Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I got this toy for my 18 month old, which is obviously a little young, but I thought I might was well start her on phonics now. He's actually a really great toy. He's soft enough for her to carry around like a normal stuffed animal. He comes pre-programmed with about 8-10 different songs and stories, which are the lowest level of phonics. If you want him to meet your child's level, you simply plug him into the computer (with the mini-USB cable he comes with) and go to the Smarty Ants webpage. The webpage allows your child to create a group of avatars, adopt a dog that looks like theirs, and play games so that the dog can be loaded with the educational content that fits your child. It's really easy to get around the webpage, the games are fun, and even my 18 month old enjoyed the music and stories. His songs are creative and the synchronization between his words and movement is flawless! There is no need to turn him on or off, he has a musical note on one paw and a book on the other and when your child pushes one of the buttons, he does the corresponding thing-also, if the button is pushed to start the singing/story and then pushed again in the middle of it, he stops (which is ALWAYS a nice feature when you've heard the same song a million times and need a quick break!!) The battery life is good (about 1 month, used 15+ mins a day) per set of 3 AAs.
There are a few reasons I gave him 4 instead of 5 stars, the first is he only comes with a 30 day trial of the website, after which time you have to pay for it ($24.99 for 3 months or $49.99 for the year). You can keep whatever you have him loaded with, but obviously can't get any new content without the subscription, which seems a little ridiculous to me, but it's not super expensive, just seems like he would come with a longer trial given his price. Another thing that's less than great about this toy is that there is no way to wash him. I was hoping you could slide his "outsides" off the mechanical/computer part, in order to throw him in the wash, but that's not the case, he can only stand up to light spot cleaning - not something a parent really wants to do.
The video shows him singing my favorite song (one that he came pre-loaded with) he goes through the entire alphabet and each sound that each letter makes-I didn't record the whole song (for time sake), but I thought that would give you an idea of not only his movement, but the types of phonics songs and stories he/the webpage have for your child to enjoy.
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