Not long ago I was walking past a local charity shop that had a huge amount of used toys for sale, and so always wanting extra toys to add to my daughter's collection without breaking the bank, I thought I would have a look. I picked up a few amazing bargains all of looked like they had never been used or hardly used, including this Vtech Little Singing Alfie, which had no signs of wear and tear, and cost me 99p! A quick look on amazon shows that this product usually retails for over £8! Bit of a difference.

This teddy is aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 18 months, and since my daughter is almost 4 months old this was a suitable toy for her in my opinion. It is meant to be a toy that a baby can cuddle into and hug, and initially I was a little wary as I thought it looked a little hard for a baby to cuddle, around the tummy area where the lights and music are at. However, on closer inspection, bar the tummy of the teddy, the rest of this Little Alfie is actually quite soft and cuddly, and my daughter does (sort of!) cuddle into it, although I would suggest it is more so she can try and put it in her mouth...we're at that stage!

There are 3 main buttons on the tummy of Little Alfie with three different coloured buttons that light up and flash when the teddy is being played with. At the beginning, I couldn't figure out how to turn Little Alfie and he was singing away in my handbag, however I soon realised that the button used to turn Alfie on is the same button to turn the teddy off, which is situated just above the three main buttons.

THese three buttons are labelled 1, 2 and 3. When you first press a button Alfie speaks telling you what kind of bear he is .... A hungry bear, a happy bear or a sleepy bear, and I do have to say it is very very cute. When he says a happy bear and gives a giggle, my daughter always smiles. When you press each button again, you are told the number that is on the front plus there are a given number of beeps to represent the number on the button, in order to help your baby recognise numbers in the future. If you press each button a third time you will then hear a song, and sometimes the bear says 'I love you'. The sleepy bear button sings a lullaby, whereas the other two buttons are much livelier.

At the top of the teddy there is a velcro strap which allows you to hang this toy from a carry seat or buggy, and it is a good way to securing this toy when out and about, especially when a child is likely to drop it.

My daughter absolutely adores this teddy. She can now hold him with both hands but will automatically try to eat him. The fact that she can reach the hands and feet which are soft and cuddly, means she can chew on this, and even though I was a bit unsure about the harder tummy there is enough cuddly parts of the teddy to be able to be cuddled by a baby. My daughter is mesmerized by the lights as Alfie sings, and it simply keeps her entertained for a good length of time. However, I do think that there is a very limited amount you can do with this toy to warrant a price of over £8. Yes, my daughter likes it very much, but I would not have bought this at full price, as I simply do not think it is good value for money. A fiver maximum, but no more. All in all, though it is a cute and cuddly entertaining toy perfect for a 3 month + baby.