Playskool Busy Ball Popper and Other Top Toys for Todders

Playskool created their ball popper for the 9 months and uppers. With this toy, your little one "pops" bright, colorful balls into a in the toy where they are air-popped out of the lower tube. This can cause a joyful frenzy as your child repeats the action over and over again to the sound of one of eight joyful tunes being played. It hits every major baby "glee" category - colorful, musical, action oriented, repetitive, and tactile. It's fantastic at motor skill development, not to mention a whole lotta fun for your little guy or gal.

While this is a given since it's made by Playskool, we should note that the Busy Ball Popper can withstand quite a beating and is easy to clean and sanitize. It is fairly heavy, so to prevents crashes or furniture damage, we recommend placing it on the floor or a large, hard surface.The balls themselves are large enough to escape being a choke hazard, but as mentioned earlier, they are known to wander a bit. Personally, I like this fact because you can use it to help get your child moving around more to pick up the strays. The songs themselves start to play once the plunger is initially pushed. The ball popper also shuts itself off after a period of time, but to save batteries, we do recommend that you turn it off manually.

When you purchase the ball bopper, included inside the box is the ball popper base, plastic ball tray and lower trough, and five plastic balls. Batteries are NOT included and it does require some light parental assembly with a phillips-head screwdriver.

Our pros: musical, develops motor skills, colorful, fun factor is high, good exercise for older kids, relatively inexpensive

Our cons: It does take some parental involvement with younger kids, you may be chasing down balls, slight assembly required, batteries not included.

With the cons being minor in comparison to all the pros, we really enjoy this you. To give you a simplified rundown once again:

• Your child can drop colorful balls onto the track. The balls will pop out of the top, roll down the track, then pop out all over again!
  
• There are silly sound effects and 8 lively songs to add to the fun
  
• The Busy Ball Popper is recommended for ages 9 months - 3 years.
  
• It's a bit large and heavy, weighing 4.4lbs, measuring 6.4 x 13.1 x 18 inches, and requires 4 D batteries.
  
• It's one of the few toys we would rate as a MUST HAVE for your child :)!
  

As your wobbly toddler learns to take their first steps, the Step Smart Walk N Ride allows them their first taste of freedom as they roll across the room with it's assistance. As your child continues to develop and becomes sturdier on his or her feet, the Walk-N-Ride converts into their first ride on toy. A special locking mechanism is in place to keep the Walk and Ride from converting back and forth without a parent's supervisor, adding a level of safety. Silly sound effects and a variety of textures to touch will also entertain your little one, making the Step Smart Walk 'N Ride an instant classic in any home with toddlers.

Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies and now Playskool has created a line of toys allowing you to share that passion with your little one. The Busy Lil Garden Bench will stir your child's imagination through discovery with flashing lights, music, and other hands-on activities. Specific gardening tools, like a watering can and a flower in a pot, detach and provide extra fun (Note: This toy is geared for ages 12 months - 4 years, however because of the detaching objects, parent supervision is recommended for ages 3 and under). They can sit or stand at this musical garden perch allowing them to act just like a grownup as they admire their "garden". Additional garden accessories are available, all of which fit conveniently inside the bench for quick clean-up.

I may be "all grown up", but I really want one of these dinosaur toys! I have a website fully devoted to Dino Roars Monty Rex and I want to make a lens specifically on the Kota and Pals line by Playskool because these toys really are that awesome! This little (or should I say big) guy is so much fun! What does he do? Monty Rex roars, snorts, stomps, sniffs, sneezes, and burps. He has 6 different interactive senors allowing him to sense where your child is and will roar back when the roar at him. Did I mention he walks around as well? His features are really too numerous to mention, so if you want more information, I recommend you check out MontyTRex.info. However, take heed and buy quickly - Monty usually sells out at least once a month.