Spin it baby! (VTech Spin and Teach Top)

Member Name: ButterBear

Product:	VTech Spin and Teach Top
Date:	27/09/07 (262 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cute & educational, can be used without sound

Disadvantages: Few rotations

Having 2 children close together creates nothing but a nightmare when special occasions loom on the horizon and the time comes to go birthday shopping. You know the story, the older child already had the toys and they're still in great condition so why buy them again. This is the dilemma I face when choosing a toy for my little girls birthday, she had plenty of things for when she was a bit older, lots of clothes and books but I wanted to get her a toy, all of her own, that her brother hadn't played with before her. We scoured the shops for days searching out a toy suitable for her age, gender and interests, in the end we settled on this spinning top because she picked it out herself, we gave her a choice of several possible toys and this was the one that she got most excited about.

Vtech Spin & Teach Top-
The Spin & Teach Top is a brightly coloured, chunky plastic spinning top, suitable for children above the age of 6 months. It is similar to traditional spinning tops working by pressing down on the plunger on the top, as the plunger raises the top spins. Unlike traditional tops this has a flat base so it won’t topple over. The plunger also works as a way of changing the mode on the top, as it is pressed the lights will flash and music will play, the top has 4 settings
"Numbers", "Animals", "Music" and “Wacky sounds"

Around the edge of the top are 4 coloured, numbered buttons which light up when the top is pressed, there is also 4 animal figures a lion, a monkey, a bear and an elephant. When the buttons or animals are pressed they make different sounds depending on the mode the top is in. If for example the top is in animal’s mode then it will make animal sounds, ask you to find the animal etc... If you then press down the plunger it will change to another mode and the buttons will make strange sounds, tell you numbers, play music............

Songs included are "Row Row Your Boat" "ABC" "Dance Of The Sugarplum Fairy" and several other well known nursery rhymes.

The spinning top has 3 volume settings, you change this by using the slide switch on the top. The off setting stops the lights flashing and music playing however it can still spin, then there is volume 1 and 2, with 2 being the loudest.

The spinning top takes 2 AA batteries which are included, the compartment to change them is in the base of the top. It is not recommended that you use rechargeable batteries. The top can still work without batteries although it will only spin. The top also has an automatic shut down feature, when it's not been played with for a while it will shut itself down to preserve the batteries, it will come back on again as soon as a button is pressed.

Price & Availability-
I purchased my spinning top from Mothercare for £12.99. It is generally available in larger toy stores and it is available online, you can get it direct from the Vtech website also for £12.99.

My Opinion-
Although my daughter has only had the toy for 6
months it has seen a lot of use and abuse, it is constantly out of the toy box and both my little ones regularly pop back to it to set it off spinning before going back to what they were doing. The plastic seems really durable and has survived the occasional tumble off the sofa or being thrown across the room, it's also been landed on a few times by my ever so clumsy toddlers.

I love the bright colors that have been used, they are really eye catching and attractive to my little ones, my little boy loves to proudly tell me which colour is which and as soon as my daughter can talk i'm sure she'll be the same. The flashing lights are also popular and my little girl likes to press the buttons just so they'll flash.

The size of the plunger means that even the smallest unco-ordinated hands can press down on it but there is no risk of it breaking easily.

The top is great for teaching such things as numbers, animals and colours. It also helps with my little girls’ co-ordination as she tries to start the top spinning or catch the flashing lights. While my little girl is still a bit young yet to understand, my son quickly got the hang of finding the correct animal when the spinning top prompted him. Ok so your little one isn't going to learn quantum physics or long division with this toy but it's a great starter for colours, numbers, animals etc...

From a parents point of view the fact that it can still spin when turned off is a major bonus, while the little ones may love the voices, sounds and music it can on occasion get on mummy’s nerves, so being able to turn off the volume but still have a working toy is great. I have to say I do find the voices a bit annoying and some of the "Wacky sounds" too, I guess I'm just too grumpy in my old age.

Cleaning wise this is really easy to keep clean, just wipe it over with a damp cloth, there aren't too many grooves for gunk to get caught in.

One of the disappointing elements to the top is that it only spins twice when you've used the plunger, if you're really lucky you might get an extra half turn driven by the tops own momentum. You can't even plunge several times to get a good spin like you could on traditional tops. It is also a bit too heavy for my little girl to pick up and carry.

Overall I’d say this is a pretty good toy, my kids love it which is the main thing but I can also find it bearable as you can switch off the volume. £12.99 is a fair price to pay when compared to the prices of a lot of toys nowadays and because it seems popular with both my 1 1/2 and 3 year olds I’d say it has a good life span, not just in terms of not getting broken or worn out but also in terms of them growing a bit older and still enjoying it. My daughter still gets as excited about the toy now as she did on the day she chose it.

Summary: A popular toy mixing tradition with modern