My children each recieved a GloE toy for Christmas last year, one of which was the Blue Baby Bear. The Babies are slightly smaller than the 'normal' versions, they are about 12" high. The concept of the GloE bears is that the button is pressed in the hand and little 'bulbs' situated throughout the bear light up and gradually colour change. Once the button is pressed the lights go out, or eventually (after 15 minutes) the GloE will turn itself off. I think my friend got them from Woolworths for about £14.99.

There was much hype about these toys when they came out, so my children were most excited to get one. However the excitement soon died down as the possibilities for play are rather limited. As you can expect, we found that in daylight the bears were not great and unless is was dimly lit you could not really see that they were glowing at all. We also found that the blue or coloured versions did not glow as brightly or seem as effective as the white due to the fur colour.

My children showed a great interest in taking the GloEs to bed. I soon found that this was not a good idea as it seemed to prolong bedtime as the bears were used as lights and the play continued! However, for a child who needs a nitelite these bears would be a great aid in helping the child adjust to sleeping in the dark as they turn themselves off.

The GloE bears however did come into their own. We had a series of power cuts in the evenings. As you can imagine having three children, there was general frenzy and searching for matches/ candles etc was not easy with the children frightened. We located the GloEs and all was at peace again, in the pitch blackness we used the GloEs to locate all we needed, and the kids were happy.

In conclusion, these toys are not great for stimulating play, however they would make a great comforter for a child who is scared of the dark and they are an essential piece of kit if you have children and are prone to getting power cuts!