Like the other parents who have commented, my three-year-old daughter really enjoys this toy and often takes it out and plays with it on her own--six weeks after receiving it as a gift for her birthday. I, too, have been having trouble with the dry-erase "icing" markers for decorating the cupcakes: It was so hard to wipe my daughter's old designs off the plastic frosting that she started using the underside of the frosting caps to create new designs. Finally I called customer service: They recommended using a DAMP cloth to wipe of the "dry-erase" markers. I felt like a bozo for not thinking of it myself, but, otherwise, it was a great customer service experience. (I still can't get the dry-erase-marker marks off the wooden cupcakes, but the wooden cupcakes are not intended for use with the markers.) I, too, think this is a great toy for both boys and girls.