My little girl is almost five months old and one of the best presents she probably received at Christmas time in terms of toys was this Vtech Crawl and Learn Bright Lights Ball, which you can pick up for less than £20 in the likes of Argos. She already has a number of Vtech toys some better than others, and so I wasn't quite sure what to make of this product. It is actually aimed at children from 6 months +, however, don't be put off if your child is around the 4 or 5 month mark, as they can still get a lot of fun out of this toy at this age.

This Vtech crawl is primarily aimed at encouraging a baby to crawl since it is actually a ball that moves by itself thanks to a special built in motor that makes the ball move around itself when you initially turn it on and when you press some of the buttons on the ball. This is a very bright and colouful ball, with little bits of ribbon at the top sticking out for baby to grab hold of. My daughter isn't coordinated enough just yet to be able to grasp these ribbons. At the very top of the ball is a moving ladybird, which moves in a circular motion around the top, and as you move it, music comes from the ball and the lights flash.

All around the ball are buttons either with animals to press which activates the sound the animal makes such as monkey and cat, as well as shapes such as circle and squares with numbers in them all of which are told to the child after pressing the button, as well as more melodies being played and by pressing the buttons the ball activates again and moves. There is a 'limited controlled movement' function with this ball meaning that it stops within reach of the child, it never moves too far away for them to be able to get to, especially when they are crawling.

As I said at the start my daughter is almost five months old and so she isn't crawling but she is starting to roll over, and she absolutely adores this ball. If she is on her tummy she will try to reach her hand out but cannot get it. If she is lying flat on her back on her playmat, with this ball beside her moving around, she will roll onto her side to try and follow the ball. She is mesmerized by the all moving by itself and the flashing lights, and likes to hear the animal sounds as well. In fact, there really is a lot of stuff to do with this ball in terms of pressing buttons and listening to songs, and getting educational benefits as well.

The only thing you need to watch is that the ball needs to be on a flat surface to move by itself, if there are any kind of bumps etc then it will struggle to move. For example, it will move on our carpet but not on our rug.


I cannot comment on its ability to encourage a baby to crawl, but I can tell you that even for a baby that isn't at the stage of crawling, it is a brilliant toy, one that will keep them amused for a good length of time, encourage rolling and generally provide fun, education and a few giggles! A great toy from Vtech, worth every penny!