VTech Thomas Phone

...I am reviewing is The Vtech Thomas Phone. It is a toy designed with boy's in mind, but I'm not one of those people who limits their children to either dolls or cars. I'm sorry if you are, but I like to encourage my daughter with the toys that she wants to play with. My daughter wanted this phone so I bought it for her. It was actually a step forward because for a few years she wouldn't even speak on a play phone and she certainly wouldn't speak on ...
...phones.

The Vtech Thomas Phone has been on the market from October 2006. It is great fun, aimed at children from 3 - 6 years old. It has 0 - 9 buttons and helps children learn their numbers through playing with their favourite characters. My daughter loves interacting with this phone. She used to have a similar phone when she was younger, but this is definitely far superior with things that older children will enjoy. There are activities ... more

My little girl has never been into girly things she is more of a Tom Boy. She likes trains, cars and garages rather than dolls and girly play things. She does like to play with girly things but, her preference is definitely more for boy's kind of toys. I am not sure if that is just her personality or the fact that there is roughly, 5 girls - 20 boys in her class at nursery. I haven't got a fear of her playing with boys things and have always encouraged it. I remember a phone call to my brother it went something like this;

Brother: "So. what did you get Lauretta for her birthday?"
Me: "I got her a garage".
Brother: "A garage? That's a boy's toy. Why did you get her a garage?"
Me: "Because she loves playing with cars".

I'm sure you get the gist. So why am I telling you this, you might be wondering? Well... the product I am reviewing is The Vtech Thomas Phone. It is a toy designed with boy's in mind, but I'm not one of those people who limits their children to either dolls or cars. I'm sorry if you are, but I like to encourage my daughter with the toys that she wants to play with. My daughter wanted this phone so I bought it for her. It was actually a step forward because for a few years she wouldn't even speak on a play phone and she certainly wouldn't speak on a real phone, despite the fact we encouraged her to. We'd put my mum or dad on the phone and she would clam up and not speak to them. She still is a little bit like this, but she has improved a lot. I think the improvement is due to the fact that we have encouraged her to play with phones.

The Vtech Thomas Phone has been on the market from October 2006. It is great fun, aimed at children from 3 - 6 years old. It has 0 - 9 buttons and helps children learn their numbers through playing with their favourite characters. My daughter loves interacting with this phone. She used to have a similar phone when she was younger, but this is definitely far superior with things that older children will enjoy. There are activities on the phone that younger children will enjoy, but it does seem geered for older children. Your child can learn through 3 modes of play including games, music and sound effects. My daughter gets completely focused on this toy for good amounts of time.

This toy helps creative, role play and imaginary play. It comes with a removable handset. It lights up through 0 - 9 number buttons that introduce numbers and favourite characters. When my daughter is playing with this her face lights up when she presses the different buttons, such as the horn button that makes Thomas whistle or the driver button for cool phrases. I like the way it is easy to carry with a handle that makes it very portable so you can take it out with you when you go to a friends house. The other great thing is that it doesn't go through batteries really quickly like some toys do but, it also has an automatic switch off that preserves battery life and also saves you a fortune when your little one forgets to turn it off.

My daughter pulls the toy all around the house with her and it hasn't broken, yet. The other thing I love about this toy is that each button is numbered and has the name of the train written on it. There are two buttons on the top and the three buttons on the bottom are learning games for older children. The manufacturers have thought about child safety when including a safety release on the phone cord so a younger baby cannot choke if they put it in their mouth.

The other thing this toy has which is fantastic for parents is a volume control that makes the toy quieter. You know the feeling when you get so tired from the noise and you just want a bit of peace? Well, you can make the volume quieter. The recommended age for play is from around 3 - 6 but, I gave my daughter it when she was about 2 and 1/2. I never usually listen to the age recommendations on products unless it is something too small that little babies might choke on, but that doesn't really concern me any more. I certainly haven't found any little pieces on this toy.

The box the toy is presented in is very bright, colourful, it stands out on the shelf and is a lovely shade of light blue. On top of the box is written "Calling all engines phone" The actual product itself is very attractive and if your little cherub loves Thomas then I think they will love this toy.

This toy will definitely encourage early learning and one of the most important aspects of learning, mathematics. It seems like you need maths for everything nowadays. The buttons are bright, colourful, big, chunky and easy to press. It requires 2 "AA" batteries, included. Measures 3.2" x 9.3" x 7.5". As well as numbers it teaches positions such as above, below, etc and one of the great things my daughter loves to play is the light up memory game. The voices are really funny and I loved listening to all the sounds. It is very durable and has lasted through many accidents such as being dropped on the floor. Fortunately as my daughter got older she didn't drop it on the floor as much. My daughter is such a big Thomas lover and she plays with this for longer than most of her other toys. My little girl loves to play the game of where to find things, count the lights and the order of things.

I have encouraged my daughter to learn from when she was born and always looked for toys that encourage learning and this toy definitely does. The games are interactive with different colours and it even has a Simon says game. Even if your child doesn't like Thomas The Tank Engine they would probably love this phone.

You can buy it from most retail outlets and it costs around £15 

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