Chitter chatter child chatter (Fisher Price Chatter Phone)

Member Name: mumsymary

Product:	Fisher Price Chatter Phone
Date:	29/01/04 (590 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: excellent toy

Disadvantages: ?

Chatter chatter chatter child chatter.

The Fisher price chatterphone has been around for years and years. I remember Sleepydormouse playing with hers. (My daughter had one 20 something years ago) This toy retails for about 8 pounds

I think the basic phone is still the same, but fisher price have updated this toy a little.
The older model of which there are many around is wooden a traditional phone shape with a strong plastic dial a red earpiece. This phone has 4 wheels at the base.


The newer model is the same basic shape sitting on 4 red wheels. It has a red earpiece, which is attached to the phone by a red string. . It still has the traditional dial with numbers on. Under the dial is an area with coloured sections on yellow red, green, blue. (This can be used to help recognise colours it does add interest to the phone) I think the base is wooden but this is now enclosed in white moulded plastic, which has a white smiley face on it, the eyes of which move up and down as the phone is pulled along. If you want to see a picture of one go to www.fisherprice.com/uk/products/product.asp?id=957 7.

This toy has been the staple of many a toy box and also a toy used in childcare / schools everywhere.
I expect those of you under the age of 26 have at some time played and talked to your friends on one.

These toy telephones are suitable for children aged 1 year upwards. And will still be played with to some extent by children aged up to 8.
To begin with baby will not quite grasp what it is but will enjoy pulling it around watching the googly eyes and sucking the earpiece. Your baby will put his / her fingers in the dial and turn the dial practicing his/her fine motor skills.

Baby will see you on the real telephone talking to friends and I am sure by a year all babies will have heard granny saying hello darling on the real phone.
Adults encourage play on the telephone by picking the earpiece up and spe
aking into it will hold it to baby’s ear saying hello. Soon baby will start saying hello (or her/ his version of hello).
This talk will encourage baby’s first words.
Adrian when given the earpiece/mouthpiece makes a sound into it. He is a man of few words.
The phone is bright clear colours and does attract children to play with it.

As the child gets older this toy will be used to baby to extend imaginary play. It is a really good toy for language development. Working with special need children with little language I use the toy to try and encourage speech.

The phone also encourages social skills if you have two phones children can make a conversation.
I use this phone in a lot of play situations I invite friends to a party, say thank you to granny, and phone the doctor phone for the ambulance. Helping children play real life situations I don’t call it play its practice for life. A child can phone daddy who is living in a different house to them.
A child can relive experiences practice for real experiences through imaginary play a telephone is a useful tool to help in imaginary play.
Now we live in the world of mobile phones This phone will still be a good play tool and I shall have to search for a good mobile play phone too so that if we go for a ride in the little tike car we have a phone to call the breakdown truck in an emergency.

Have you listened to your child speaking on the toy phone? Who do they sound like? Is it you?
Thank you for reading Enjoy playing with your children. Best wishes Mary

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