I bought this for my daughter's 5th birthday and she absolutely loves it! She usually has an attention span of only 10-15 minutes and moves on to the next toy, but she'll sit and paint for two hours! My 2 year old son likes the chalkboard side.

It is easy to assemble and easy to re-adjust the height for older or younger children. The frame is smooth, solid wood and very sturdy. The plastic trays and wing nuts are also good quality and seem like they will hold up well. I read some reviews before I bought it that the chalkboard was kind of hard to write on unless painted over with special chalkboard paint, but we haven't had any problems with that- the chalk that comes with it writes well and shows up clearly.

I would definitely recommend the Melissa & Doug easel for children AND adults. It's that good!

MNy grandchildren are entertaining themselves for hours with the art supplies from Doug and Melissa. Bought this tablet to accompany the easel and rolls of paper.

We bought a pair of these handy easel paper pads and pull them out on rainy or snowy days. The kids love using markers, crayons, foam stickers, glitter glue, whatever they get their hands on, and with the large 17x20 inch working space they can create their masterpieces for hours. At this great price you can afford to buy one for each kid and everyone is happy! We didn't bother buying the easel stand since our kids like spreading out on floor space. The stand up easel is better used when painting.