Toy Review: Leap Frog Scout and Violet

When they say a baby cannot play with toys yet, I think they only mean babies that are 0 months of age.  Kayla can play with her toys, she tries to grab them and eat them.  I just watched her rollover in her attempt to chew on a toy beside her.  Violet is her best friend, she is calmed down by Violet's music and voice.  Since the buttons are on the 4 paws and are soft and easily pressed, Kayla can somehow turn on Violet by punching and kicking her.  Kayla wakes up in her crib and stays quiet that no one knows she already up because she's just there staring at Violet and the stickers on her wall.  She was 2 months old when she started playing with Violet and we have changed batteries 3x since then.

What she learned:  Nothing much but the toy shows promise since it sings a lot of songs and you can even specify your baby's name so the toy will say it and incorporate it in the songs.
Durability:  Its still working fine but it hasn't really seen much action outside of the crib.
Fun:  For a newborn, its hours and hours of fun. I give it 5 stars.
Age: 2months to 2yo

This would make a really good gift for your babies or godchildren.  There's a green version named Scout for all the little boys out there.
*tip:  buy lots of rechargeable batteries, you're going to need it for all the toys the kids are going to have.

Toy Review: Leap Frog Sit to Stand Learning Walker

There are walkers of different shapes and sizes in the market.  When we say walker we think of the donut like thing with 4 wheels where you put the kid inside and he walks on his own all the while being surrounded by toys.  Well, they say those walkers aren't good for the kids so the new and "improved" kind is like the one in the picture.  I  wish I got the old style of walker for Maxiebear, this one was just too hard to master.  By the time your child can really use this as an aid to walk, he already knows how to walk on his own.  Maxiebear tried to use a Winnie The Pooh version of the learning walker and hit her head on the floor.  She fell backwards as she put her weight onto the handles and the toy slid away from her.  I was so shocked that I couldn't move.  After that I put the toy away.  I still wanted her to learn to walk so I went to the store and tested out the walkers they had.

The Playskool version is just as dangerous as the Winnie the Pooh one.  When I tried it out at the store, I almost fell!  I was actually on my knees trying it out!  There's something about the distance of the sets of wheels and where the weight goes as you try and depend on it to walk (thats just me trying to think of a reason why some walkers work while others are just too accident prone).  I also tried the Fisher Price and Chicco one.  Both passed the test but were too pricey for my budget.  I ended up getting the Leap Frog one, it has enough activities on it to entertain and was balanced enough for walking.  You can also take out the activity part of the toy so the baby can play with it even before she can walk.  Maxine loved the telephone on it, the piano keys and the page that you can turn.

Just be careful when using any thing with plastic wheels on tiles, they slide fast.  What some people do is they put tape on the wheels to keep it from moving too smoothly so the toy wont "run away" from the baby using it.  You just wrap the tape generously on all 4 wheels.

What she learned:  It helped her learn how to walk a little.
Durability: ***** (5 Stars) It still works.
Fun/ Entertainment Value: 5-8mins on standstill.  Indefinite when being pushed.  At the age when they need this toy, anything that can help them move from 1 point to another is going to be used a lot.
Age:  3mos to 1yr depending on when the child starts to walk.  You can use the activity pad separately at 3 mos or ever earlier.  Kaylabear uses it now as entertainment while she's sitting on my lap.

Toy Review: Leap Frog Learn & Groove Musical Table

The box says its for 6months to 3yrs.  We got this from Aku, for Maxiebear when she was 1.  She used it for around 15mins when she first got it.  She kept turning the page back and forth.  She isn't musically inclined even if she listened to classical music when she was a baby so she simply ignored the piano keys.  This toy was then put into the cabinet after a month or so.  Recently, now that she's 2years old, she's started playing with it again.  She still flips the page over and plays the "piano".  This toy also has 2 language options, English and Spanish.  So if you want your child to be bilingual this can help.

Price: $37.64 at Amazon
What she learned:  Shapes and colors were in her face everytime she stood by this toy.  It helped her stand up longer and she walked around it as she was getting used to walking.
Durability: Still working well, despite all the banging and pounding.
Fun: **** (4 stars) spends around 5-10 mins around the table.
Age: 6mos to 2.5yo (you can use it once the baby starts pounding on things because the legs are removable.  When the baby starts to stand up, you can put the legs in and he can use this for support as his legs get stronger.

Other Option:

We also got to play with the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Fun with Friends Table at a playdate, I prefer it over the Leap Frog version for 2 reasons.  1.  Fisher price also give you 2 language options, English and Chinese.  Since I am Chinese and not Spanish, this would have been more useful to me.  and 2.  Kids prefer to play with things that open and close, this toy has more choices like that.  Cons, I have seen a kid slam the computer shut on another kid's hand and it is more expensive.  Priced at $44.50 at Amazon.