LeapFrog Discovery Ball
by LeapFrog
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Our Price: $15.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of LeapFrog Discovery Ball
Customer Review: Good for older kids too!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this toy when my daughter was a year old and she wasn't the least bit interested in it. If I wrote the review then, it would have been a mediorce one at best. I'm glad I waited. Once she was about two and a half, she began taking interest in the toy, pressing all the letters of the alphabet and singing the a-b-c song. She's three and a half now and still enjoys using it. She especially likes the setting with the songs. She presses the letter buttons and sings the words to the tunes she hears.
Some other good things about it: The toy is versatile. It can spin in it's holder, or be taken off and rolled around on the floor. There a few different settings, one that just says the letters, and another that plays tunes that start with that letter. On soft mode, it's a reasonable volume. There's also a band of red light that blinks on and off when a tune plays. It's very durable. It's been played with constantly for over a year and still looks brand new.
Though it's marketed to infants, toddlers would enjoy this toy too. I can't think of anything bad to say about it (except that loud mode is very loud) and would recommend it to parents with young children.
Customer Review: Okay but could be better
Summary: 3 Stars
My 7 month old son is fascinated by balls, lights and music. This item is a good combination of them. The thing that's really lacking in this product is that although it's capable of playing many songs, it only plays one song while the ball is rolling. The song it plays while rolling is not very great either. If you push a letter while it's in music mode it starts to play a song (a different song for each letter) and you and baby enjoy it until the baby starts to roll the ball and it defaults back to the crummy old song again. Bummer. If it would continue playing the song it was playing I would rate this a 5 star product.
I called Leap Frog today to tell them this (there's no email for consumers) and spoke to customer service. The sound quality of the call was terrible and the customer service person was very unimpressive. She sounded immature and uninformed. I really like Leap Frog for its Learning Gym and See & Learn Piano. I wish they'd make the Discovery Ball better.
On a positve note, the alphabet learning is okay and the stand is secure enough to withstand being pushed off a high chair so the baby can be entertained by the ball while it waits for it's meal.
Customer Review: More entertaining than it is educational
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this toy for my son when he was about 5 months old. At first, he just looked at the ball and listened to the music when I rolled it. At around 8 months old, he started rolling the ball himself and would get mad when the music stopped. When he figured out how to roll it again, he smiled. As he got older, he started showing preference for certain settings. He is now 17 months old and plays with the toy frequently. I don't think he plays with it for its developmental properties as he really shows no preference for the alphabet. He actually prefers its musical aspects. He just now has figured out which songs he prefers and will push the letters to play particular songs. One con is the letters do seem to take some effort for him to push to make the music start playing.
If anything I think this toy is worth the money for its entertainment and its durability. Needless to say, my son has a fascination with throwing anything he can pick up and this toy has hit the floor numerous times and still plays perfectly. I would recommend this toy to any mother who wants something that will grow with her child and be easy to take on trips.
Awesome product.
Customer Review: Taught my son the alphabet
Summary: 4 Stars
My son received this when he was about four months old, and he loved to spin it around and hear the music. But after playing with it for a few months, he pretty much forgot about it. After his 2nd birthday, he discovered it again. He thought it was cool that a different song played for every letter he pushed, so he used to play a song and then find another toy that played the same song and set them off simultaneously (a sort of audio-concentration game). During this phase, I switched it to letter mode and briefly explained how the name of each letter would sound when he pushed it. I only explained it once or twice. After playing with it on his own intensely for about a week, he started to recite the letters back to me. I was absolutely amazed. That began his love of letters in all shapes and forms. I think this toy is great for its entertainment and educational potential across developmental stages. On the other hand, I thought my daughter (born 3 years later) would also get good use out of this toy, but she only briefly played with it as an infant. By age 2 after watching her brother play with his Leapster, she took his Leapster and learned her letters from playing "Letter Factory"!Customer Review: Very Durable, Lots of Fun, Educationally Versatile
Summary: 5 Stars
The LeapFrog Discovery Ball is one of our son's favorite toys. It has a number of different play modes to keep him interested for long stretches of time - music, the alphabet, spelling, etc. The ball itself is high quality plastic and rubber that holds up well and washes off very easily. Also, the base can be easily disconnected for freely rolling around the floor. We first introduced the Discovery Ball to our son when he was just a baby learning to push up on his tummy. This was a wonderful aide during those times - he really wanted to push up to see and touch it. Now that he's just entering the toddler phase, he is more into the rolling of the ball and the pressing of the letters for different sounds. As he gets older, I'm sure that he'll begin enjoying the educational benefits of the Discovery Ball, i.e. learning the alphabet and spelling some simple words.
This is a true gold-medal toy. Too many toys just offer flashing lights, repetitive sounds and brightly colored plastic - these quickly end up boring your child and taking up space in the closet. The Discovery Ball grows with your child, offering new ways to play and learn along the way.