LeapFrog LeapTop

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Last Christmas I bought The Boy a little 'laptop' from Early Learning Centre. At the time he wasn't really interested in it and it took him a few months to start playing with it. I think part of the problem was that it didn't look enough like mine (because he still kept trying to jab my keys mid blog-post!) and that really it had a handful of buttons that had limited functionality. I bought it on an impulse a few days before Christmas day and wish I'd thought it through.

Because for the same amount of money, I could have had this:

The LeapFrog LeapTop

It just looks better doesn't it? It appears to be more like a laptop with the keyboard and the little mouse on the side. The Boy is completely and utterly won over by it and for the first week after it arrived for review, he would come down for breakfast in the morning and demand to know where his laptop was before he would do anything else.

Prior to giving it to The Boy, it required some initial setup connected to my laptop and the Internet. There is an easily accessible USB port on the side of the screen (potentially this could have been located under the battery compartment cover as in the Tag Junior, as The Boy keeps trying to play with it). I easily downloaded the software from the LeapFrog website, picked The Boy's name from the list, and chose from the selection of 'e-mails' that are uploaded to the laptop to be read out by Scout. I was then also able to choose the classical music that I wanted played on the laptop, along with instrumental versions of nursery rhymes. This setup took approximately five-ten minutes and was easy to do. The LeapTop can be connected to the laptop to chart his 'progress' and this can be e-mailed to family members; ideal for grandparents, etc.

The Boy adores the personalised e-mails. The first time that he heard them, his eyes lit up with wonder and excitement and he started talking back to Scout. There are a few additional e-mails that are programmed in from the green dog himself (giving eight in total) and they help add to the variety. He's also very fond of the 'new blog entry' button. When I discovered that option I roared with laughter! I love that LeapFrog are ahead of the game here in recognising the importance and power of blogging. Whereas The Boy just likes to hear that Scout has been to the beach and made a sandcastle!

As the e-mails are read out, the text is displayed on the screen and The Boy chuckles at the pictures that come up alongside the blog entries. The screen is quite small in comparison to the surround which in the wrong light can make it difficult to see. However, The Boy pays a great deal of attention to the pictures that are displayed and absolutely adores the images of Scout dancing in the music section.

The 'mouse' on the side is a sliding button which switches between three modes for the keyboard: learning about animals and the sounds they make, the alphabet and phonics, and musical mode:

  • In animals mode (my favourite) when you press a letter it asks you a question about that animal which then is named. If you don't know, press the 'paw' button and it tells you the answer. We both like that game.
  • The musical game is a little basic or not suited to him at the moment (aged just 2); the first two rows are funny sounds, the bottom row is musical notes.
  • The 'abc' game involves pressing the letter, hearing the phoneme, then the letter name and an example word. As a teacher, I like that game a lot, although it's a tad too tricky for The Boy at the moment.

Why is the LeapFrog LeapTop so good?

  • The Boy thinks it's a proper laptop and leaves mine alone!
  • There are so many different games on it that it holds his attention for a good period of time
  • The games are a mix of educational and fun
  • Easily set up and personalised
  • The personalisation helps to make it more appealing to little ones
  • Good value for money
  • It uses British accents in 90% of the programming (I think that there must have been an error somewhere along the line as it states on the box that it uses British voices but on a few of the e-mails or blog entries, Scout's voice switched over to an American accent and then back to a British one).

Overall I think that this is the best little laptop around in this price bracket (£20) and will continue to aid The Boy's development for another year or two yet, supplementing and supporting his formal learning in the Foundation Phase.

This was provided as part of the Toys R Us Toyology review programme. However, our opinions are as always honest and fair.

A Sticky Situation

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We were recently sent the 'First Words' Sticker Activity Book by Top That! to review. I'll admit to opening it and thinking "Really? He's two!" However that opinion quickly changed when I opened it, examined the pages and showed it to The Boy; he was captivated!

My reservations centred around the fact that sticker books often have flimsy pages with a matt finish that mean once the sticker is put down (often in the wrong place the first time), that's it it's stuck there. You can't peel it back off to move it, and if you try the stickers are so thin, they rip and you have a distressed child.

That is not the case with this gorgeous activity book. The pages are thick and glossy which means that stickers can be peeled back off and realigned. The stickers are also a really good quality and easy to hold. The Boy has gone back a few times since he first did one of the pages and rearranged the stickers, well over a week later, with no problem.

'First Words' tells the story of David and Lizzie who live in a house with their mum and dad. The book introduces different aspects of David and Lizzie's homelife from the rooms in their house to their routines. You can dress them, give them their breakfast in the kitchen, follow them on a walk to the park or when they go shopping, when they play with their toys,go to the countryside, and then go to bed. The pages that illustrate each of these everyday occurences are beautifully drawn with bright colours and attractive designs. The additional bit that I like, and I think the first time that I've seen it, is that the colours around each of the stickers matches the section of the page where they are meant to go perfectly. Too often the stickers are surrounded by white which makes them stick out like a sore thumb.

This is part of a series of books from Top That! which is aimed at children three years old and over, other titles included are 'Colours', 'Counting' and 'Shapes', and all four support the Foundation Phase and National Curriculum learning objectives (as a primary school teacher I can see how these would support his learning). One of the features of the book is that the words being introduced are also printed in the book allowing the reader to over-write and practise his/her writing skills. Obviously this is the area where The Boy has not been able to fully enjoy the book, but it's not a problem because in the future he will be able to and it hasn't hampered his enjoyment of the book. There are other lovely activities like dot-dot, tick-lists, drawing areas and colourings.

The Sticker Activity Books normally retails for £4.99 but at the moment they are on offer for £4.49. I shall definitely be popping over and buying the other titles in the series (is it too early to think of Christmas presents?)

Another top-tip (stolen borrowed from Damian Johnson) is to remove the surrounding and unnecessary sticky; it makes it so much easier for their little fingers to get the stickers off.

We were provided with this book free of charge for the purpose of this review. My opinion is, as always, honest.

Daddy SIGG

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Well, aren't I the lucky one?

It started on what the Boy would call "Daddy's Day", but what everyone else calls Fathers' Day. I'd been impressed with the Boy's Desert Fun and his Mummy's Summer Splash, and so the Boy's Mummy decided that I needed a SIGG bottle of my own. Knowing that I'm not a bright designs type of person, she chose a classic 'Heritage' for me and, knowing how much I would be using it don't drink enough at all during the day; one that could take a full litre.

Since then, it's been everywhere with us. I've packed it alongside the Boy's and his Mummy's bottles for trips to beaches and all over the country, but more importantly also take it to work with me every day. Aside from yesterday, when I was in such a rush I forgot it; I knew something was missing but I was already on my way to work before I realised what. Now, the Boy's Mummy can be sure I won't forget to drink water during the day, and I don't have to worry about walking halfway around the builiding just to find a usable tap.

What's more, the Boy and his Mummy even chosen a specific lid. Not one of these new-fangled coloured caps, this one is metal all the way. It's not the only SIGG bottle in the office; a colleague has the Vipers Illusion design on his, and he swears by his SIGG's durability.

A classic design through and through, and a fantastic and much-appreciated present.

AntiVirus: A TRU Review

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I get a lot of things to review, either for me or for The Boy. Nothing ever comes for daddy.

However, in the second box of toys from Toys R Us there was a game that I could see him eyeing up instantly. A logic puzzle. "Ha ha," thought I "that'll make him happy!"

Suitable for ages 8 years and over, The Anti Virus puzzle has 60 levels ranging from Starter to Wizard. It's a white, plastic base measuring 17.5 x 17.5 x 2cm, and has dimples in it in order to hold the different shaped and coloured game pieces. There is a very attractive, laminated instruction booklet with rules, puzzles and most importantly for me, the solutions! It also comes with a nifty zip-up travel case which is going to be handy next week on holiday.

I'm handing over to The Boy's daddy to tell you what he thinks. And trust me, this is a man obsessed.

"I've always been a fan of board games, whether classics such as Draughts and Solitare or more obscure games like Abalone. The idea of a game that takes 30 seconds to learn the rules of, but hours (or more) to learn how to play effectively, appeals to my curiosity.

So when the Boy's Mummy passed me Anti-Virus to try out, I was instantly intrigued. The game consists of nine differently-sized pieces, a booklet containing 60 setups (and, if you're a quitter, their solutions), and a simple task: move the pieces across the boardwithout rotating or lifting them, to allow the red "virus" piece to exit the game board.

At first glance, it resembles the game 'Parking Lot', but where the vehicles in that can only move one-way these pieces can move two ways. And with the setups covering five different difficulty levels, the complexity ramps up very quickly. Each setting up takes less than 30 seconds per level. But as I quickly discovered, whether you solve it in 10 seconds, or it takes you an hour, there is a definite "well, let's just take a quick look at the next level" factor. I admit it; I'm hooked."

Anti-Virus retails for £14.99 RRP. Keep an eye on the Toys R Us Facebook page for updates on availability.

FurReal: Cookie-Pie

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The Boy has a little problem with dogs, as I'm sure many toddlers do: they scare him. It's perfectly understandable as they are pretty much the same size and are unpredictable.

When we were sent the FurReal Cookie Pie (£69.99 RRP) to review for Toys R Us Toyologist programme I had a little 'eek' moment with anxiety. Cookie Pie is an electronic dog that responds to your voice and touch by moving her head, blinking and barking. She responds to your voice, touch and will even look around to you if you call from the left or right. The only moving part is her head and facial features, her legs can be posed so she either sits up or lies down. She 'eats' her bone and if 'tickled' on certain parts of her face then she responds.

Things seemed to be going well as The Boy was perfectly happy for Cookie to yap away inside the box. He actually thought it was quite funny and kept saying "huwwo doggy, how are you?".

That was until I got him out of the box. The Boy looked at him, said "huwwo doggy" (to which Cookie Pie barked at) and then promptly started shaking. The Boy, not the dog. Then the bottom lip came out and he started edging towards me and away from the very cute little dog panting and barking at him. He then climbed into my lap and buried his head in my shoulder. So Cookie Pie unfortunately went back into the box.

However, there are a couple of lessons that I have learnt from this situation.

  • The Boy is frightened of dogs and this is something that needs remedying carefully in order to prevent future issues. Hopefully Cookie Pie will help with this situation in the future. Maybe I'll leave the batteries out for a while.
  • Cookie Pie is realistic. 

This is good. This means that FurReal have got it right and have created an electronic barking and moving dog that persuades children into thinking it's a real one. Parents all over the nation can breathe a sigh of relief as they have a 'can-we-have-a-puppy?' solution that is easy and cheap. No need to take him for a walk, no little presents or puzzles on the carpet, no fleas, no pet insurance, no danger of it biting your child, etc. An easy solution that will pacify your children's desire for a pet for a few years!

It does molt though.

We were provided with this toy free for review purposes as part of the Toyologist scheme. My opinions are my own and honest.

Earth Friendly Baby & Kids

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Back in February of this year, I had the pleasure of reviewing Earth Friendly Baby products. Since then I have tried a few other baby toiletry ranges but this is the only range that I continue to use, day in and day out. It is soft, mild, kind and is still the only shampoo to have cleared and kept away The Boy's cradle cap and eczema due to the key ingredients of chamomile and lavender.

When I was asked if I wanted to test out some more products alongside my favourites, I didn't hesitate to answer a resounding 'yes'. I was sent the EFB Organic Lavender Shampoo & Bodywash (my favourite product), EFB Organic Lavender Bubblebath (used every bath-time), Earth Friendly Kids Minty Lavender Shampoo & Bodywash, and Earth Friendly Kids Minty Lavender Handwash.

I hadn't tried the Earth Friendly Kids range before but was equally as impressed as with the baby range. The minty lavender products are fresh and cooling; perfect to bathe in after a long day's play in the garden in the summer heat. The handwash is used by all of us and leaves your hands smelling and feeling smooth and clean.

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The Next Picasso? A TRU Review

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Being both a qualified nursery nurse and a primary school teacher, I've had training on the development of most areas of a child's ability from 3 months old to 11 years. One of the areas that I know is important to develop at this age is the fine motor skills as it is a precursor to the ability to write; the pincer grip, hand-eye co-ordination, control of small objects are all important skills to develop.

Therefore threading, lacing, painting, colouring, jigsaws, sticking are all really important activities for toddlers to experience to help develop these skills. A drawing table or art easel would be something that would allow these activities to happen easily. We've got one and The Boy loves it; it's his own little territory and he spends quite a lot of time there.

Combine the two things together and you get the Artisto Table and Easel by Keter which we were sent to review as part of the Toys R Us Toyologist scheme.

Do you notice what's different about it? Yep, an easel and table combined, but for two children!

What I liked:

  • that using the perspex, two children can work collaboratively on a drawing or a game like noughts and crosses etc.
  • there is an individual table for each child and they both have a pot and compartment for their drawing/sticking equipment
  • it's easily cleanable
  • bright and attractive colours
  • very easy to put together, meaning five minutes after getting it out of the box, it was assembled
  • encourages social interaction.

What I wasn't keen on:

  • the space on each side is big enough to fit a landscape sheet of A4, portrait won't fit on it
  • the perspex is quite high up and is an unnatural position to draw on from a seating position
  • when the moving compartments swivel around, one can completely cover the other person's drawing table; I can see arguments happening
  • the distance from the seat to the table is quite wide in comparison to other tables available
  • it's big, very big! (width 65cm, length 122cm, height 96cm).

At £79.99 (RRP) this is a more expensive table, but does have a lot of functionality and is perfect for twins, near-aged children or playgroups.

This will soon be available to purchase at Toys R Us. Keep an eye on the Facebook page to find out when!

Due to its size (and the fact that we've already got a drawing table) I will be donating this to Ty Hafan Children's Hospice (my local children's cancer hospital).

Toy Genius: Djeco Animal Puzzle

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You may have seen me rave about an amazing independent online shop called ToyJeanius in the past or on twitter, and quite frankly I don't think I will ever stop adoring the toys that they sell. Over the past two years I have come to realise that there is a lot of old tat out there, especially bright and garish plastic which ensnares the child with it's fairground style flashing lights and noises. Yes, we have some but I'd rather The Boy play with better quality, more traditional style toys, and I am fortunate that he seems to prefer them as well. I am fortunate that we have recently been chosen to be Toy Geniuses/Genii (the debate ensues) and therefore will get to enjoy a lot more of the amazing toys that are chosen by Jean personally and with much thought.

With that in mind, we were recently sent this gorgeous little toy to review, made by the fabulous French company Djeco. It really is completely stunning and it has become one of The Boy's favourite toys. And Mummy's. And Daddy's. Oh, and Nana's.

The toy is a traditional wooden box with a slide lid, inside it contains fifteen colourful wooden pieces; five animal heads, five arms/torsos and five sets of legs. They fit together to make five different animals; bear, owl, cat, dog and a mouse. Each 'set' is colour-coded in attractive colours and patterns, which is great and awful for my OCD tendencies. Great because they look fabulous laid into the hollow holder in the lid; awful because The Boy mixes them all up, just like a two year old would!

The Boy loves making up the different animals, and has started to lay all the pieces out onto a surface selecting a head and legs and inserting all the arms in between. He them makes a cat-erpillar, or a mouse-erpillar, or an owl-erpillar with the pieces. Seeing him choosing the different pieces, fitting them into place and then disagreeing with his choice is so funny. From such a simple traditional toy, he has had hours and hours of pleasure. Everyone who has seen it has admired it, and quite rightly so. The box is a really handy size being approximately 16x13cm, so it fits into a handbag or changebag with no problem whatsoever. It's hardwearing wood, and the quality of the paint on each piece is extremely tough as he's been playing with this for three weeks with no damages whatsoever. Also I am happy to report no lost pieces, because that would really screw with my OCD!

One last thing that I have to mention before you 'coo' over the video is that it carries both the CE mark and the FSC logo, meaning that this long-lasting, heirloom of a toy has come from a well-managed forest. Now isn't that better than bright orange plastic?

I am lucky enough to be able to offer a 10% discount available for my readers. Simply enter the code 'theboyandme' at the checkout. Happy shopping!

We were sent this toy without charge to review. My opinions are as always honest.


I'm a Toyjeanius toy genius

Theraline Animal Neck Pillow

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In a few weeks time we're off down to Delightfully Delicious Dorset for a week's holiday and therefore my mind is filled to bursting with all the different things that we're going to need. That includes all the things that will make a possibly three-hour journey (depending upon the damned M5 around Taunton) easier for us, especially me as I'll be in the back next to a crotchety two-year old who has started to refuse to sleep in the car.

One such item that will make him more comfy (and therefore more likely to sleep) is the Theraline animal neck pillow that we've recently been sent to review. We chose a sheep one because we're Welsh but they come in three very cute and cuddly designs to keep little boys and girls happy. Made from a soft and cuddly materials and filled with fine sand-like micro-beads, I already know that The Boy is going to enjoy cuddling up to sheep, and when he falls asleep I can pop it around his neck to support and make it more comfy for him.

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WOW: Fun with Fred!

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From the first moments that The Boy could crawl, one of his favourite activities was crawling up the sofa and onto the windowsill behind. He'd then lift up the net curtains and sit there waving at the people going past. His most favourite person to wave at was the driver of the dustbin lorry that goes up the street on a Tuesday and a Friday. Even now, he still insists on watching them go past, and now they wave back to him.

When I saw that WOW Toys have a range of vehicles found about town and that one of these is Flip'n'Tip Fred the recycling lorry, I was more than happy to review it with The Boy. His little face when he saw it was an absolute picture and he spent a very busy hour or two playing extremely contentedly with it.

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