Playskool Explore `N` Grow Busy Ball Popper

I'm the type of person who reads almost every review before buying anything, and there were a couple comments mentioned by MULTIPLE reviewers that almost made me not buy this toy!

These bad comments were (NOT my opinion):

1. The toy is dangerous -child's arm got stuck in the hole where balls shoot out from.

2. The toy is VERY loud and a potential danger for small developing ears.

3. The small balls are a choking hazard.

I decided to give it a try cause I could always return it, well I'm KEEPING it!

#1... the toy that I got is the updated version that now has "prongs" on the inside of the tube, so there's no way a child can get their arm stuck down there.

#2... the toy is NOT as loud as most of the reviewers describe it to be. When I got it, I thought it was gonna sound like a vacuum cleaner from all the comments! It doesn't -it sounds like a muffled hair dryer. Louder than any toys he has, but FAR from deafening!

#3... the balls are a little bit on the small side. I tried putting the balls in my mouth just in case, and I really had to open wide! I don't think a small child could fit them in their mouth. In any case, I wouldn't let my son play with this toy alone anyway. It's not that big of a deal.

The amount of fun my son has far outweighs any of the negatives (if you can call them that) of this toy. I happen to think it's perfect!!! And I'm so happy I ignored all the bad reviews!

First for the drawbacks; 1)It is easy to lose the balls if you don't make a point of collecting them after play and keeping them somewhere safe, 2)There is music that plays continuously while it is on, which can be annoying for some, and 3)The play cycle is rather short so you or baby must keep pressing plunger to start it again. This might be a welcome respite for those offended by #2.

BUT: All four of my boys LOVED this toy!!! A favorite, and a toy I always buy or recommend to others. Perfect for a boy or girl. My boys were enthralled by the colorful balls shooting out of the hole and amazed when they almost always went where they were supposed to, which is around the ramp and back into the receptacle. They also LOVED to feel the air blow out of the toy (the air is what pushes the ball up and out of the hole) and would often just press the plunger to feel the air on their faces, hands and in their hair. They quickly learned to start the toy themselves and would be entertained by it longer than they would be by other toys. All of my boys got this toy for their first birthdays (I am a toy manufacturers dream, I sell toys in Mom2Mom sales after on child outgrows them and then end up buying them again for subsequent kids-can't stand clutter and feel they deserve their own stuff).

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I bought this for my 10 month old daughter since my son seemed to love it at daycare when he was 1-2 years old. He's now 2 1/2 and still enjoys it. I think it's an adorable toy and a good way to teach cause/effect. My daughter watches intently as the balls pop up, then I show her where they go inside. I admit that she does flinch in surprise a little with the air/music combo as the balls pop up, but I don't think it's too loud at all. The anticipation is the fun part! I hate to say that 3 of the 5 balls are missing as of late, since they do fly all over the place when you play. I wonder if they sell extras/replacements...?

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I bought this for my son when he was about 15 months old. He is now 3 and a half and still LOVES this thing. Two major problems: The music is VERY loud and VERY annoying. The second problem is that it eats batteries like you would not believe. As soon as the power goes down a bit from the low batteries, the balls don't shoot into the air, they just sort of push up to the top of the tube which is alot less fun for the kids. That said, it was well worth the money if you are oonly considering the the amount of fun my kids have had with it.

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My neice has one of the older ones of these and it was great fun. I ordered one for my now 6 mo old and set it up and .... nothing. Check the instructions, is there some safety switch, did I not screw in the battery cover screw all the way? nope. Just DOA.

Ordered from Amazon, so they were great replacement went out 12/24 arrived 12/28.... Only a little better. Did nothing ... read a review about having to press hard and pressed very hard. chirp, pressed very hard again, chirp, pressed repeatedly and boom, came on, fan blew, music blared, whew. Worked a few more times over the next few minutes and just when I set it up in front of my son and he got to see it once...and was reaching for it... no more.

What absolute Junk. Tried another brand new set of batteries... not a chirp, nothing.

Junk!

I have looked for anything similar by another maker, but so far no luck.

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