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: Great but too loud
Summary: 4 Stars
I do not think that a toy will teach my son to read or write, so I was sceptical when I first saw this toy. But several other babys in our playgroup have it and my son liked it. And other than our exersaucer it plays the whole alphabet and not only a b and c. And you can touch every letter and it will play the name or the sound of this letter. But I prefer the third setting: Music. The sound quality is relatively good for an electronic toy.
For now, he likes to spin it in the base, or I roll it on the floor for him. Of course, at 6 Months his attention span is very short and he does not play with it for very long at a time.
The flashing lights are nice, too.
The only thing I do not like at all is the volume: The "on" setting is way too loud, after all the arms of an infant are very short, so anything he handles is very close to his ears. The "low" setting is loud enough, I would like to have an even lower setting instead of the normal level. This is why I only awarded 4 stars.
Customer Review: THIS IS A GREAT PHONICS TOOL!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am an Intensive Phonics Reading Teacher.
I bought this toy for my grandson "to grow" with.
He'll have fun rolling it around. Later on, he'll be able to push the buttons and hear the letter sounds.
THE BIGGEST THREE POSITIVES ABOUT THIS TOY:
1) It grows with the child.
2) It has two volume modes (with the louder mode -- you can actually hear the DISTINCTIVE letter sounds -- and that's something you can't hear on most other toys like this).
3) It has three "play" modes. One for just the music, another for the names of the letters, and another for the letter sounds.
PARENTS, if you buy this toy, HANG ON TO IT. When your child is older(3 or 4 years old), put him/her up on your lap, press the buttons, and teach your child the letter sounds before he/she starts school. Later on, write down the letters, and teach him/her to blend the sounds. It will be one of the greatest gifts you can give your child.
Customer Review: Not a well thought out toy but okay
Summary: 3 Stars
This ball has potential, if it had been planned out better. The buttons are too difficult to push in for its target age. We received one for Christmas last year when our baby was almost 1-year-old. He loved spinning it round and round, over and over again and seeing the lights which was a plus.....we enjoyed hearing the songs in music mode, but as another reviewer said, every time you barely touch the ball, it will stop mid song and play those two annoying repetitive tunes...I think Leap Frog should have known better than this--they should have let the whole song play regardless of whether it was spun around again or accidently bumped by an active toddler. What 6 month to 2-year-old is going to push a button and patiently wait for the song to finish when he could be having fun rolling or spinning the ball? So, basically, unless the adult controls the ball the whole time, your child will not learn any of the tunes except the two annoying ones that play over and over again.Customer Review: Better for older babies
Summary: 3 Stars
This toy was a shower gift. My son, who is 8 months old, spins it occasionally, but looses interest quickly. The music and/or voice doesn't keep his interest. I find the woman's voice annoying. I also find it annoying that when it's in music mode and one of the letters is pushed to start a song, that song stops when the ball moves again. I thought that it would be a great toy to sing along to, but it's hard to sing when the songs only finish if the ball is kept still. I think that it will be played with alot more when my son is capable of pushing each of the letters on his own (and has the attention span to do so).Another negative is that when the ball is in the base it is not balanced correctly and always wants to spin to the same resting spot. That sometimes interrupts the music and alphabet.
Finally, my son has reflux and spits up alot. I've had to clean it several times and it is very difficult to clean because of all the nooks and crannies.
Customer Review: One of the best new toys on the market!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this toy to keep at my house for my twin nephews a few months ago. They are 10 months old now and they love this toy! My sister-in-law even had to go buy one to keep at her house because they played with it so much. Even the older kids and adults like to play with it. I love that it has a high and low volume switch. And you can keep it on the base for younger babies who aren't crawling yet so they can sit or lay and spin it. And for the crawlers and walkers you can take it off the base so they can roll it around and chase after it. It has good sound quality and the music is enjoyable, not annoying. I've only had 2 small problems with it: the first one I bought had 3 letter buttons that did not work so I had to exchange it; and a few times the sound has become distorted, I think from getting too wet with drool, but it goes back to normal quickly when it starts to dry out. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a great and educational toy!