LeapFrog Poppin' Play Piano

My 1 year old and 3 year old LOVE this toy. It's got 4 different song/music settings, so I'm not stuck listening to the same thing over and over! It also has 2 different volume settings, which is great! The keys are easy to push, but the balls don't jump as much as I thought they would, and that does frustrate my 1 year old a little bit. It's easy to carry and even when dropped (multiple times!) works great! Overall, it's a good toy and my kids really enjoy it!

My 19 month old child has not stopped playing with this toy since we received it from Amazon (Vine). He has a few other LeapFrog items, but he has never taken to one like he has this. He really enjoys music, and has been learning his colors, so this seemed like an easy choice.

There are 4 basic modes:

Number: Press a key, number "sung" (1-8, in the tone of a scale)

Color: The color of the key "sung"

Free Play: Each key becomes a different instrument

Song: The piano plays a song; kids can choose to accompany by pressing other keys

What my child loves: watching the balls go up. He likes the songs and has had a lot of fun just playing random keys. The switch to move from counting to colors to free play is easy for him to manipulate.

What I like: the tonality is pretty good for a kids' toy. And because it follows the scale, you can play some actual songs on it. I also like that it doesn't have anything to break off or keep stored with it, as many of the child xylophones do.

However, I find it a little loud. It comes with a volume switch, but even the "low" setting is loud. I also wish that it counted higher than 8 (he can already count to 8).That limits its educational value. It does start to get annoying when they push the same button over and over, especially in counting mode. "Eeeeiiiight! Eeeeiiiight! Eeeeeeight! Eeeeeeight! Eeeeeeight!" etc.

Remember the 90's Sampsonite commercial where they have a gorilla in a room with a suitcase? That's like my kid with toys. If he can break it, he will. He's already dropped it down the stairs once and so far it's holding up well, which has been true of all the LeapFrog toys we've used.

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When my wife & I talk about toys, we come from the perspective of educators. That said, for early childhood development, nothing beats "old fashioned" toys.

Hands down, in every documented study, plain old wood blocks provide more stimulation, more fine motor skill development, more problem-solving, etc. Also keep in mind, electronic toys like this encourage kids to play alone they tend to work against socialization skills. Every child (as early as 6 months), should have wood blocks, flash cards, mega blocks or legos, lincoln logs, things like that. And, lots of board books around.

However, often times people want to buy "exciting" electronic toys for holidays and birthdays toys that talk, sing, light up, etc. No matter how educational they claim to be, toys like this "do the work" for your child, and are not as challenging. But it's obviously not going to kill your child to have a few of these around!

So if you're looking for electronic toys, we strongly recommend Leapfrog products. We've tested many, many toys and we own 3 different Leapfrog toys (including a Phonics Dinosaur toy that has been dropped, thrown, rolled down the stairs, and still looks and plays like new!).

I find the Leapfrog products are intuitive, durable, more educational than any other electronic toys (like Fisher Price, etc), and well thought out.

This Poppin Piano is exactly what I expected it to be. Many functions to keep your child engaged. Counting & color games. A regular piano mode (*every* child needs a piano of some sort, to learn music & also fine motor skills).

And like all other Leapfrog products, it's not too noisy, it's a smart power saver so it doesn't drain the batteries, and the noises & singing are nice and soft (not loud & shrill like many other electronic toys).

Leapfrog recommends this for 12-36 months. But our 7 month old is actually using it the "poppin" balls are fun to watch, and it's a great opportunity to learn cause & effect.

So if you're a parent, these kinds of toys are great for car rides, for short-attention-span moments, a kitchen activity (while you're busy cooking), etc. We don't recommend it as an "everyday" toy. We keep electronic toys locked up, and pull them out only occasionally. However, for the category of electronic toys, Leapfrog always gets best in class.

(PS If you're interested in more information about these studies, or about early childhood development, the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is free online to read back issues.)

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My youngest child as of 2012 is 2. When I received this toy, I thought he would enjoy it at least. He played with it for about 10 to 15 minutes and was done. The toy is very basic. It is a small keyboard with the various colors. The color of the keys are matched with a small ball that goes up when the key is pressed. The toy has four different settings for colors, numbers, and two settings for music. My child does need to learn his colors better which is why I got the toy in the first place.

Overall, this toy perhaps would be better for an even younger child than 2. My little boy didn't play with the toy long and now the toy sits on top of the other toys in his toy room.

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We love this toy! The popping balls are so fun and interactive, the little ones love it. And it's full of great music and is really educational. When I was trying it at the store a kid literally ran up and grabbed it from my hands...

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