Activity Toy Reviews

I bought this toy at Toys R Us because it was on clearance for $7 (normally $15). I like the Peek-a-Blocks, and this one being so cheap, seemed like a good deal.

Good points: it comes with four blocks (although by far not the most entertaining of the Peek-a-Blocks sets) and the music is soft and plays a very pleasant tune; it stores nicely, all 4 blocks fit inside and the unit is compact.

Bad points: it is not very entertaining; my 6-month-old barely looks at it compared to her other toys

This is an okay toy for $7. For $15, there are much better toys out there.

My daughter got this for her birthday. She doesn't even play with the fish. She likes the blocks, though, so we've put them in her other block toy and she plays with them.

The blocks are too big for the fish and they don't come out easily. It's just not a fun toy.

It was just what she wanted. It is very nice and is described very well. She is 10 months old and enjoys it very much.

I bought this for my 10 month old for Chistmas and it does not keep her attention even at 16 months old now!

This might be better for her when she is closer to 2 years old. It is too complicated for her and has too many functions for someone so small.

I recommend My First Story Reader insead. Perfect for small little ones. Easy functions and they get to press the buttons. Plus the books I feel are better, stronger made and more fun titles for little ones. Also, the price is reasonably less expensive compared to the Little Touch.

The First Story Reader has a set of three books for the cost of one of the leap pad books...

I gave this product five stars because there are so many interactive learning possiblities it offers for my child...numbers, alphabet, shapes, colors, emotions, songs, stories, contrasts and comparisons. I bought it for my then 5 month old whom is now 8 months and she basically only loves to listen to me read it to her or eat and wrinkle up the pages (which are very durable!).

I'd probably recommend this for toddlers who would be better suited for this toy because they would know what images to press and yes have a longer attention span than just being interested in putting things in their mouths.

Get it for your infant or toddler. I doubt you will be disappointed.

My best friend asked me what to get my daughter for her first birthday and I recommended this. I had seen it in the store and thought it looked great, but then I read the reviews and became a little nervous.

Then it arrived - and it's wonderful!!! It is definitely intended to be an interactive toy with an adult or older sibling. But if you can make time to read a book to your little one, then you can make time for this toy for a special experience for them. I noticed my daughter's vocabulary improving almost immediately. She wanted to repeat everything she heard. She talked back to it, she tapped on it with her hands... and no matter how many times I put it away in her room, she crawls in and drags it right back out.

Some of the concerning things I should address that I read:
- The pages are flimsy... I completely disagree. They do wrinkle a bit, but they don't tear and they're drool-proof, which is a bonus for me.
- The pad is difficult to activate and push... quite the contrary... my daughter taps her little hands all over the pads and is rewarded by all sorts of sounds and activities. She doesn't need me... but we have fun together anyway.
- The on/off button is too accessible to little hands... you have to hold the off button for quite a while before it actually turns off, so no chance of her accidentally interrupting the story.
- It is too loud... the volume controls are an awesome feature... It's only as loud as you want it to be.

In short, I adore this toy, but not near as much as my daughter does. I highly, highly recommend it. For those who wrote such negative reviews, I have to wonder what is is exactly they were looking for in a toy. Please remember that its a toy... a fantastic toy, but still just a toy.

we have hardwood floors so i bought this together with Playzone. i'm pleased with these mats --these made it safe for the frequent falls my baby went through when he was learning to crawl and pull himself up. now i put these mats beside his bed, softening his occasional 'dreamy falling off' his bed.

These play mats are great for outdoors. I bought several packs and put my daughters play house, slide, sandbox and etc on them. You can hose them off. We leave them out all year long, and they held up great through the winter. They don't ever look worn. I just went and bought more to extend the play area.

These playmats are fantastic. They have cushion and yet are sturdy and durable. My son chews these mats like candy and yet they have kept their shape. They are great for little new crawlers that need alittle padding and resistance for their little knees. [...]

Just a warning to new parents thinking of playmats. We have three sets (large family) and these are our favorite by far. All the other sets we have have shapes and numbers in them that come out. It is a huge pain when our son plays w/ these mats because you end up on your knee's trying to find the missing pieces all the time. Save your back, money, and time and just buy whole pieces without all the fancy decor (letters,numbers,animals, elct.) that comes out, they just end up missing or on the other side of the room out of the mat for you to pick up and figure out where it goes in the mat. Also the pieces get old and when you move the mat around all the pieces fall out everywhere, everytime you move it you have to put the whole puzzle back together.

My daughter loves this game as any mention of a princess will win her over.

There is one problem with this game and that is in the High Score area. It will leave the set amount of high scores in memory even if you delete/replace those player names on the intro screen. The problem is that if you have older children playing this game and racking up big scores, you may never give the younger child the chance to see her name on the display. Since this is a goal oriented game, this may mean you will have to buy another cartridge. Leap Frog said this is also on other game cartidges they produce. It seems that they should have a way to delete high scores so that if you want to hand the game down to other children, they will have as much fun getting their name on the scoreboard.

When i bought this game and played it, it was apparent this had been a return because it was already loaded with names and scores. I took my daughters leapster to the store and opened up enough games to find one that had not already been used.

In addition, this game is far less effective in the volume of learning skills than some of the other cartidges (ie. draw & write, Nemo, Dora).

It is a shame that the one cartidge every little girl is going to want, couldn't have been better thought out and with more content.

It gets two stars because my daughter would not let me give it a one.

Woody

My 5yr old got the leapster for Christmas and loves this game. From my perspective it is a little young for her since she already knows all her shapes, letters and numbers but on the other hand she figured out how to play all the games quickly and can do them all by herself. She has several other leapster games that are more educational but she likes this one best because she doesn't need mommys help at all.

My daughter loves this game and all the little games that it has. It teaches how to write letters, which is a real help since she is left-handed.

I bought this for my 22 month old son for easter. When I opened it the only thing it did was light up...I put fresh batteries in and same thing, just lights no sound whatsoever! I was hoping to see his face light up in the morning, now we have to take it back.

I thought this would be a great toy for my 17 month old when we were in the store he cried to have it when we got home he cried when I sat down with him to play with it I was upset when I found out it only says A-L it could have at least said the whole ABC's and to me that is a heavy toy to carry around and the age on it is 6-36 months the hammer is heavy my son hit his hand and was in tears to me it should have been around $7.99 and maybe even cheaper I am very upset I spent $19.99 for it I wasted my money.

We got this toy for our son for Christmas. We thought it was cute, and my husband liked the idea of our son "hammering"... very macho, you know. Well. Our son does in fact like the hammer. It goes everywhere with him. And he hammers EVERYTHING with it; coffee table, walls, floor, couch, my knee... Which hurts, in case you're wondering. The only thing he does not hammer is..... the Toolbench!

Not that the Toolbench is bad. He likes to push the shapes and watch them light up and the little men pop up, and he enjoys listening to the music. The tape measure is cute; he likes the songs and likes to watch it spin. But overall, it's not a big attention grabber. He will play with it for a few minutes if he just happens to sit down near it, but it's not a favorite and he never plays with it for more than a minute or two. There are a lot of toys out there that hold his attention for 10 to 15 minutes or more.

In my opinion, if you want to buy a toolbench, get one of the old-fashioned ones with the pegs that you hammer down, then flip over and hammer again. Sometimes the old classics really are better than the new-fangled "improved" versions.

Peek n Play Eeyore??? Try Creepy Eeyore! Do the toy manufacturers ever listen to their toys before selling them? This toy was a gift to my 16-month-old daughter, and he sounds more like a "dirty old man" than Eeyore. He asks questions like, "Hi little baby. Want to play a game?" in a low creepy voice. I'm sure it was meant to be cute and interactive, but all the adults in the room were rolling on the floor laughing at the toy, while wondering if my daughter should actually play with it. It's humorous, but I don't think I'd recommend it.

I bought this toy for my baby, it was his first birthday. My son played with the toy, he loved the toy. I loved this toy, until the ears stopped working. We only had the toy for 3 weeks when they stopped moving. The toy still has the music/voice working. But it isn't the same with out the ears moving. He doesn't like it anymore. I don't have the packaging anymore to send it back. I wished it still worked.

I saw this online, then I was at Wal_mart a few days ago and found one for $7(the packaging was damaged). My 8mo old daughter LOVES this toy. She is mesmerized by the moving ears. When it stops moving she usually laughs loud enough to start it back up again. The rattle that comes with it works well too. We love this toy.

I bought this table when my daughter was 7 months. She learned to pull up early and I wanted something to encourage her. The activities on the table are simple ones, and she is able to activate them easily. I'm not sure if its on purpose or she just bangs around a lot and makes it happen accidentally, but either way she loves it. Her daycare has the LeapFrog table, and she has little interest in it. BUT, this one she is on constantly. The spoon rattle is a big hit, it comes off the table, as well as the lift-flip "peek a boo" pea thing. The music is not annoying, (except for the fact that I can't get the alphabet song out of my head)! The music cuts off if the child activates another part of the table, nice for learning cause and effect, and legs come off too, which is nice if you want to put it in the car to take to grandma's for the afternoon.

A minor issue when first getting this - but not a design flaw - when beginning to pull up and not strong yet, she start to topple over, so she'd grab the table to steady herself and it's light so it came down with her. She was never hurt, just scared, but just watch your kids to see if they do this too. Now that she's stronger it doesnt happen at all.

I think this is a great toy for any baby who is learning to pull up.

I bought this toy for my twin daughters first birthday and they love it. I thought it would be a little taller though and I wouldn't buy it for a 18-24 month baby, but that doesn't take away from the fun toys it has. This all in all this is a great toy.

My son loves this toy. He started playing with it when he was about 5 months old. He is 8 months now and still plays with it every day! The Laugh and Learn Learning Table is great - I highly recommend it!!!

What looks like a cute idea turns out to be a big headache. The binoculars are difficult to see through. You constantly struggle with double vision in both the binoculars and viewmaster. And it's hard for younger ones to keep it in one mode without accidentally hitting the switch.

My daughter loves this toy. it's a little hard for 3 year old hands to hold and pull the lever at the same time. You have to pull it until it clicks in order for the reel to turn. I like the binoculars, but you have to adjust the lenses just right in order for her to see out of them.

Bought this for our granddaughter's third birthday. She is into everything Dora, so this had quite a bit of positive emotional equity going for it. She loves it, but probably uses the View Master option more than the binoculars. That said, she has had a great time watching backyard squirrels with the binoculars.It is NOT a toy that you hand to small children and tell them to go play with it. It takes some instruction and supervision; given that, it combines the attraction that View Master has enjoyed for decades along with the wonder of binoculars. Great educational toy.