I bought this with my five year old in mind.
No, he's not put to work slicing cheese. But he DOES want those prepackaged garbage packs that all his schoolmates have, with preservative-filled deli meats, processed cheeses, crackers, etc. to take to school. We're not crazy health nuts, but I don't buy that kind of thing, even deli meats are a rarity in our household. He mostly likes healthy food, so I want him to have healthier versions of these things that he'll eat!
I was cutting our real cheddar with a knife, with mixed results. I couldn't cut it thin enough or uniform enough to do what I wanted. This tool is great. I can cut a big block of cheddar in two different thicknesses, it cuts straight and uniform. I'll do a bunch at once and have it handy for snacks, grilled cheese sandwiches, and his lunches.
I either put it in my son's lunch just like that, or I use a cookie cutter and cut it into shapes, put the scraps into the fridge for other things. He gets his shaped cheese with real meat, pita bread or crackers, and voila! At least a somewhat healthier form of those prepackaged garbage packs. :)
This will work really well for a cheese platter to serve to guests, etc. too. I'm really happy with it. I'm hoping the wires won't give out prematurely, I've only had it for a week or so, but so far so good.