Activities and Learning Reviews

We bought this for our 4 year old because he's not quite old enough for Game Boy. We have already had to return it twice due to it malfunctioning within a short period of time. The first one, the stylus didn't work and the second one the stylus worked on only half the screen after a couple of weeks. For as much money as we spent, I had great expectations. The kids, 4-9 years, enjoyed it while it worked, it just didn't hold up very long. I'd spend my money else where.

My kids love this toy!! But do be careful because it is needs to be well taken care of. I would not reccommend this to any child who just throws things down where they may.

My daughter was 3 1/2 when she first played with her 10 year old sister's B&W Pixter, and she loved it. So I got her the color Pixter, and she plays with it every day, especially in the car. There are educational games available for it, as well as entertainment games. It also plays all the older black and white games for the older versions of Pixter.

Thomas is great and it's so fun to pull him along the track woth Annie and Clarabel. When I make the big setes In set aside a branch line for Thomas, Percy, and sometimes Lady. Thomas is great but in order to get the experience you need Annie and Clarabel.

When I checked out a Thomas DVD from our local library, I had no idea what I'd get into. My 2 yr old son is now obsessed with Thomas. Plays with them day and night. 4 yr old daughter enjoys them too. They are great toys- building track is good for spatial relations, they teach color and numbers and the stories all have good values- plus he plays with them like action figures. We're keeping these for our grandkids. Also, try eBay for Thomas sets. We got two sets of ten trains for about forty apiece, big savings. But then some track sets are cheaper here than you can find on eBay, so be sure to check both.

First, when I bought a Thomas tape, My 3 years old son watched it six times in a line. Then I bought Figure 8 set. He liked it very much. Later I had the Mountain Tunnel Set and a lot of tracks and most of the engines and freight cars and circus cars. Now my three little children play them every day. The two years old twins count the engines and they all learn to share the railway, who goes where; Who passes the crossroad first to avoid crash. They learn to wait patiently because the train is very long. I help them bulid the railway system(I change the layout freqently). Dad sometimes has a race with them. It could be a hobby later in their teen life. My experence, 8 inchs track is never enough when you want to play on the carpet. They are good toys.

James does a great job pulling the coaches along the track. He can pull pretty much anything at a fast pace. I've had my Jame sfor 9 years and it looks almost new. He's a great engine and you can live the episodes with these trains.

I purchased Thomas the engine without realizing that it was not battery operated. I gave it to my 2 year old grandson for his birthday because I had nothing else to give, and the twinkle in his eyes let me know I had hit upon a winner. The adventures for Thomas and his friends have not ended. I have since purchsed, Skarloey, Ben & Bill, Douglas, Percy, Toby and Bertie. The adventures just don't seem to end for my grandson. He plays with this toy for hours. His vocabulary has increased at the same pace as his adventures. The fact that this is not battery operated is the joy of the toy. I need not turn on the television to keep him occupied, he has Thomas and his many friends and that is good enough for me.

Although my 3 year old loves Thomas on TV, for some reason he loves the James toy more than the Thomas one. The coal car is a big deal to him. His 18 month old brother loves it too. These toys withstand two boys playing with them better than any other I can find. I bought the tracks & engine at Christmas & they still play with it EVERY day!

The little boy I nanny for just LOVES his puppy!! He actually has 2 of them and has gone through about 4 or 5 of them and he's only 2 1/2 years old! He lost both his puppies a couple weeks ago and he just hasn't been the same kid without them! I'm glad I finally found them so we can order him a new one (or a couple!) and get this kid back to being himself again!!

My son got one of these dogs when he was only three months old. He is now almost three and hasn't let it out of his sight yet. Although our dog chewed off an ear and a paw, the remainder of the stuffed animal is holding up very nicely.

I love this puppy! I bought it for my son when he was born. He is now 3 and still loves his "first puppy". This is small enough for an infant and very soft. I have washed it AND dryed it my washer/dryer, and it holds up great. Great gift idea for new and expecting parents!

My daughter (now 8 months old) seems to like this toy. She still isn't able to pull the lines through the knot block by herself yet but she definitely enjoys chewing on it and throwing it around. Caution to parents with infants with "spastic arms": This toy can land a pretty good blow to the noggin so be careful. :-)

I bought this for my baby's car seat because it has a lot of things on it but doesn't take up as much space as other car seat activity packed toys. My baby loves chewing the star, the "entrails" on the ball (that jingles), and the rings. It has many textures that are also fun to mouth and the triangle crinkles and the other star squeaks, but my baby hasn't figured that out yet. It doesn't captivate her as a floor/play time toy, but it keeps her happy and entertained enough in the car seat where there isn't much else to do.

My daughter absolutely loves this toy. We bought it for her when she was 2 months old. She is now 5 months old and she still loves to pull on it, touch it, and put it in her mouth. She is fasinated by each part of it. We keep it in her diaper bag and always make sure that it comes with us. It is a great toy to keep her busy. I highly recommend this toy to all new moms.

My 3 year old son did chores around the house to buy this toy himself. We were very disappointed when one of the rotors broke off within a month. I was with him when it broke. He was not doing anything rough with it. He didn't even drop it. We did not realize there was a guarantee. We've glued it back together at least 10 times. I don't know if that voids the guarantee or not.

Otherwise, it is a great toy. My son carries it all over the place. He says it is his favorite.

I've noticed a bunch of complaints regarding the proplellers on Harold the Helicopter. My Harold is over eight years old and it still has his propellers in fine working order. My problem with Harold is the fact that there's not much to do with him. The new hospital track gives him a place to land but he gets boring quickly. Still a good buy though.

My son has this toy. He loves it. The plastic rotors keep breaking off,(we are on our 3rd Harold and have to get a 4th now.) I have had a hard time trying to find out who to contact for replacement now that the company has switched hands.

Great toy better that the monochrome version. However, it lacks durability. My 5 year old son got one as a christmas present in 03'. We have had to exchanged it 3 times in 8 months. The primary problem been accuracy of the touch pad. Even after recaliburation the accuracy slightly improves if at all. There is no place for light as in the previous version. My son loves it when it works but gets very frustrated when it doesn't.

We used to own the pixter but it quit working after just a few months (I was disappointed but assumed that it was just my child's overuse/rough handling) so we thought we would upgrade to the color pixter as they had since been released. We should have learned from our mistakes about the durability of this product. My daughter had it out of the box for not even 24 hours, it slipped out of her hands onto the floor, and the screen cracked and the product no longer works. This drop was only 12 inches to the floor. This is quite an expensive toy to not be able to withstand more. My children own gameboys and have dropped them numerous times and even left them in the car on a hot day, and they still work. In fact, my friend's child left his out in the rain and after drying it out, it continued to work! I am truly disappointed with the inability of the Pixter to stand up to a child's environment. I would think twice before buying this toy.

I purchased a Color Pixter for my neice's 5th Birthday. She already owns and loves her Leapster so I figured she'd really enjoy the Pixter.Before I gave it to her I myself tried it out and honestly thought it was kind of neat but a bit limited. I know the Leapster talks to you and the Pixter doesn't. For over $80 this thing should talk. Anyway, I give it to her and she literally had it out of the box for 5 minutes and I look over and the screen has been scratched beyond belief!! I know for a fact she used nothing but the stylus on the screen. Obviously she pressed too hard which they do warn you about in the owner's manual but lets be reasonable! She did exactly what she usually does to the Leapster and the Pixter can't withstand anything but a very gentle touch which is not what you're going to get from 4 and 5 yr olds. This is not the quality that I expected. She's not a destructive child with her toys. She's had the Leapster since Christmas, has no problems with it and loves it. I had read the reviews that these Pixters don't seem to hold up very well but for heavens sake...I paid well over $100 for this thing along with another software cartridge to use with it and it's in her posession for literally 5 minutes and this is how it holds up?? Fischer Price states that this toy is for ages 4 or 5 and up but take heed!! Unless you're buying this unit for a child who's older, I would not recommend it. In fact, I don't recommend buying it at all. I do highly recomment buying a Leapster and then buying the "Draw and Learn" software cartridge for about $25. It's very nice, and the Leapster is extremely durable. If I'd known they even made such a cartridge for the Leapster, I wouldn't have even bought the Color Pixter in the first place. Anyway, I returned the merchandise and recieved a full refund so no harm done but just a warning to all. When they say the screens will scratch, they're not kidding and it doesn't take much to scratch them. The Leapsters the way to go....hands down.

Why can't this be shipped to countries other than US.Is there any Indian agents for this.If not I would like to be . send your feed back
regards
sudha

I searched high and low for high-quality wooden puzzles and found them with Lights, Camera, Interaction. My 21-month old son loves this puzzle and is so proud to show me where the dogs, ducks, or farmer is "hiding". The pictures are well-drawn and colorful, and the wood is sturdy. I believe this will be one of those toys that my son will be able to share with his children someday.

This is a high-quality starter puzzle that depicts a traditional barnyard scene. Under the pieces are a cow, horse, dog, cat, pigs, sheep, ducks, and a farmer sleeping beneath a haystack. It's a great choice for one-year old and up because the pegs make the pieces easy to manipulate, and the varied shapes adds a bit more difficulty. Overall, though, this is definitely an easy puzzle.

I also appreciate the way that the animals are depicted in a realistic fashion--they look like real animals instead of the fake caricatures that you sometimes find with children's toys.

In general, I think it's nice to have a collection of puzzles with varied features...some with pegs, some wood, some foam, some inter-locking pieces, some that feature colors, shapes, animals, vehicles, etc. This puzzle is definitely tops for depicting a farm-yard scene.

This is the best kind of toy - your child is learning numerous different skills while playing. (fine motor, shape sorting, color sorting...) I purchased it for my 12 month old and wished I had discovered the "Lauri" brand with my older child sooner. They even include an idea sheet to inspire other ways to use the product. It is the perfect item to put on the high chair to buy a little time while making dinner. I'd make this purchase again in a heartbeat! Don't be swayed too much by the suggetsed age - this is a toy that grows with your child.

I saw all the good reviews for this, and bought it for my 2 year old daughter for this last Christmas. She loves it. She already knew her colors, and shapes, and this toy just reinforces it. She loves sorting the pieces into same colors and also same shape. When they are older you can help them to learn patterns with the toy. I think it would be an awesome tool for teaching colors and shapes to kids who don't already know them. I was actually suprised that she chose to play with this toy more than any of the other "lights camera action" toys she got for Christmas. Although, if you have a dog, keep the pieces away. My dog has chewed several of the shapes, so some of them are missing corners, and have bite marks in them . But on the up side of that, the Lauri company replaces pieces for something like 25 Cents.

I purchased this toy for my 15 month old daughter. She plays with it every day, placing the shapes on the pegs. She is learning to match colors on the pegs, but will also use the pieces as "food" for her dolls and stuffed animals. She also likes to remove and replace the wooden pegs themselves. The foam rubber base and shape pieces seem very durable, although my daugher is past the 'put everything in your mouth' phase so I don't know how they would hold up to being chewed. All in all, she seems to be having alot of fun with this toy, is hopefully learning color and shape recognition and gaining fine motor skills.

Gears was bought for my 4 year old nephew and he just loves it.
I would recommend this toy for education, imagination, and just plain fun!!!

I bought the Motorized Monsters set here (I don't see it listed now) based on fabulous reviews. I was very disappointed in the set and so was my 6 year old son. It is noisy, clunky and not at all the fun toy that we were expecting.

My 5 year old son has advanced rapidly in just two days of playing with this. He is describing and building complicated gear layouts that incorporate gears of different sizes and gears at different angles to one another. Very nice!

My main complaint is that the set should include more pieces. I cannot see more than two kids playing with the contents of this set, and even then I think there would be some fighting for scarce pieces.

PROS
* Durable pieces
* Well-designed pieces connect well and allow for excellent spinning action of the gears
* The type of toy that kids will play with for hours on end and go back to again and again

CONS
* Not enough pieces for the price; you can get hundreds of lego bricks for the same price
* What do the gears *move*? There is only one propeller included and no wheels or other items that gears might control. Instead, we just tend to move more gears, which is fine for a 5 year old but not for an 8 year old

PURCHASING RECOMMENDATION
This is fun and very educational. I will buy the additional sets and give this one as a gift to other kids. I do wish they put more pieces in it, but it still is worth buying.