Babies won't recognise this as a phone these days! (ELC Lights & Sound Phone)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	ELC Lights & Sound Phone
Date:	08/04/09 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: the tunes

Disadvantages: the old style phone

This is one of the many toys we got given to us when we had a baby, and never being one to say no, I was quite happy to give it a wipe off and see what my son thought. As you can see in the picture, it's basically a plastic telephone (of the old style). The receiver is held on by a piece of string, and when you turn the dial, lights flash in time with the songs that play when you hit the red button in the middle.

As an adult, the thing that really hits me about this is how it is so out-dated in design because we don't have phones like this these days. What I mean is, I can tell Noah it's a phone until I'm blue in the face, but of course it's nothing like any phone he's ever seen (the digital age we live in hey?)

That aside, it's a nice simple toy that combines auditory stimulation (through the songs), with visual (the lights) and touch. The red button is easy to press, which is always one thing I'm concerned about, because my son gets annoyed when he can't do something clearly meant for him to do.

The toy encourages imaginative play, as you hold it to your ear and have a pretend phone conversation, which is a good laugh for all of us.

The string isn't really a health hazard, as it's too short to strangle yourself with. Oh, and the phone is soft plastic, so it's great to chew on (which is inevitably what happens). The shiny plastic is easy to wipe down, and the white base means you can see when it's clean (or not as the case may be).

All in all, a fairly simple yet enjoyable toy that encourages interaction and imagination: perfect!

Summary: just do it