There are nursery faves (songs and stories), Disney hits (which both tell stories and play songs), classic storytime tales, educational titles and more. The brand has just launched its new advent calendar Tonie - an adorable reindeer who will upload a new story via your WiFi every day - and there's a podcast Tonie, too. Which Is The Best Tonie For Kids? I would give Yoto the edge on the free content, because it has a radio station and podcast. The radio station plays fun tunes in the day and sleepy lullabies at night. The Yoto: biggest downside are the size of the cards, as they can be easily lost if a child isn't careful. However - to balance this out, Yoto allows you to link owned content to a Make Your Own card. So even if a card is lost, you haven't lost the content. You can even select content to play on a box from the app without having a physical card in the box at all. We’ve had our Toniebox for nearly two years so I’ve had a lot of time to test it out and gather our thoughts on it. I would most definitely recommend one to friends.

Our co-testers have been enjoying their Toniebox for nearly a year; it’s a genius item for any kid’s bedroom. The little ones are especially enamored of the gorgeous, hand-painted figurines which play the songs and stories. With little ears that work as knobs and an impressive selection of stories and songs, the Toniebox promises hours of independent fun for children aged three to seven. Just don't lose the Tonies, or you'll be in trouble. The Content Tonies do vary in style and duration and this is something that’ll I’ll touch upon in my ‘Pros and Cons’ list further down in this Toniebox review. Tonieboxes come with a charging point, but can be easily lifted off this so kids can cuddle up with the Toniebox wherever they want to get comfy. This Tonie figure will introduce your child to the device – once you’ve gone through the setup process – but does not feature any content.However you can add some free content from the My Tonies app!You can use the My Tonies app to set up your Toniebox, and then after that it becomes a way to manage usage of your speaker plus a way to access free content, and create your own! For example, and this may just be a question of taste, I’ve found some of the lullaby Tonies to really grate on me, with the singing voices being not as high quality as you might expect. The Toniebox was created by Patric Faßbender and Marcus Stahl, who say they “wanted to create a way for children to experience storytelling in a digital age that stimulates their imagination while being educational and fun but also, and this was the main point, a screen-free experience”.

If you’re still not sure if a Toniebox is a good idea, I’ve listed a few of the pros and cons Pros of a Toniebox There are SO many options when it comes to Tonies and my son is now so obsessed that whenever he falls in love with a new book, film or TV show, straight away he asks me to see if it also exists in Tonie form. You can buy the headphones, bag and storytelling Tonies, like Peppa Pig, separately from the Toniebox itself. Rachel RothmanPlus it’s so easy to use that kids do not need any help when it comes to playing music or a story through the Toniebox. It’s great if you’re looking for something that encourages a little independent play, as well as nurtures their love for stories. This past year of pandemic living has made nearly everyone more reliant on screens… and therefore more desperate than ever for screen-free entertainment. That's particularly true of families, who may be searching for non-screen toys for their youngest members (if they have an educational component, even better).

To operate a Toniebox, kids just place a Tonie figure on top. They squeeze the small ear on top of the box to lower the volume and the large one to make it louder. They can tap the sides of the box to jump to the next chapter, or tilt the box on its side to fast-forward or rewind through content. To change to a new Tonie characters, all kids have to do is physically swap the Tonie character on the top of the box for a different one. Olive’s Toniebox is used everyday in our household, either as part of her bedtime routine or (increasingly) during the day when Olive wants to listen to music or a story. Furthermore, despite buying the box for Olive when she was only one, I still feel like we’ve had plenty of use from it, and this will only continue as she grows older and her attention span expands. I love the selection of colours available and when placed on a shelf or bedside table the Toniebox and Tonies add a lovely splash of colour to a bedroom.

What is a Tonie character?

Having said that, we rarely buy new ones and instead ask for them for Olive’s birthday or Christmas. As she’s only two, she has no idea she could have more and so for now, the spend is under control. I do fear, however, that as she grows older, her demands for new Tonies may well increase. 2. Can Be Clunky They’re not quite small enough to be swallowed, but it wouldn’t be ideal for them to be chewed on or stuffed in the mouth of a teething child. In my view with any electrical devices such as this one you would want to keep a close eye on younger kids particularly. I think you can use a Toniebox and its content for a baby, for example there are nap time sound Tonies as well as nursery rhymes and songs, but you wouldn’t give the box to a baby to use themselves. They would benefit from listening to the content at that age, but I think you want to wait a few years until you let them handle operating the device. The Toniebox is a robust (mine have been thrown around the room and into various car boots many times) music and story box. The square Toniebox is an audio player that's really easy to operate (for tiny hands, too). You buy Tonies (there are over 200 available) which are really cute characters that the child then places on top of the Toniebox to start playing that particular story (musical Tonies are also available). The makers of Toniebox say their product is for ages three and up. However I would happily have one for a two year old or younger, with the proviso that you would always want to supervise them with the speaker and Tonies characters.

The cost of Yoto Cards and Tonies is roughly the same – the cost of these does vary depending on what you are purchasing. So how do you choose? I think there are so many different ways of using this option, for example if a parent is going away for a few days they can record themselves reading a few of the child’s favourite bedtime stories. Then the reading can be played through the Toniebox so that the parent has a way of being involved with bedtime even when they’re away! As I mentioned in the opening of my Toniebox review, we bought Olive the box for her first birthday. Although I was aware that she wouldn’t be interacting with it like a 3-8 year old might, I still saw it as a lovely gift she could grow into. To neatly conclude this Toniebox review, I would say that this clever and durable audiobox is worth the investment. When the lights turn green it will automatically play. If they flash blue this means the content is loading, just wait for it to turn green.I’m going to share our experience with the Toniebox, plus a little more about whether it’s good value for money and what it can do. The Yoto features a screen with a pixel graphic display, whereas the Toniebox just has a few simple lights on the top. Yoto Cards vs Tonies Free content in the MyTonies app including stories, sleep sounds and timers for things like brushing teeth. You can find every one of the pups from the Paw Patrol, with each one featuring a different story for kids to enjoy.