The Teletubbies is a programme aimed at pre-schoolers which was first aired in 1997. It features around 4 large, teddy type, colourful characters named Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po. Each Teletubby has its own little traits and has a tummy where videos are shown to the children. They live in Teletubbyland!

Teletubby merchandise is still available despite the show no longer producing new episodes. There are DVDs, games, teddies and several different, electronic toys available on the market for Tellytubby devotees.

~~~Meet and Greet With Laa Laa~~~

Laa Laa is one of 2 girl Teletubbies in the show. She is known for her yellow colour and has a curly antenna. Laa Laa is fond of singing and dancing around Teletubbyland and her preferred method of keeping fit is bouncing a massive, orange ball around the grass.

Tomy is a well known toy producer and they have created many of the Tellytubby toys. This particular toy is known as the Telly Tummy Tellytubby Laa Laa which is suitable for those over the age of 12months old. Telly Tummy Laa Laa is a plush Teletubby which has a television screen tucked away in its tummy. The television screen moves, showing a little story whilst playing the theme tune. The antenna lights up and Laa Laa states her name with a little jingle!

Laa Laa takes 3 x AAA batteries which come included as standard. The batteries are to be placed within a little section accessible by a screw. This section also has the on/off button for the sanity of the parents! This section is sealed away by a velcro fastening. Laa Laa cannot be put in the washing machine due to the battery pack but can be surface washed with a cloth.

~~~Availability and Price~~~

Laa Laa is available from the Tomy website www.tomy.co.uk priced at £19.99. Amazon offers this at £24.99.

~~~Our Thoughts~~~

As a child (around 10) I was weirdly obsessed with the Teletubbies! Teletubbies is rarely shown on the TV now but my son enjoys watching it when it comes on. His love of Teletubbies, an moreso Laa Laa, began when my sister bought him the dancing Laa Laa one Christmas. Unfortuantely, Laa Laas life was short lived after a puking incident that rendered her unfit for purpose! My son was gutted as we said goodbye to Laa Laa and since then, I tried to source a new Laa Laa of some kind but the original Laa Laa will never be forgotton. *Sobs*

Telly Tummy Laa Laa was dropped from Tellytubbyland and straight into our local British Heart Foundation charity shop. She sat rather lonely on the shelf despite her bright aura and my son was estatic on spotting her! Having some pennies left over from money his Gran had given him, Mummy checked over Laa Laa to ensure she was all there and clean. Taking to the cashier to pay, Ryan became the proud owner of this delightful toy. It only cost us £2.50.

~~~Pretty Laa Laa~~~

Laa Laa, in our opinion, is the prettiest of the Tellytubbies and even Tinky Winky with his handbag cannot compete. Laa Laa comes sitting but isn't very stable so needs to be laid down on sat against a steady surface. She is rather big and chunky. She may be described as a plush Laa Laa but her battery reserve leaves her back feeling bumpy. Her feet are quite firm and her face is plasticky with hardish eyes and little soft ears poking out the side. Her antenna is large and has little hard pieces inside.

Laa Laa looks like Laa Laa in the show. She is brightly coloured yellow with a peach face and all the features are present which appealed to Ryan as he could easily recognise her. Her tummy is square shaped and has a window appearance. Inside, a little video is played and the characters appear in the distance like they would in the show. The overlap of scenes shown is clear with a faint line running down the video screen.

~~~Time For Tubby TV~~~

Ryan finds activating Laa Laa very easy to do. When not in use, I tend to switch it off at the back and seal it back up to avoid his little fingers accessing the battery area. Laa Laa has a little activation button in her left hand which is simple to press in with little force needed. On pressing, she says "yeah Laa Laa yeah" after a little jingle! The noise comes through rather lound and throughout the performance, the antenna flashes a yellow light which isn't too clear when in normal light or outside.

The show will start and stop as Ryan presses the button. It isn't one that plays the full tune before allowing the button to be reset which can be rather frustrating when Ryan constantly presses the button just to hear the jingle! It took us a while to figure out that the screen actually played a video as we didn't know it was the Telly Tummy Laa Laa when we bought it unpackaged!

Ryan became rather excited when he spotted the tummy moving! Even now, when he takes it out with him, he will say to his cousin "watch the tummy Pud" and they sit completely amazed by the video which seems to keep them quiet. The little show that plays, is sounded by a bright, engaging musical version of the Teletubbies tune from the show. It plays through twice and overshadows the slight, ricketty noise from the video moving. A volume button would come in handy here as it comes through rather loud!

The show plays for around 15secs at a time and resembles the performance one of those little wind up television things would give. It is clear but not lit up so cannot be watched in the dark as nothing can be seen! In proper light though, the show covers many scenes from the actual show. The scenery is bang on with green grass and a beautiful blue sky forming the background. Each character is shown in their finest, colourful form. Scenes include the Teletubbies dancing around, laughing and listening for the announcements over the tanoys around Teletubbyland. The show runs through all the scenes each time.

~~~Bye Bye Laa Laa~~~

Telly Tummy Laa Laa isn't a toy that Ryan spends endless amount of time playing with. He takes a notion for playing with Laa Laa and will happily sing along and dance. Other times he will watch the video and tell me which characters he can see and what they are up to. His imagination sometimes runs away with him which is perfectly healthy and encourages interact and jump around tiring him out in the process. Laa Laa comes on many trips to the shops and park with us so that Ryan can show his cousin and they seem to bond over her whilst watching the show! Laa Laa isn't a toy that can be cuddled a lot due to her body shape and hardness but she doesn't pose any threats of hurting little fingers with sharp edges so 12months is a perfectly suitable age recommendation.

~~~Keeping Up Appearances~~~

Laa Laa was perfectly clean when we took her home. Due to Ryan having an obsession with taking Laa Laa on the chute and swings at the park, she does get a bit grubby and dirt shows up very well on her beautiful, yellow fur coat. I usually run a damp cloth over her to keep her clean until her next playtime in the dirt and this seems sufficient to keep her looking her best.

Our Laa Laa had batteries installed and since it has been a month since purchasing her, she is still going strong and no signs of crackling music has been noticed. Ryan has a habit of taking his frustrations out on those he loves the most and when in a strop at the shops, Laa Laa is often thrown from the buggy with a degree of strength. She has so far managed to cope with Ryans strops and no cracking of her tummy has became noticeable so she is a tough lassie!

~~~Mummy and Boos Recommendation~~~

Laa Laa is much loved by Ryan and takes rough play on the chin. Although the Telly Tummy is available in the form of the other Teletubbies, Laa Laa would always have been our choice even if we hadn't spotted it in the charity shop! She is beautifully designed and presented. Where I feel Laa Laa disappoints, is the fact that there isn't much variation in terms of music. Its all the same song over and over again and I feel perhaps having 2 or 3 songs would encourage a bit more playtime and less headachy time for us parents. I swear I can here that tune in my sleep!

For the price of £2.50 second hand, she was well worth it. The lack of activities and music in Laa Laa would lead us to consider over £20.00 a bit too expensive. Perhaps £15.00 for an occasional toy would be sufficient but we are more than happy with our little bargain!

Thanks for reading :)