LeapFrog Learn & Groove Activity Station

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The Leapfrog Learn and Groove is brand new for 2005 and was only available in most of the shops from March.

They retail at around £80 and are available from places like Mothercare and Argos.

I bought mine from Argos online which cost me £85 including postage and packing. This does seem a little steep but one month on I'm already realising it was worth every penny.

...daughter previously had a Fisherprice Deluxe Take Along Swing which was only usable until she was six months old so I was looking for some kind of replacement sit in toy to take it's place from this age upwards.

Not a fan of babywalkers (due to the risks associated and the fact that I want to keep my baby away from most things, her moving around this house to me would be a complete nightmare!) my choice was very limited. Then I saw ... more

AVAILABILITY AND PRICE
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The Leapfrog Learn and Groove is brand new for 2005 and was only available in most of the shops from March.

They retail at around £80 and are available from places like Mothercare and Argos.

I bought mine from Argos online which cost me £85 including postage and packing. This does seem a little steep but one month on I'm already realising it was worth every penny.

REASON FOR PURCHASE
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My daughter previously had a Fisherprice Deluxe Take Along Swing which was only usable until she was six months old so I was looking for some kind of replacement sit in toy to take it's place from this age upwards.

Not a fan of babywalkers (due to the risks associated and the fact that I want to keep my baby away from most things, her moving around this house to me would be a complete nightmare!) my choice was very limited. Then I saw activity centres in the Mothercare catalogue. These are excellent devices which are round in shape and has a sling type seat in the middle that both legs go through. Infact it look almost exactly the same as a baby walker only it doesn't have wheels, instead it has a slightly rounded base which enables it to rock.

This means although your baby remain static and safe in one spot, movement is also encouraged and developed. The activity centre rocks in every direction due to the curved base and has suspension from the base to the top part that enables your baby to bounce too. Also the seat part turns a full 360 degrees around inside the activity centre so your baby learn to turn themselves round.

ASSEMBLY AND BATTERIES
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The assembly took all of five minutes (it was a basic clip together job) and the instructions were very clear and simple. It also is easy to adjust the height (three different heights possible) as your baby grows.

It takes 3AA batteries and so far (after a months use) are showing no sign of dying. However, when I had my baby I decide a sensible decision would be to invest in some rechargeables and a charger so when they do run down I'll simply have to put them on charge for two hours.

JUKEBOX
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On the top part there are five different activities. First there is the jukebox which is brightly coloured, mainly in blue and yellow. This has one page which is easy for the baby to turn and it's function is to switch the modes of the activity from alphabetical/numerical to musical.

DJ DECKS
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Turning to the right there is the DJ decks, these are bright green and yellow in colour.

These have a small compartment which doesn't have anything in it but I presume is where the DJ would keep there records. My daughter looks hopefully in this every day only to find nothing there. Occasionally we hide a sock in there for her as it's too small to hide any toys in.

It has the record with its needle (actually thick chunky plasitc - not in anway in the shape of a needle!). When you pull the needle towards yourself (if you are sat in it - i.e. from the babys point of view) these play a tune.

When the activity centre is in musical mode it plays Old Mac Donald, Knick-Knack Paddy Whack and Mary Had A Little Lamb.

When the activity centre is in alphabet/numerical mode it plays a Mowtown version of the alphabet, which is actually quite catchy and not too annoying (like many childrens toys are!).

The record also spins around while the song is playing. If the needle is pulled again during this time it makes a 'scratching' sound over the top of the tune like a real DJ decks would!

There is also a volume button that can be slid up and down, this doesn't actually control anything but makes a loud clicking noise.

KEYBOARD
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Turning right again is the keyboard. This consists of five different large buttons - easily larger than your babies hand so very easy for them to press. They all light up and do this in time to the music whenever any music from any activity is playing.

They all have a number on them ranging from 1-5. The size of the keys go up in relation to this, with number 1 being the smallest sized key and number five being the largest sized key.

They are also all different colours, starting from one they are red, orange, yellow, green then purple being the last one, number five.

When the activity centre is on musical mode the keys play different types of music. Starting from number one they play Jazz, Cha-Cha, Tango, Swing and ending with Salsa on number five. Over the top of the music the type of music is said in a womans voice.

In alphabetical/numerical mode the numbers which are one each key are said aloud when it is pressed. When you press a key higher than one, that number is stated and then it counts up from one to that number. As each number is being said the light underneath that key lights up.

MICROPHONE
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This is a large microphone on a bendy stick that is blue and yellow. When the baby pulls it towards themselves it either says "Ba-ba-doo-wop!" when it's in musical mode, or "Sing it baby!" when its in alphabetical/numerical mode. As there is only the two sayings it does get rather repetitive so is one of the more annoying features on the activity centre but my baby loves it. It can also be used as a teether.

DISCOBALL
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This is shiny reflective sliver with yellow and red on it too. It works well as a mirrorball, casting shapes on the walls etcs when it is being spun round.

When the baby turns to it in the rotating seat it automatically spins around very fast. The baby can also spin it manually with there hands. They can also press it down.

When it is pressed down in alphabetical/numerical mode it does a musical scale of five notes and then says the word "high", when pressed again the scale goes back down and is followed with the word "low", when pressed a third time it plays the scale back up but this time says "up" instead of "high" and finally on the fourth push it goes back down and says "down" instead of "low".

In musical mode, when pressed down it plays three different tunes that I don't recognise so I don't think they are anything in particular.

SEAT
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The seat is made out of quite thick material that is strong and will easily take the babies weight. However this material is also soft and there is padding in it to ensure your baby is confortable. I found the first few times I put my baby in it she didn't really know how to sit in it and leant forward at a very awkward angle but by about the third time in it she was sitting/standing upright perfectly fine.

It can be machine washed at 30 degrees and tumbledried.

CLEANING
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The toy is made more or less entirely of plastic (except the seat) and can be easily wiped clean. However it is recomended that you don't give your baby anything to eat or drink while they are in it and I've found that by doing this it doesn't get dirty in the first place. However it would be easy to clean with either a cloth or an antibacterial wipe.

AGE RANGE
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This can be used from 4 months till your baby can walk unassisted.

MY VERDICT
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Like the babyswing was an essential during those early months (anything to gain five minutes peace from your baby while you have a brew etc) this has more than taken it's place. My baby is quite happy to spend a LOT of time in here. She never gets bored and if one activity is getting boring there is always another to do. This also makes the toy less annoying as the sounds coming from it are so varied that you're not just hearing the same thing all the time.

Since using this for the past month I have noticed an unbelievable improvement in the strength in my babys legs. Before being in this if you held her so her legs would touch the floor she would just bend them and not even attempt to support herself. Now when you hold her she is pretty much taking all her weight herself, you're supporting her simply for balance. She has also started making walking steps while holding her due to this increased strength in her legs.

When the music plays on the activity centre (or when any is on the tv) she bounces up and down like crazy in the activity centre in her way of dancing. The suspension is brilliant and makes this ideal as a bouncer as well as everything else.

As the activity centre is static it is completely safe and if you don't want it to rock you can flick out supports at the bottom to stop it from doing so.

As your baby is only in this till walking age I don't necessarily think they will learn anything from it (alphabet or numbers) but it keeps them entertained which at this age is what you hope for in a toy.

I think the initial price is expensive but for me it is worth every penny. It means the difference of having time for breakfast and a brew in the morning before feeding the baby as she quite happily plays in this. It's somewhere safe to pop her while you nip to the toilet etc.

My little one is also happy to sit in here while watching childrens TV etc. She gets so much use out of this I feel she's had £80 worth of use out of it in this month alone.

I would definately reccomend this, although it is not an 'essential' item if you can afford to save to get one I definately don't think you would regret it. This is one of the best things I've bought my baby and if you add together the amount spent on toys she's rarely shown interest in, or clothes she's worn once they probably come to more than £80, so at least with this you are getting your moneys worth.

It is also made from durable plastic and the seat seems like it will wear well so I would imagine you would be able to get a very good resale value for it.

I can't speak highly enough of this item or reccomend it enough and feel it is pretty much flawless. As these are brand new I imagine they will come down a fair bit in price within the next year or so (when something 'better' comes out) so if you are pregnant I wouldn't buy in advance (it is also bulky to store). If however you have a baby I would get it by the time they are 4 months old as my baby has only been able to use it from 7 months so we've missed out on 3 months worth of use!

As I mentioned above it is quite bulky, although not much larger than a baby walker. It does fold flat but I find it's not worth it as the baby is using it so much so ours is always up. It is quite heavy (I imagine so it doesn't tip over) but is easy enough to move when you need to (and I'm quite weak!)

Five stars from me, the one toy I would definately buy out of all the ones I have if I could go back and do it all again.

More information can be found on leapfrogshop.co.uk. On the sight it also suggest games you can play with your baby in the activity centre to encourage learning. These are also included in a booklet that comes with the activity centre. 

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