Battat ABC Block Party Set

These blocks offer so many different activities. I bought them for my 8 mos old and 1 year old grandchildren. They can stack, knock down, remove inserts, play with inserts and put the inserts back in the soft colorful blocks. Great purchase!

These blocks are wonderful! They are very well made, with a great variety of fabrics and colors. Well worth the price, as they will be played with for many years. Beautiful packaging help make this a perfect gift.

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These were even better than I hoped. The illustrations are so unique and the plastic center pieces are interesting and easy for little hands to grasp to pull out or put in. I couldn't be happier with this purchase!

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I had purchased similar blocks for my granddaughter 5 years ago and recently pulled them out for my grandson. He absolutely loved them. Couldn't find them in the store but found them on amazon. Only thing he played with when he opened them on Christmas.

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First Friends Tiger

This toy is just adorable and appears to be well made and durable. Best of all, the moving parts--the head, tail and legs--make a ratcheting sound that little ones love! I gave my one year and two year old grandchildren the First Friends Tiger and Monkey for a birthday party today, and they really are having a good time with them. These animal friends are small enough to go everywhere with the kids, and very appealing to them.

Infantino Spiral Spin Top

Babies love to play with this, and it is very fun and duravble. My baby has abused this thing and it still works pretty much like new.

We loved this toy. It was so good when Bella was learning to sit, because it's heavy and she could lean on it to balance. As she got bigger she learned how to press the button herself so it's still popular 5 months later! Would highly recommend it.

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The toy is kind of cheap and did not last very long.

if it is dropped breaks very easily. The good side is it did not cost much

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Loved this top! Works wel, especially with little toddlers. Easy to use, and it's large base make it very stable. If you don't like noisy toys, this isn't the top for you!

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We use this as a sensory toy for a low functioning, severly austic young man. He derives much pleasure from this, and it keeps him entertained for long stretches of time.

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Intex Dolphin Baby Pool

My grandson was testing the water for the first time during his visit with us, and the little pool is perfect! It's like his own personal bath tub (but cuter). For the price, this is a good addition for the summertime.

These two I purchased were perfect for our pool party! I had to make sure the babies had their own safe little pool to swim in.

They are easy to blow up, and the dolphin and decor was awesome to amuse the babies!

Speedy shipping and great packaging too!

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I must have gotten stuck with the bad one out of the bunch. This pool is super adorable but when I received this last night there was already a hole on top of the whale and none of the tabs where you blow air into stay closed! Well, the pool tabs stay closed but as far as the whale that we already had to use the patch for and the toy rings (including what they hang on) all open right back up. I see that I am going to need to try and tape them all shut. I would return this, but being currently overseas and waited a few weeks to get this, I don't want to bother sending this back and waiting for a replacement...Oh well at least this pool didn't cost too much.

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Seriously! The photos show it ALL WRONG. I blew this sucker up up UP and still the side attachments were obstructive. This was a gift for my son's 1st birthday and he could barely sit in it comfortably. Eventually I removed the three rings and hoop with the scissors (carefully) and then he had more space. But you really can't fit more than one child in there even now.

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Great little pool for just the right price. It is the perfect size for my ten month old son, and he enjoyed it immensely. Its cushioned bottom impressed me and made it even more comfortable for my son. It does have several sections that need to be blown up, but a minor inconvenience once the fun starts. It even comes with a patch should an accident happen. Very good buy.

Lamaze High Contrast Wrist Rattles

My daughter has these and LOVES them! She's in a pre-teething stage and is constantly looking for something to suck on. They're small and easy to fit in her mouth but I don't have to be scared that she'll swallow it because it is secured around her wrist with velcro. They are very soft, and the bright colors are fun to look at too. It's amazing to watch her use one hand to pull the other hand closer to her mouth in order to suck on the little ladybug's head. So cute!

And since they're fabric I can throw them in the wash every few days when they get really slobbery and gross.

I might even buy extras in case we lose the one's she's got. They are better than most of the other toys we have!

I bought this for our baby with combination of Lamaze socks and it works out well. It catches baby's attention and the rattling is just right sound level, not too noisy, not too quiet. But, if your baby's hand is chunky, you will have little bit of issues with one of the rattles. The strip is made out of beautiful but fuzzy material and it is not too long, so it barely fits on the hand of our little one. The other rattle is pretty ok.

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They looked cute, but they really did not rattle very loud and the wrist size was small. My grandson was not impressed and neither was I. I would pass on this product.

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I've had these for my now 5 month old for a couple of months and we have been happy with them. We started with them when she was about 3 months old and just starting to find her hands and she was fascinated by the colors and noise. As she started teething, she loves to suck and gnaw on them (it sounds pretty funny, actually) and I love that I can just throw them in the wash, though I do use a delicates bag and air dry to minimize wear on them. Unlike a couple other reviewers, I have had no trouble with getting them on my daughter or having them stay on and shes been running about 50% on the growth charts. Maybe if your little one has large wrists? Anyway, I think they have been money well spent!

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It rattles ok. I got some new ones from walmart that rattled so much better. The design and color are amazing. I have a chubby little two month old, and she only was able to fit in the wrist rattles for two weeks, and now they don't fit. If they were to fit longer, they would be amazing.

Baby Bopper Baby Seat 1 Red

We bought this toy for our 8 month old daughter in hopes of providing her a fun and shaded pool toy. When we put her in it she did not fit comfortably in the seat and appeared as if she would tip over (she is on the larger side of babies her same age). We decided not to test out if she would be stable or not we went with instinct. Also, it was a breezy day the day we used it and the design of the float allows it to catch the breeze and go quickly across the pool. I guess we will give her the blow up hammer in another float!

My son is 3 1/2 (but size 5T) & Autistic, I have been searching for durable floats for his size, but with baby safety in mind. This one is Good... The only thing is leg openings are HUGE & he seems to end up over on one end of it..

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Little Mommy Doll - African American

My daughter has autism and has had absolutly no interest in dolls. She didn't quite know what she was suppose to do with them or how to do imaginative play with them. We recently purchased this doll for her and she hasn't set her down yet. She pretend cries for the doll and tickles her. She feeds her and won't sleep without her. I think this doll has woken up emotions in my daughter that were not there before. This has taught her to understand empathy and how to care for someone. Autistic children like weighted objects and the beanie bottom of the doll makes her different from the other dolls we have given our daughter. I think the heavyness of the doll makes my daughter want to hold her constantly. Im so greatful that we got this doll and it has had such a wonderful impact on my daughter.

I bought this doll for my now 4 year old daughter when she was 2 years old and first started to become interested in dolls. She still carries it everywhere. We also bought all (and I do mean ALL) of the accesories that came with the dolls, and she played for hours with them. The accesories didn't last too long in our house, but the doll is still here. And now that she has a 2 month old sister, she plays with the doll even more, imitating mommy and the baby!

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I have a 23 month old and we just bought her this doll. She won't let it go. She loves to pretend to feed and give it naps. It's a great value and I beleive a perfect first doll.

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I gave this as a gift for a friend's daughter, who is almost 2 years old and my friend says her daughter loves it. That's all I know about it. But the reaction encouraged me. I was pleased to see it came in a big box with accessories. The reaction has caused me to buy followup accessories for 14-inch dolls and I'll probably later buy more dolls like this. I'm 57 years old and don't have children so I needed a site like this with reviews to know what to buy.

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I GOT THIS DOLL FOR MY 18 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER FOR CHRISTMAS AND I DON'T THINK SHE HAS PUT HER DOWN SINCE. MY DAUGHTER LOVES THIS DOLL. SHE GOT TWO OTHER DOLLS THAT SING AND MAKE SOUNDS BUT SHE WON'T EVEN LOOK AT THEM SHE ONLY WANTS "MY BABY". SHE HAS EVEN WOKE UP AT 5 IN THE MORNING CRYING FOR THE DOLL. THIS IS A GREAT DOLL SHE HAS A VERY SOFT BODY. I WISH I COULD GIVE HER 10 STARS.

Lamaze Puppytunes

My 3 1/2 month old daughter has an older version of this toy and is the fourth baby to own it. I originally bought it for my nephew 4 years ago, then his younger siblings had their way with it and it made its way back to me when I had a baby. It was the first toy my daughter really reached for and grabbed just before she turned 3 months old. Every morning I take it out and she smiles and gets so excited! It stayed in excellent shapevery minimal wear and tear, even though my sister-in-law tells me it was a favorite of her children, too.

This was actually bought for my toddler, but my infant LOVES it. It ALWAYS makes her smile. And the music he plays with his legs is something that makes my older kids giggle. Great toy! (And I like that batteries are unnecessary!)

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I bought this for my 3 month old neice to play with when she comes to visit and she loves this toy. It keeps her occupied for quite a while. The bright colors and different sounds really stimulate her. And I can see her playing with this for some time...as she gets older she can puch the paws and make the sounds all by herself. I would definitey recommend this product.

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cute idea, only four notes, so "tunes" are very limited. Children have a hard time getting the toy to play notes because to get sound to come out you have to squeeze pretty hard, quickly, which is impossible for a small child. Save your money and buy something else.

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My daugher already has the Octopus version of this and LOVES it. It makes her bust up laughing. This is essentially the same thing in a doggie package, with the addition of a tether which is very nice to have. However.....the "honk" on half of the legs doesn't work. You have to practically jump on a few of them to make them squeek. I'm guessing the internal parts are not as well put together as the other. Otherwise, we love it just as much as the Octopus we already have. Or should I say that we love the legs that actually work. I will be attempting to exchange it.

Wonderworld Bouncing Sorter

My son really loves this toy. And I love the fact that it's 2-toys-in-1. It has multiple motor skills for children to learn. Not only are they learning the shapes and learning to put them in the correct slot but they are also learning the motor skills of pushing on the lever for the shape to pop out. Actually they are learning more than just that because they also learn color coordinating as well with shapes and the colors on the levers! When my son learned to use 1 hand to push the lever and 1 hand to take the shape out, he was very excited!

The reason why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the blue lever for the square shape is a little bit off (it's a little bit lower than the rest)...it's actually not that big of a deal. And my hubby made a good point: that it's made out of wood and perhaps that particular lever wasn't sanded down the exact same as the others... Again, not too big of a deal to us.

What is a bid deal is supporting companies that make good quality wooden toys that are eco-friendly and non-toxic! THAT right there is important to our family!! And we are very grateful to have found another good company that does just this! :o)

I wasn't sure about this sorter when I bought it, as there were no reviews at the time. But two months later, I can say I'm very happy with this purchase. That's why I'm writing this detailed review now.

I wanted something to help my then 13 month old identify colors as well further his interest in "fitting" different objects in corresponding holes (he loves Plan Toy's punch and drop and loves to see what else he can fit into those circles). Right from the start he could place the yellow circle into its slot and had fun stacking the other blocks. He wasn't able to figure out how to get it out using the "bouncer" button but he simply turned the base upside down and managed that way. A couple of weeks later he could do the blue square and now he can do all of them on his own. We sometimes have to help him with the green rectangle, as this is a tricky one because it appears to be a flat square (the rectangle being made from its side) but it's actually slightly longer on one side so though it looks like it should fit any side of the "square" it only fits two. Not really a big deal, but it would make more sense if it was just a square, no?

Besides the sorting feature he likes to press the colored buttons (with or without the blocks in place). I'm not sure the color coding has helped him identify the correct shape but he likes to press on one button color, while I name the color and we go back and forth this way for a minute or two. I actually think this has helped him label/identify the different colors which he is now just able to do. Another interesting aspect of this toy is two hand coordination. He knows if he presses the botton with the block in it, it will pop up (not completely out of the slot as I understood it in the product descrition). But if he then uses the same hand to grab the block, he won't be able to grab it as it will have fallen back down once his finger releases the button. He just recently is able to sometimes press with one hand, and pick up the block with the other. But mostly (after the blocks are in their slot) I press the buttons, and he picks them up out of the sorter or I will forcefully push down and have them pop out or "bounce." He likes that too, but I admit I was initally disappointed with how hard you have to press to have them "bounce" out. That's the main reason I have given this 4 stars and not 5. I think he could play with this independently longer if he could get the shapes to bounce out himself. Otherwise this is a great quality wooden sorter toy and we enjoy playing with it together.

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I purchased two of these, one for my daughter and one for my Niece (both 1 year) they both loved it. It is made very solidly and looks and feels like it will last a long time!

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Nice quality product. I bought it for a 9 month old and it has the potential for use for awhile. Nicer than its plastic equivalents.

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this is a nice toy. Wood is made well, but the shapes you push to make the blocks pop off fall apart from the sorter. I am not sure if they are supposed to stay together, but it doesn't work otherwise. I may use wood glue and see what happens.

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Aurora Plush Baby 14 inches Blue My First Teddy Bear

Just like the heading, fell in love with this bear as soon as I saw and felt it, I know the person getting it will love it too.

This was a "first Christmas" gift for a baby who won't be here for awhile yet. Mommy loved it, as did the big brother to be. Nice size and cuddly.

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I bought this to go along with a quilted blanket I made for a neighbor. This accented it perfectly! Our neighbor could not be happier and their baby sleeps with the teddy at night!

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13" Baby's First Giggles Doll - Yellow Outfit

I bought this for my daughter because she picked it out at the store while we were shopping! She loved the way the baby giggled. The baby doll giggles so sweetly..but it's much cheaper in the stores than online. I don't recommend this doll for younger toddler because it's pretty hard to get the doll to giggle. But I must say, this is one of the dolls she will carry around with her...and hand it to me to make her giggle :)

This toy is very adorable I had picked out a much fancier doll for my daughter but when she saw this one, she just lit up and I knew it was the one for her. I was glad to see that it claimed to be machine washable. When we got it home, and took it out of the packaging, I was reading the directions, and it said that before laundering, you just have to remove the giggle box. I looked the doll over, and it appears that you have to actually open the seam to remove the box. There is no velcro opening. That doesn't really seem practical. Other than that, it is cute for the money.

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When I was on the website and saw this doll, I instantly thought perfect for my 4 month old granddaughter and I was right she loves it.

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I really thought this doll looked cuter online. It came wrapped in plastic, which I didn't like, since I was planning to give it as a gift and it made it look cheap. I have seen the dolls elsewhere in boxes, so maybe it's just the ones from Amazon ar packaged like this.

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Edushape Cup-O-Fun Water Toy

What a great product! So many learning activities in one toy. The cups included are nesting cups that fit into each other, puzzle pieces fit together in a circle, the foam shapes float, my son builds with them, they stick to the tub and wall, and you can short the foam shapes into the puzzle pieces, and the nesting cups are turned upside down they also fit into the shapes in the puzzle pieces. It was exactly what I was looking for, something educational, easy to clean, won't be conducive to mold growth (like the water squirters). The foam disc is very sturdy and allows the everything placed on it to float. It was the change of pace we needed for bath time, it can be played with in many different ways.

My daughter absolutely loves playing with this toy. She is entertained but still learning at the same time. She is 16 months and finds it fun to stick the shapes to the side of the tub. It was a great purchase.

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I love playing with this toy! That's important because 16 month old son doesn't have the hang of putting puzzles together or nesting or stacking yet, so I am the one doing those things in order for him to have the joy of demolishing my efforts. That could get tiresome, but fortunately I'm as entertained by the many different ways there are to play with this toy, in and out of the tub, as he is by watching the pieces go flying. I'm sure LO will eventually enjoy the finer aspects of the toy, but for now, it's a really good thing that all the pieces are sturdy and, so far, indestructible.

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Got this for my grandson for Christmas and he enjoys playing with it in the tub very much! Would recommend this toy.

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I purchased this for my grandson for Christmas and he just LOVES it! He is only 12 months and this toy seems durable so hopefully it will outlast his interest!

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Tiny Love Tiny Smart Rattle

Kiddo #3 loves this elephant! At 3.5 months old she's interacting with it and starting to reach for it. I love that with its clip, it's easily moved from carseat to toy to just about anywhere.

This toy is well made, very cute, but if you are going to let your baby play with it without hanging on to the car seat, remove the green clip from the toy to avoid the baby to trap his fingers.

Baby's little fingers can easily get trapped in the clip.

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GOOD PRICE.........GREAT QUALITY ITEM............AND MY DAUGHTER LOVES IT! EN MY 5 YR OLD! :)

THEY LIKE PULLING ON IT AND MAKING THE ELEPHANT VIBRATE & MOVE!

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I love this toy. It makes noise and it vibrates when you pull it down. My baby hates being in the car seat, so I just pull one down and he stops crying.

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Absolutely adorable toy for my baby girl! It is very entertaining for her. She is able to pull on the toy by herself!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Car Seat ABC's

I run a small home daycare so instead of using these cards in the car I taped the hanger to the wall so the kids could use them. They look just like the ABCs from the book and are a good size for the kids to hold and slide back into the slots.

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TY Beanie Baby - HERO the USO Military Bear (w/ US Flag on Chest)

The order arrived quickly and safety secured in a plastic bag. It's now on it's way to Bagram, Afghanistan to bring a little cheer to a MSG stationed there who I consider a HERO as well.

What can I say that hasn't been said about beanie babies. They are adorable !! Well made and small for small hands to handle !

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Very cute the only disappointment was that the description says the flag is on the chest (where I wanted it) but it came with a backwards flag on the arm.

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My son loves this bear! Daddy is in the military and it is so special to have a bear that is dressed like him. This is one my sons favorite toys.

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Beanie bears are in high demand amongst first and second graders...I guess they fit well in schoool bags without creating a big stir at school...but this little guy has a story. On Veterans Day we had to read all about what our military does for our country. I think he has made my son think about the security we have thanks to our Armed Forces. Thanks to Beanie Bear for making a bear that lasts for months!

VTech - V.Smile Baby - Infant Development System

We originally bought this for our son at a year old, but I think that's a bit too early really for a device like this. Now he is just over 2 years old, he will sit and play with it. I really can't understand the comments about poor graphics. They are perfectly fine for the purpose it is intended for and they certainly do not resemble those of an Atari 2600. That's just plain insulting to this product. What were people expecting? Playstation or Xbox quality graphics at this price point? My wife and I also kept wondering if we even had the same product as we haven't heard any mispronunciation of words either. Kids at this age treat them roughly and attention spans are limited anyway so I would rather spend $40 on this than some much more expensive device that would offer little more benefit for this age group. When he's old enough we'll get him a real computer with 'better graphics' but certainly not when he's 2 years old!

I decided to try this over the Little Leap system. Originally, I thought the Little Leap would be better. However, I looked at the demos that they show on the website and the baby discs did not look interesting, only the toddler discs which can only be used in their toddler mode. The baby one that they showed was filled with annoying baby talk. Plus, there seems to be trouble with setting it up for some people and since we use an xbox 360 instead of a regular dvd player I did not think it would work for me either. I also think that the v-smile is a better value bc the Little Leap does not come with a real disc to use, just a demo....

Okay, on to the point! I bought this today for my 13 month old son. I agree that the graphics/ audio are not spectacular, but let's keep in mind that this is for babies and toddlers, NOT adults. The graphics are perfectly fine for a baby. I do think though that they could have done something to grab attention a little better, some parts do seem pretty bland. However, what gets the attention of one baby may not get the attention of another. I think a big part of the issue with some of these negative reviews is that some parents expected to just set it up and walk away with their baby sitting and smiling up at the tv. This requires a lot of interaction from the parent to help keep their child's attention and fascilitate the learning process. (think: "wow! look at the yellow stars!" "can you press the red heart? good job!") But on the other hand, if your child does give attention over to the tv easily, it is nothing to brag about that they'll sit there for hours. Too many children spend all day in front of video games/tv/computer. Even educational video games should be limited and should not take the place of active play.

This system is for 9 months and up, but I think that's a little young. The keyboard can be played with seperate from the full system, which would be appropriate for the age, but you could not want to pay that much just to do that. I don't know why they even bothered with the purple wrist rest (or whatever they call it). It comes right off and there is really no point in it. The keyboard can be set to play alone mode and it identifies the shape and makes other sounds (ex: the red heart says heart when pushed and makes a kissing sound) when the buttons are pushed.

The cartridge that comes with the game is heavy on colors, shapes, and counting to five. He liked the peek-a-boo animals and the counting song. The songs were annoying to me; but again, this is not for me it is for my son and he liked it and even "danced" a little bit to it. Overall, I had a hard time keeping his attention to it for very long. But again, all babies are different as far as this goes. The tv does not keep his attention much yet anyway. The only thing he likes to watch is Baby Shakespeare-he loves Bard the Dragon. But he could care less about any other Baby Einstein video although I know there are a lot of babies that love them. At any rate, I am just trying to make the point that you should not decide whether to get something based on what someone else's baby prefers.

I agree with others that it is surprising that they did not choose to include ABCs with it. Maybe one of the new cartridges will have that. I can highly recommend the Meet the Letters video though to anyone who is looking for a good way to teach the ABCs to their child.... it is very effective.

The bottom line is this: Yes, it could be better but this is the cost of a couple of dvds, so it is completely worth the money to have a system that can grow with your baby/ toddler that they can learn something from..... Just don't think it is something that they can do on their own. It requires parental involvement. Also don't put your child on the path of zombiehood. Remember the importance of play that does not involve the tv!

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We bought this for our two year old daughter. The resolution is terrible, and the words are mispronounced. MY daughter loses interest very quickly in it, and much rather look at her books than the screen. I think it has a lot to do with the quality of the picture. I wouldn't buy this as a gift, even on sale at a great price. I'm hoping the new leapfrog baby/toddler product is better than this one. This was a very disappointing purchase.

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Okay, my husband and i were torn between the v.baby smile and the leap frog little leaps for our daughter's first birthday. I spent DAYS online reading and comparing reviews. After hearing so many conflicting opinions we finally decided to buy them both and figure it out for ourselves. Here is what we came up with. Yes, the graphics are WAY better on the little leaps. But thats about the only thing we liked about the little leaps in comparison. The V.smile baby has graphics that will definately get the job done and was easier to set up. But the thing that REALLY sold us on the v.smile was that when you pressed a button something IMMEDIATELY changed on the screen. Even when the cartoons are talking and you are not instructed to push a button something little will pop up after a button is pushed. The cartoon continues explaining so you dont loose any information but the child can also see the effect of pushing that button. With the little leaps if you pushed a button out of turn nothing happend. And they talked alot and asked for little response. When they did want you to press a button the screen would just pause until you did. So to me it felt like watching an educational video and the child just has the pause and play buttons. Since we are buying it for our daughter's first birthday that would put her in the lower end of the recommended age for these toys so we wanted to go with the one that would hold her attention longer and would enforce things like cause and effect because she is going to care more about something popping up when she hits a button than what the cartoon is saying to her, atleast for now. Another plus to the v.smile baby is that the activity panel is a toy on its own and it offers sign language. Hope this helps anyone else that was in the same situation as us. Keep in mind that we did not buy any games for the systems since we were just testing them out so this review is based on the sample games that come with the systems. Also this review is based on what my huband and i noticed when we played with it, its a gift for our daughter so she has not yet played with it so i cant tell you how she responded to either of these toys. End result, the little leaps is getting returned and the V.smile is getting wrapped for her birthday.

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The setup was only about 2 minutes once I got it out of the box. This includes inserting the batteries that it came with. There is actually only one plug that is pretty straight forward, it's labeled video and audio. Plug it right into the T.V. If your T.V. has a video and audio outlet in front or back, then you will be able to plug it in.

I found the graphics on this game to be cheap for the price I paid for it. I only used the demo it came with, other games may be better. The operation of the game was simple and fun to play with. My son loved to hit the big buttons and had fun watching the game do things.

The console has a huge 'ON' button that lights up right in reach of little hands, so my son kept hitting it over and over and over...the cord it way too short too so I couldn't even move the console out of reach.

Pros:

Came with batteries

Big buttons are great to press

Every time a button is pressed something on the screen changes

Fun colors and cute songs

Cons:

Graphics aren't good for $40 paid

Each additional game is $15-$20 so it's expensive

Huge ON button that lights up on console that my son kept hitting

Very very short cord so not many options on where to put the console

This toy should either come with a full version game or be $25 tops with demo game.

Fisher-Price Elmo Live

Elmo Live will capture your child's imagination with his trademark infectious happiness. He waves his arms, dances, sits on his stool, tells jokes and stories, shows your child how much he loves him/her, laughs, sneezes -everything you would expect an animated Elmo to do. Other than some mechanical grinding as he moves, Elmo is all cute. This little guy is a blast!

-Debbie Lee Wesselmann

After one week here is my review

Pros:

1. Well designed toy, but leaves more to be desired.

2. He sings, tells jokes, dances, has animated & fluid, aka lifelike, mannerisms.

3. Recognizes when he has fallen over and politely asks for help. The sneeze sequence is hilarious.

4. He does a lot of things that really personify the toy, i.e. thanks you if you help him up, goes bonkers if you squeeze his nose, laughs, yawns, asks you to dance with him, etc. To a 2-4 year-old, Elmo does indeed comes alive.

Cons:

1. The servo noise can be distracting, most of the time.

2. The red terry cloth / skin is way too thin and fragile.

3. It would be nice if Elmo is cushier and has another programing sequence when lying down so that children can go take him to bed with them.

4. It would be nice if Elmo is expandable, in the sense that you can add more programs via Bluetooth / USB / cartridge expansion. Otherwise, Elmo will become boring real fast.

Elmo Live is an innovative and engaging toy for children between 2-4 years of age. He is worth the MSRP, compared to other toys, but NOT MORE. If it wasn't for the economy, Elmo Live would likely be all over the news and the hottest toy of the holiday season.

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I was lucky to grab the last Elmo today locally and my three kids, a 2 year old, 5 year old, and a 7 year old, have been playing with Elmo ever since. They absolutely love it. The neighbors and other family members have been over to see Elmo go. He does sooooo many things, tells stories does dances, plays games, and other quirky fun things. It is so life-like it keeps the kids and adults amazed. My sister has struck out at many stores today and has been told it will be very hard to find this christmas. So if you find one, grab it, as these are definitely THE hit toy this year.

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I bought this toy for my son's second birthday (December 6, 2008). I was so excited to give it to him because he LOVES Elmo. I let him play with it in stores and figured he would love it cause he was always touching Elmo's foot in the demo in the store.

Well on his birthday we gave it to him and I'm not that happy with it.

First the mechanical sound of Elmo moving are EXTREMELY Loud so much so that it's annoying (at least to me).

Second my son is only two and if your child is like mine, he's really into music and he really had no interest in Elmo's stories (which are too long). I tried to show him the other pressure points on his stomach, back, and nose but Elmo tips over when my son's toddler hands reach out to touch his stomach so for my son it was easier to just keep touching his foot and the stories Elmo tells get old very quickly.

Third...did I mention I have a two year old boy? Well he loved carrying Elmo by the head and by the arms and this is a sixty dollar toy (I got it at Walmart actually) so I didn't want him doing that and had to take it from him.

I hate to give it such low reviews, however I think the age should be changed to three and up. I don't think my son or any kid can really appreciate it until they're at least that old otherwise I don't think it does enough to hold a toddler's attention.

Boys and girls are different though so maybe if you have a 2 year old girl she'll be more gentle and care about it more but I just don't recommend it otherwise. Plus my son just kept pushing the button on the foot over and over, trying to get it to do more and after awhile I starting hearing Elmo stutter like the mechanics were messing up and we just got it and it hadn't been dropped or anything yet.

The chair is pretty useless. Actually Elmo's butt doesn't even touch it so it's not really needed and he always tips over.

So to sum it up, wait until your children are older if you decide to buy it, even then I wouldn't recommend it, or if you don't believe me then keep your receipt just in case. I know ours is on it's way back and at this price maybe he can get two toys he really enjoy instead of just one.

Also pay attention to these reviews. I'm noticing that a lot of people who are giving it five stars either bought it for someone else's child for a gift (grandchildren, nieces, nephews etc.) or bought it and put it up for their child for Christmas and they're giving it high ratings based off of that. Trust me I'd have given it high ratings based off of the few times my son played with it in the store myself if I didn't know better. However most people like me who gave it to their child early or for Birthdays have the SAME complaints. It's not worth the money at all. And the mechanical sounds are too loud and again for my 2 year old it's plain boring so again just keep your receipt if you do purchase it.

My child loves anything Elmos surprisingly, and this seems to be the "cadillac" of Elmo's and he didn't like it at all.

I hope this review helps. Good luck with whatever you decide and Merry Christmas.

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My niece is younger than the suggested age, but she still finds him interesting. She'll sit and watch him while he talks and laughs at some of his antics.

Cons

1. He can be a little repetitive. After 1 week my sister learned his entire repertoire, and is now slowly being driven insane.

2. He takes 6 batteries...yes, he comes with them, but replacing that many at once will be a pain.

3. Every movement is accompanied by loud gear grinding. He sounds like he's falling apart and he's brand new.

4. There is no cushion between the mechanical body and furry covering; he looks soft, but isn't.

5. By the time a kid is old enough to understand his jokes and stories, they'll be too old for him.

Is this an essential purchase? No. But it is a great gift suggestion for an aunt/uncle/grandma/grandpa who wants to get something "special" and doesn't know what....it also helps if they have money to waste. :)