister. She loves to hold up the individual stones and tell her baby sister what each colour is.

Like the full-size Stapelstein stepping stones, I love that these screen-free toys keep my daughter engaged for hours. You can tell they're built to last, and I look forward to having my second daughter use them for development and play.

Final verdict

We adore our original Stapelstein stepping stones and were expecting to love the smaller set, too. But I was surprised at just how much use my 4-year-old has gotten out of the mini stones, considering we already have the larger set. I highly recommend the Original Mini Rainbow Set as a screen-free and portable option for toddler playtime.

At $99.95, the Stapelstein mini stepping stones don't come cheap—but considering the plethora of uses and hours of fun my daughter has experienced with them, they're worth the investment. Plus, they're more affordable than the full-size stones, which retail at $229.

Pros

• Screen-free toy
• Aesthetically pleasing
• Mini-size that can be taken on the go to playgrounds, restaurants, in the car and more
• Water-, saliva- and UV-resistant
• Useable indoors and outside
• Made from sustainable materials

Cons

• Pricey, but built to last through several children and ages/stages

Stapelstein Original Mini Rainbow Set - Classic

Stapelstein Original Mini Rainbow Set - Pastel

Stapelstein Rainbow Set - Classic

Stapelstein Rainbow Set - Pastel