mizgnomer's Full Review: Baby Einstein Shapes and Sounds Turtle
My youngest went through a huge Baby Einstein phase when he was a baby, so he ended up getting a bunch of Baby Einstein gifts for his first (and even his second) birthday. Most of the toys he received were fine, but the Baby Einstein Shapes and Sounds Turtle was a dud. A cute dud, but a dud nonetheless.
Product Description:
The Baby Einstein Shapes and Sounds Turtle is a very cute little shape sorter toy based upon the turtle character featured in the Baby Einstein video "Baby Neptune". The shape sorter is part of the turtle's shell, with 4 little indentions for holding the shapes. There is also a large smiling "Sun" button on the very top of the shell, and 3 "mode" buttons above the turtle's tail.
The shapes themselves come with a Baby Einstein-ized graphic of an animal on one side of the shape and a photograph of the same animal on the other side. The corresponding slot on the turtle's back also features the photograph of the animal (for additional aid in matching). The shapes are:
» a yellow Star featuring 2 kangaroo pictures
» an orange circle featuring 2 rabbit pictures
» a blue square featuring 2 koala pictures
» a purple triangle featuring 2 zebra pictures
Putting the shape into the appropriate slot on the turtle's shell triggers a sound to be played along with a snippet of music, depending upon the toy's current "mode":
» When in "shapes" mode the voice will announce the shape (circle, star, triangle, square)
» When in "colors" mode the voice will announce the color of the shape
» When in "animals" mode the voice will announce the animal featured on the shape
When you press the Sun button it lights up and a cheerful voice exclaims, "Shapes! Colors! Animals!" followed by a brief snippet of music. The 3 mode buttons will also announce the mode (shapes, colors, animals) when pressed.
The toy requires 2 "AA" batteries. It is recommended for children ages 6 months and up.
Our Thoughts & Experiences:
As a big Baby Einstein lover, my son was initially thrilled to see the turtle character that he was already familiar with from "Baby Neptune", but alas that's where his enjoyment of this toy ended. While you can maneuver the shapes into their slots on the toy, it is also entirely too easy to knock them right back out again (the depth of the indention for each shape on the turtle's shell is quite shallow, and there's really nothing to hold the shape in-place). It is definitely frustrating for little hands that aren't terribly dexterous to begin with. My son really prefers shape sorters where you push the shape all the way through the slot and it falls into a receptacle of some kind.
As a parent, I also find the toy to be rather annoying. Baby Einstein is known for its pleasant, simplistic renditions of classical music. You have to wonder then, why there is absolutely no variety to the music on this turtle. It plays snippets (of varying length) from a single song, Handel's Water Music. That's it! And I absolutely do not understand the point of the "star button" at the top of the turtle's shell. It says "Shapes! Colors! Animals!" and plays the exact same song fragment every single time. What is the point!?!
To add to the list of complaints, there is no on/off switch and no volume control (and the volume is a touch on the loud side but not too terrible). The animal pictures on the shapes are simple stickers -- my son never played with this toy enough to take the stickers off and was never one to put toys in his mouth, but I can see where putting stickers on the shapes might not be a good thing to do on a baby toy. The toy is made of a hard plastic, and if the shapes were in-place on the turtle's back (a fairly unlikely prospect) I would certainly hate to step or fall upon this toy, as the points on some of the shapes wouldn't feel very good.
The only good thing I can say about the toy is that it looks cute. We put it up high on a shelf in my son's room where it can just sit there and look cute and not bother/frustrate/annoy anyone.
Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) It looks cute
+) Some animals not commonly seen on other baby toys (koala, zebra, kangaroo)
Cons:
-) No on/off switch
-) No volume control
-) Shapes do not stay in their slots very well at all
-) Decorative stickers easily removed
-) What's the point of that sun button?
-) Absolutely no variety to the music
Final Thoughts:
We usually love Baby Einstein products, but the Shapes and Sounds Turtle is a real dud, despite how cute it looks, and I would strongly advise against purchasing it. Luckily for us we have a few other shape-sorter toys that my son adores, so he didn't play with his turtle enough to miss it when we whisked it away to its new home on a high shelf.
Fantastic prices with ease & c...(Stock status: N/A)
The Baby Einstein Shapes and Sounds Turtle is a playful and engaging introduction to shapes, animals, and colors. Featuring flashing lights, classical...More at Amazon Marketplace
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