Toys

Review by Sunshine:

My son received this toy as a gift for his 6-month birthday. At the time, I remember hearing about how some plastic toys (often made in China) contain harmful chemicals that are known to cause cancer and feeling concerned that this toy might be one of them. I didn’t do anything for awhile, seeing how my son enjoyed playing with the toy and thinking (stupidly) that if this toy were truly harmful, it wouldn’t be sold in the U.S.

One day, I came across this toy on Amazon and noticed the warning to CA residents under “Product Details.” I couldn’t believe it when I read this toy is made with harmful chemicals known to “cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.” I bet a lot of people who are giving this toy 5 stars are not aware of the warning.

UPDATE TO REVIEW ON 10-28-09: Amazon has removed the warning about the harmful chemicals, and in response to an inquiry I sent them told me “Product information from the item detail is added or deleted upon manufacturers information.” Amazon suggested I contacted FP, which I did, and the FP rep said he couldn’t find anything in their records indicating the toy’s manufacturing had been changed. The toy’s production has not been altered since 2007. He suggested that perhaps the warning wasn’t accurate, and that’s why it was removed. That may be, but it seems like a pretty big mistake for Amazon to make on multiple FP toys. I see now that none of the FP toys that previously had this warning have it now.

As for my son’s reaction to the toy, he liked to bang the pieces together and put them in his mouth, but he never bothered to try to sort the shapes since the top doesn’t stay in place, as others have mentioned. My son always removed the top and took out all of the pieces, no matter how many times I showed him how to sort the shapes with the top in place. Talk about poor design! I should have given it 1 star for the “educational” rating in hindsight, but I figured that theoretically it could be of some value if a child didn’t remove the top. Also, Amazon wouldn’t let me go back and change my ratings.

I just got another shape sorter for him from Amazon (the Tolo Rolling Shape Sorter), and within minutes he tried to put the shapes in the slots because he couldn’t remove either the top or the bottom of the unit. Now that’s an educational toy!

Review by C. Murphey:

This is a basic, durable, inexpensive toy. However what I don’t care for is the fact that the lid doesn’t snap on. I’m sure this is that way so babies can take it off, but I prefer the sorter that the child has to put the shapes through the holes. My baby figured out that it was easier to take the lid off! I like the Smartronics cookie jar sorter much better.

Review by Kelly Taylor:

I just bought this to take over for our soon-to-be adopted infant. I was very happy with the small size and weight (perfect for an infant to hold). But most of all, the sound quality is fantastic (and not too loud) – and not electronic sounding at all. And the tunes are all pleasing to the ear and not annoying kid versions. I will like listening to it as much as our son!

Review by Linda Delacourt:

I love this toy and will give it to every new parent that I know! This is the only toy with sound that we own that does not have clear packing tape on the speaker! (Every other toy gets the “tape treatment” once it enters the house!) Music quality is great and the songs play for longer than most toys, so you don’t have to reach over and hit the button as often!

Review by Jennifer:

A mom in my group had a similar one of these for her baby who just loved it. So when we were walking through the baby aisles at Target, we saw this one and just put it in the stroller with our baby to see if he would like it–and he played with it the entire time! So, of course, we bought it!

He has many other rattle-type toys meant for grabbing, but this is the first one he has actually grabbed on to and played with. It is very sturdy and actually a little heavier than I anticipated by just looking at it–I was worried it might be too heavy for him to pick up (since we had never really seen him pick up anything before) but he manages with no problems!

Review by Citizen John:

My twin 9-month olds, like all babies of that age, love to show when they’re displeased by throwing something. When they try that with the Bendy Ball, most of the time they forget why they got upset.

This cute thing can be bent while holding and you can put your fingers inside it. Plus the ball inside that you can’t quite get out has a little ball inside it that sounds like a bell almost. If you want to throw it to show your displeasure at something, you’ll end up putting your fingers into it first. Those distractions are priceless.

By the time baby finally rolls this ball, it is with a positive frame of mind, and she wants it back to try again.

I can see that this durable little toy is going to be used in many ways and constantly. It’s a lot of fun to roll their way and see how they try to figure out what to do with it.

Beyond that, the colors are great. The 5 outer caterpillar parts on diameter are cute. I think this is an educational toy that teaches about hand manipulation.

Review by Mom:

I was hoping that this toy would be a little more hands on and allow the child to move the gears himself to figure out how they cause each other to turn. It is a bit more lights, sounds, and electronic movement than I hoped, and doesn’t leave much room for creativity. I was hoping that it could offer multiple ways to place the gears, but gear placement is limited. My 2 year old does enjoy it for a few minutes, but usually moves on from it once he’s removed and put the gears back on a few times. Although the gears can also be stacked, they are a bit unstable in the stacked position.

Review by Dena:

My daughter Hannah received this as a gift for her first birthday. She loves the music and presses the button to just listen to it play. We didn’t think she’d figure out the gears, but she absolutely loves it! she takes the gears off and puts them back on! She totes them around the house in her little basket, and then brings them back to put on the toy. She’ll sit in front of this toy for 20 minutes at a time, walk away and then come back to play some more.

My only issue is that the gears are starting to get lost around our house. Hasbro should provide a few extra gears for when the first few get lost. Overall a terrific toy!!

Review by K. Gorgone:

I’d had my eye on these for a while, because our 18-month-old son loves music and has had a great time with the Laugh and Learn Piano from Fisher Price. When I finally received the maracas, though, he didn’t seem at all interested. In fact, he seemed to dislike the noises they make. One is just a plastic maraca with shaker beads inside, which didn’t much interest him. The other is a battery-powered one that lights different colors and has three settings (numbers, colors and music) in English and Spanish. After a while, he would pick up the one that has lights and sounds and check it out. Now he really seems to like it, although he gets bored if it’s on the music setting, because it plays the same short refrain over and over again. (I get bored, too.) The reason I didn’t give this toy five stars is because of the limited musical selections. All of the Fisher Price toys have numerous song options, which helps to toy to stay “fresh.” This one only holds his attention for a few minutes at a time. I gave four stars for durability because we’ve only had them a month. In that time, though, he has chucked them around a fair amount, and they seem OK.

Review by Mary E. Wheeler:

I got these for my 1 year old Nephew for christmas, I wanted something he could grow with a bit but still enjoy now that was educational. He loved shaking the maracas and watching the colors change and he was even trying to mimic the voice counting colors and numbers a few times.

Definitely a great choice for any young kid who loves music.

Review by Sammy Jackson:

I just got 2 of these for my 4 year old and letter-excited 2 and 1/2 year old. Since the boxes have been opened, they have both been enamored for over an hour. The letter instruction is accurate and straightforward. The eraser is easy to use and the stylus is at least more accurate than the one at Target where I bought these. My 2 year old loves to write letters, so I know it would be a hit for him. But my 4 year old fights writing and drawing, so it’s super exciting to see him get all excited about it AND actually write decent looking letters and lines. Get it! You’ll be glad you did! Perfect back to school, starting school toy/tool for your youngster!

Review by Daddy B Me:

My 3 year old is starting to write and draw and this is really helping with her learning to write her ABC’s and shapes. She really loves the dog Scout and the cute audio. The size of it is right on the money and is easy to take along in the car. Every letter brings out some cute responses too.

Good Stuff…

Review by Amy Tiemann:

I have seen boys and girls ages 2 to 8 captivated by Uncle Milton’s “Moon in My Room.” As an adult, frankly I think it’s pretty cool too!

The moon model has a contured, textured surface. It is a couple of inches thick, curved, so it has real depth. The moon cycles through 12 different phases. I have not seen any evidence of the light turning on automatically after dark, as advertised, but it works fine manually or by activating the automatic 5-seconds per phase cycle. The moon is lit up from a light within and the plastic does not glow in the dark when it is turned off.

The Moon in My Room is advertised as appropriate for ages 6 and up, but since it’s mounted on the wall I don’t see why it can’t go in a toddler’s room as long as the remote control is secured. I will echo a previous reviewer’s comment that you need to keep track of the remote, as I don’t think it would work otherwise.

Review by cheriba:

We got this for my five year old son for Christmas. He has a space-themed room and this fit in perfectly. He loves it and has it on every night. What’s really great about it is that it will turn off automatically. What’s not so great about it is that it just burns up the batteries! We’ve already had to replace the batteries three times since Christmas (and the latest batteries I put in where Energizer Lithium e2; they lasted about 3 1/2 weeks). The battery issue is the only reason I gave this product four stars instead of five.