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LeapFrog LeapPad

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Development Toys
from: LeapFrog


Although our 4 year old loves it, even he notices that some questions and answers do not tally - for instance, you are asked to find 4 honey pots of a certain type when there are only 3.

The demonstration book that comes with it is full of faults. When trying to sound letters, some do not work, others are spoken as words, not letters. We bought two ThinkPad plus books in error, and were planning to buy the hardware anyway, but found a demonstration of the reading book we had bought and saw that all the letters were upper case, where they are meant to learn lower case first.. don't want to confuse him any more.
Overall, very disappointed really.

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Wooden Thomas & Friends: James the Red Engine

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Development Toys
from: Learning Curve


My 3 year old (a great Thomas Fan) was given a Flair James as a present. He gives all his wooden engines a hard life! But, I must say the Flair toy has faired much much worst than all his older Brio engines (I understand that Brio no longer make Thomas toys), the paint finish has really flaked and worn away, the toy also appears to be much more flimsily held together -not screwed like the Brio engines and will need to be kept an eye on. Also from a purely 'Dad' perspective, the printing quality of the graphics on the toy are really poor. All in all, it should not be selling for the same price as the Brio version it replaced. Be warned!

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BRIO 33223 Wooden Railway System: Mighty Red Action Loco

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Development Toys
from: Brio


Both of our sons love their Brio trains and track and so we thought we would buy a second battery train so the youngest could enjoy one. The other train (BRIO 33761 Wooden Railway System: Smart Track Engine) worked very well, was well designed and durable.
This train, however, has a flaw - the battery cover on the first train had a locating pin to stop the cover sliding forward and make it secure when it was screwed down into place. This one does not and as a result my wife cannot fit it at all and I have spent half an hour getting it to work. I take this type of equipment apart and put it back together again for a living and I can't do with this model what comes naturally with the earlier one!
Bad show Brio!

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Babytec Autofade Lamp

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Development Toys
from: Babytec


Both of our sons love their Brio trains and track and so we thought we would buy a second battery train so the youngest could enjoy one. The other train (BRIO 33761 Wooden Railway System: Smart Track Engine) worked very well, was well designed and durable.
This train, however, has a flaw - the battery cover on the first train had a locating pin to stop the cover sliding forward and make it secure when it was screwed down into place. This one does not and as a result my wife cannot fit it at all and I have spent half an hour getting it to work. I take this type of equipment apart and put it back together again for a living and I can't do with this model what comes naturally with the earlier one!
Bad show Brio!

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Tommee Tippee Suresound Ultimate Monitor

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Development Toys
from: Tommee Tippee


If you are a mum (or dad) that will sit downstairs with the monitor on and when it's all quiet wonder if your baby is ok and sneak upstairs to check - then this monitor is for you! the green tick is very reassuring and means that you aren't tempted to poke your head round the baby's door, waking them up, just to check they are ok.

there are some problems that you have to put up with however. It is sometimes hard to find a channel for the portable unit and this means that you have to go back into the baby's room and fiddle around. I've found turning both units off then on can help with this. Also the alarm sounds whenever you pick up the baby and it's difficult to always remember to turn it off. The alarm has gone a handful of times, ... Read More:

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In The Night Garden - Ninky Nonk Train Pop Up Tent

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Development Toys
from: Worlds Apart

December 10, 2007
My 1 year old daughter was given this for her birthday last week and the one time we have had it up so far was a great success with both her and her 4 year old brother having lots of fun.

As I said though, it is not perfect. Firstly it is the standard 'pop-up' design where popping it up is fine but getting it back in the box is a nightmare for any parent! We have given up on collapsing the large red tent part of it. The photos on the instructions are next to useless. What this really needs is an instructional DVD.

Secondly there is no way to connect the four sections together. The means that they all move around and get disjointed as the children play in them. Just some connecting velcro or ties would have been a nice touch.

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Oregon Scientific - PR18 Smart Globe

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Development Toys
from: Oregon Scientifc


I bought this for my two children aged 4 and 5 and the eldest loves it, though the youngest gets involved with it too. It sits in the living room and they frequently play with it - my eldest now knows all the continents and some countries and we have only had it a few days. Their current favourite function is the national anthems.

I rate this item highly, it's educational, it's interactive and can also simply be 'played with' as part of children's other imaginary games.

The batteries that came with the item have now run out and I will probably purchase the mains lead (which I think is available separately).

I agree that the pen could be improved a little as many European countries are very small and touching them accurately ... Read More:

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LeapFrog Leapster2 Dora the Explorer

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Development Toys
from: LeapFrog

September 06, 2004
My 4 year old daughter simply adores this game and can count to 10 in Spanish now. It hold her attention extremely well and provides her with a good variety of games with impressive and colourful graphics. One of the best features is the fact that it helps her out if she seems to be having difficulty finding something so she doesn't get frustrated.
I was impressed with the educational content and the 3 different levels of difficulty. Realistically I think this software cartridge is best aimed children aged 4-6 as regards educational content although my older boys of 8 and 10 are equally enamoured with it and pester their sister for a turn!
Overall an extremely good buy which offers value for money considering the hours of enjoyment it provides. Highly recommended.

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BRIO 30156 Wooden Toys: 50 Coloured Blocks

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Development Toys
from: Brio


My 4 year old daughter simply adores this game and can count to 10 in Spanish now. It hold her attention extremely well and provides her with a good variety of games with impressive and colourful graphics. One of the best features is the fact that it helps her out if she seems to be having difficulty finding something so she doesn't get frustrated.
I was impressed with the educational content and the 3 different levels of difficulty. Realistically I think this software cartridge is best aimed children aged 4-6 as regards educational content although my older boys of 8 and 10 are equally enamoured with it and pester their sister for a turn!
Overall an extremely good buy which offers value for money considering the hours of enjoyment it provides. Highly recommended.

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Tomy : Baby Link - The Plug In Monitor (1241)

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Development Toys
from: Tomy


I was disappointed with this item. I bought it to replace an old monitor which had finally given up. I liked the fact that it was very simple and a good price.
I live in a brand new house so there should be no problems with electrics etc. but the humming is very noticable and it does not pick up noise from my baby very effectively even though it is only 1.5m from her when she is in bed.
I am now looking for a replacement which will be more expensive, but probably better value.