This set is wonderfully entertaining for my 4-year-old boy and his 1-year-old sister.My son masterfully slices up the bread and veggies and serves us sandwiches.His little sister doesn't know how to use the knife, but she tries waving it and smacking it on the food, and since it is all very sturdy, no harm is done.  She is glad to be doing what "big kids" do.  I feel that having a play kitchen is good training for the kids, and helps keep them out of my stuff when I'm doing cooking tasks that they can't help with.I'm sure that A.is learning safe knife habits with the dull wooden toy knife, and that when he is older, these habits will help him avoid accidents.The quality is high, there are many different foods, and the price is very reasonable.I would urge many parents to buy this set,but also of course consider getting your kids a wooden play kitchen and some dishes and other implements to go with it.As a final note, we treated the knife and cutting board with a high quality wood oil.