Activity Toy Reviews

My 3 1/2 year old daughter loves playing with her lite brite. I have to say when she received it as a gift I cringed. I didn't think it had any educational value and the small pieces were going to get all over the house.

After watching her play with it, I have to say it enhances her fine motor skills when she has to pick up the small pegs and place them in the small holes, it also helps her identify letters and each colors initials i.e., p = purple, w = white, etc....all while creating a fun picture.

I'm going to get a few for gifts.

The working surface area on this unit is smaller than the original Lite Brite, but its compact size is probably more convenient for little hands and attention spans.

This newer model also features some improvements over the old classic including a drawer for the pegs, and the colored pegs joined into units of two, three and four pegs making for faster plugging and easier handling (see Customer Images). Can a multi-colored array of pegs offered in the format be far behnd?

This version of the Lite Brite line does not have the same impact as the original (which is not for sale on Amazon), and the battery-powered light, while low in glare, is not nearly as long-lasting or strong.

My thoughts for Hasbro: 1. Make more theme sheets such as the examples pictured in Customer Images (Customer Images under the item picture); 2. Make mutli-colored joined pegs; and 3. Distribute the lighting more evenly behind the working area; both the old and the new models capture all the light in the center of the frame.

But for under ten bucks, it's still one of the most engaging solitary games on the market.

Excellent product! I really appreciate the option to choose any of the 50 given mystery cases to solve. After playing all 50, you can just start all over again! Fun, fun, fun game! THANKS!

This is an extremely fun and addictive game. You shuffle the cards, and place three (room, weapon, person) in the secret envelope. In every room you go into, you can make accusations. If someone has the card you accused (like the room), then they show it to you and you write it down on your notepad. The game changes constantly, so it never gets boring. The character pieces have teeny details, like Mr. Green has straps and buckles on his briefcase. I gave it 4 stars for education because it teaches you to focus and really THINK. Oh, and good problem-solving skills too. And coordination (you have to add all the clues up to see who did it). All in all, a terrific game. Great for rainy days or playdates. And did I mention the weapons? Very realistic. And cute.

I really love this game!! Whenever someone says,"I have Clue at my house", I always want to go over!! I also love mystery books so it's perfect! I love solving the mystery and making guesses. Anyway, I LOVE THIS GAME CLUE! (not Clue Jr.)

My 3 year old has 8 Vsmile games and this is his least favorite. His top 2 favorite is Toy story and Winnie the Pooh.

My daughter loves Blues Clues so I made sure I got this game, she likes it but it is annoying that you have to wait for Joe to finish talking before Blue will move. I also didn't think that the music really sounds like the actual show. Overall it is a pretty good game.

My son has always been a fan of Blue's Clues so this was a natural choice!

Not only does my 3 1/2 year old son have the V-Smile all figured out - without the slightest assistance from me or his mom, but he has mastered the Blue's Clues game and plays it constantly.

It was an instant hit!!

My kids love this game! It's easy to play & it teaches them simple facts about each state in the union. My complaint is the timer broke the moment we opened the game & the game company was not willing to replace it without a receipt (the item was a gift). Also, I think it would have been more beneficial to include a few more facts about each state on the game card pieces.

The game is actually helping my 5 year old granddaughter with reading as well as learning about the states. Every child who plays the game with her wants one, too! I can't say enough good things, just hurry up and buy it. Your kids will be ever grateful.

Our 5 year-old son plays this game with us and we all enjoy it. This game is a great way to teach children the names and locations of the states. It also teaches an interesting fact about each state. In this version of the game, the players don't have to know the names of the state capitals, but since that information is provided on the game board my son is picking up on it too.

There is a 60 second timer so you can help level the playing field by varying the amount of time older players have to read the card and give the answer. We give our son 45 seconds and my husband and I get 15 seconds. We all finish well ahead of the timer, but we find it easier to use the main intervals marked on the timer. You could use different intervals if you desired.

Durability: We buy a lot of board games and this one has held up better than the others. The cards are thick so they are not easily bent. Also each set of cards has a zip bag so they stay stacked and sorted when you put them away.

I bought this toy for my daughter last week when she turned one. It's really cute, and even my 2 and 4 year old boys like it. One thing I do love is that the volume is LOW! It's so refreshing to have a toy that doesn't annoy the &^%* out of us!

However, my two year old pulled the door off with no effort at all. He just reached over and popped it off. Now every time I snap it back on (it does snap in easily), it doesn't stay. It falls off constantly and drives me crazy.

But other than that, it's a cute toy.

This is a great toy. The coins are very easy for a baby to hold and manipulate. My six month old loves for me to place a coin on the slot, and then he pushes it into the bank. I love that the coins are different colors and two different sizes. Older kids can learn more than just counting, they can learn "big and little" and sorting skills.
The only thing I don't love about it is that the door comes off quite easily. But we just snap it back on.

I bought this for my 9 month old and he loves it. It is very sturdy (no problem with my door) and has a fun tune, he giggles when the pig sneezes when you touch the nose and dances to the songs. It is worth it!

My 4yr. old daughter wanted this toy more than anyother for christmas. Once she got it and we both played with it, she left it after 15 minutes and it now sits in the corner.The head falls off all the time, there is no place to put the extra pieces of the toy, and the molds are a pain to use.It would be better to buy play-doh alone instead of a "kit".

My mom got this for my son's 4th birthday. He wanted to open the box and play with it as soon as he unwrapped it! Since he opened it at a party, I told him we would play with it the following day. The first thing he said when he woke up the following day was "Let's play Doggy Dr." He loves it. We play with it together and I find it is a good conversation starter about going to the doctor, the importance of taking medicine when you are sick, keeping healthy, etc. We talk about how people and pets may feel when they are sick, how we may need to see a dr to get better. We also talk about taking care of our pets to prevent illness. All of this while we check the dog's tongue, listen to his heart, give him a bandage, and so on. So, this is much more than just a simple toy. It provides an opportunity to talk with your child, teach him/her about what doctors do, how they can help us (and doggies), alleviate fears of seeing a dr, taking medicine, etc.

The problems I have with this toy: (1) the min. age listed is 3. At 4, my son has a hard time pushing the play doh through the syringe and pushing the dog's head down to extrude the tongue and ear wax. (2) As with other play doh toys and tools, after we are finished, I have to dig play doh out from the crevices--in this case, the dog's head and ear.

I wasn't expecting a lot from this toy, but I was pleasantly surprised. There were more things to do with the play doh doggy doctor- facilitating creative play- than I had originally realized. My son (6 ys. old) spent a long time playing with it the first few days, and has since not gone back to it. It doesn't provide hours of play equivalent to a game boy or something more exciting, but I know he will get in the mood to play with play- doh again and it will be ready for him for another little while until it goes back on the shelf. Overall pleased.

I bought these for our tile floors, so my baby could have a soft place to play. Well these ate so convenient, as they are large, you can just pull out 2, and have an easy place for some quick tummy time. We keep 4 on our patio, ready to go for when we are all out by the pool too! There are no edges, but from what I hear from other moms, the edges end up as chew toys for babaies, and dogs!

These are a great product to have for children when you have hard flooring. I have tile through out my home and in her room she has a window seat and she loves to sit up there and one day she fell off the seat and landed on the mats and she got right up and said "O Mama" and got right back up on her window seat.Did I mention she is 1 1/2 years old and very active. There comfy to sit on and we play legos and runs her cars on it with no problems. She has never tripped or fell on them and they are easy to keep clean.
I just feel better that she is a safer with the mats then nothing at all.

fantastic item to use for tummy time and then play time with a baby who refluxes! Our little girl is a a happy spitter and these are fantastic protectors of our floor - our carpets are happy and so is she as they are great to crawl on! Highly recommend - just wish we got them a little sooner

My one-year-old daughter loves this toy, but grins turn to tears pretty fast. Whenever she bumps into anything with the walker (chair, wall, dresser), the walker tips over backwards (there's no counterweight to baby) and my little one falls and hits her head on the floor.

My 1 year old loves this walker. It was given as a gift and helps her not only to walk but to place shapes into the holes. I do not see her falling while using it, the only drawback is sometimes her hand gets stuck when she tries to lift the place where the shapes enter, but it has only happened a few times. For the price this is a good walker, based on the experience with my child.

My daughter loves this toy and uses it all the time. She saw a girl in her daycare with one, and instantly fell in love with it. I bought this for her when she was 3, so the picture questions were perfect. Now that she is almost 4, she is starting to work out the spelling side of the cards. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that I think there should be a few more cards. I also found that my daughter managed to bend the edges of two cards, so they wouldn't work anymore. I glued the layers back together and let them set with some weight on them, and now they are as good as new. All in all, even with the few problems I encountered I think this toy is a great value because of its longevity.

We have owned this Jack in the box for about a month and a half. The music has already stopped working and we didn't even play with it on a daily basis, much less on a weekly basis. I wouldn't recommend this toy.

"Jack" doesn't pop up after only a few weeks of owning it. Don't waste your money.

I bought this toy USED for my son when he was one year old; it was in perfect working condition. He loved the surprise of the clown popping out of the box! He also peeked at himself in the mirror, "beeped" the horn, and spun the clicking star. The handle made it easy for him to pick up and bring to us when he wanted to see the clown pop out. Now, he is two, and it is still a big hit because he is finally able to operate the entire toy by himself. It has been over a year since we bought it (second hand!), and it is still in perfect working condition. I would recommend this to any mom who is looking for a first jack in the box for her baby or toddler--the most ideal time to teach cause and effect.