 |
Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Puppy
by scooch12
My parents bought my daughter the laugh and learn puppy as a surprise present for Christmas when she was around 6 months old, I'd seen it in the shops a few times and thought how brilliant he looked. I'm always drawn to toys like this, ones that look as though they can be a sort of 'friend' to my baby, as well as be educational and fun ... to play with.
The puppy is known as 'doggie' in our house and my daughter's first impression of him was sheer delight and excitement when we took it out of the box. She always wriggles her legs like mad when she's really interested in something and wanted to get to it straight away to investigate so I could tell she was impressed! She still reacts like this now whenever he comes out to play so the novelty hasn't worn off at all.
The puppy has such a cute face, that I was also sold on him as soon as I saw him. He just looks adorable, with a patch around one of his eyes, a bright red nose and big floppy ears. He's soft to touch but not fluffy - I always worry with cuddly toys whether fluff is going to come off as my daughter has a tendency to put everything in her mouth but I feel safe letting her play with this. His ears are regularly sucked on, but their functionaility remains just as good. The recommended age for the toy is 6 months and upwards.
The puppy wears a purple patterned t shirt, with A, B and C printed all over. He takes three AA batteries that are replaced underneath his t shirt via the casing they sit in. There is Velcro to open his t shirt at the back to get to the battery casing but my daughter sees the Velcro as being part of the play toy and is fascinated by the noise and feel that the Velcro gives! The toy is switched on by a little switch near the battery case under his t shirt, but then once this is on, can be switched on/off by his left foot. When he's switched on, he says 'it's learning time' and gives a little woof. His left foot also controls whether he's in ABC mode or a singing mode. We usually use a mixture of the two. We find it fairly easy to catch his foot when not in use and just tidying away, even when my daughter has gone to bed, so sometimes we suddenly hear itsy bitsy spider chirping away while watching Eastenders!
Each part of the puppy has a label, teaching baby parts of the body eg the ear, hand, foot and tummy. Each part of the toy has a different function, so there is a lot of scope with it, lots of different things for baby to explore and learn from. His heart is a big smooth red button for baby to press for more sayings. In addition, he randomly says things and sings along when he's switched on but not being played with - for example, he'll suddenly shout 'peek a boo, I see you!' which is brilliant. Even if my daughter has forgotten about him and is being entertained by something else, she'll then turn around and make her way to him to play. I'll admit to walking around the house saying the peek a boo rhyme not realising sometimes! All of his little sayings are so catchy and stick in your mind and I'm glad because I always think that the words, phrases, letters and songs will be being processed in my daughter's mind to help her learn to say proper words and speak.
On one setting, when parts of his labelled body is pressed, he will say the part of the body out loud and then giggles, eg pressing his tummy makes him say 'tummy' and giggle. This allows baby to associate the word written down with it's spoken form. On the other setting, he bursts into tunes when pressing each part of his labelled body, eg pressing his ear will burst into itsy bitsy spider and pressing his foot will make him say the 'this little piggy' rhyme out loud, but with a twist (it's not a piggy rhyme, it's a puppy rhyme where no roast beef was eaten, it's a bone!). If you press his paw with the music note on, he sings and says a variety of things - on the ABC setting he sings the alphabet song and on the tune setting sings head, shoulders, knees and toes (that sticks in your head all day!) There are so many different sayings and songs that he sings, it's impossible to remember them all. With the amount of sayings and tunes, it keeps her entertained for hours. I find it's got so much to offer in terms of learning, but at the same time can be switched off and treated as a cuddly toy too.
The only one (minor) issue to point out is the packaging, there was tonnes of it and this isn't child friendly with the little ties etc there is, so watch out for that.
My parents bought him in John Lewis for £19.99 before Christmas and he is available on their website for the same price at the moment. He's also available in most other toy stores, like Toys R Us, Mothercare and Smyths Toys although I'm not sure on the price in those. To me, £19.99 is an absolute bargain for this toy. It might seem a lot to spend at first on one toy alone, but my baby has had hours, and I mean loads of hours of entertainment from him. She has so many other toys, but 'doggie' is always the one she comes back to hug, cuddle and play with.
My expectations were very high for this toy, because he just looked so fantastic in the shop. He certainly lived up to it and I'm so glad he's part of our family now.
Read the complete review |
|
|
Fisher Price Brilliant Basics Stroll-Along Walker
by MattyTM
Our daughter got this, along with the soft doll, for her first Christmas/birthday present for an Auntie and a great choice it has indeed turned out to be.
Straight away I love things in big boxes, there's nothing better than watching you little one tearing apart the wrapping from a massive box under a tree, screams ... Christmas/birthday. Once she gets the wrapping paper of you can leave it with her while you assemble the pram.
Assembly is fairly easy, although the two screws on the underside of the chair are a little awkward and may require a long phillips as oppose to knives or normal phillips screwdrivers in all honesty. The other screws are fairly easy though. Once put together it does feel very sturdy, and safe enough to hold your child as let's be honest they will at some point give in to the urge of climbing inside it and pretending to be the baby, not the mother.
Appearance is just right. Not to in your face with the baby pink still telling everyone that this is a girls toy but at the same time not screaming it across the room. The little bear is a nice touch which when pressed produces a nice tune, although I will admit I think the addition isn't necessary. A button on the centre console I would have thought is a better idea personally, as every child that has used it never reaches in front whilst pushing the pram, instead opting to press buttons when they stop and inspect the pram from the front.
The soft doll fit's in perfectly and I do like the addition, this coming from a father who is not as willing to buy those 'real' plastic babies that eat, drink and... well you know the rest. It surprisingly acts as a little rattle, which our daughter loves, throwing the poor thing across the room, but she enjoys it and that's what matters most.
It's lightweight meaning that it's easy for your child to push, and the layout of the wheels means it very rarely topples over. In fact it only ever falls if the child pushing it decides to push it from one side, or physically pick it up and flip it over. I was surprised that it was so hard to turn-over when pushed from the back.
Overall it is a great present for a one year old in my view. Just as they start walking this is a great aid that will help them learn how to take those first steps (if they haven't already). It's subtle, but still tells you it's a girl's toy and I would recommend it to all parents.
Read the complete review |
