Yoto Player

[scm1011]

Does anyone have one of these? Is your kid into it? I'm thinking of getting it as DD's big gift for her 4th birthday. Its part selfish - we're going to finally force her sleeping in her own room once she's 4 and I think it will help her adjust if she has a distraction but I'm not sure if its worth it. 

[fancynewbeesly]

So my 4 year old and 11 year old is OBSESSED with it. They each have their own mini. My 4 year old takes it everywhere with her. We have a mix of cards--some we bought from the company and others I bought on amazon music/iTunes and loaded a make your own card with it. To get the 4 year old used to it, we started using it for the sleep radio/bedtime music. Then I would have it on as background music while playing in her room. Now she listens to it during breakfast (instead of her iPad). 

Some of my 4 year olds favorites:
Topsy
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Fairytale Hairdresser
Laurie Berkner

I also made cards with:
Muppets Songs
Encanto
Frozen
Matilda the Musical.

About 3 weeks ago, I hid her iPad and haven't brought it out again-and she stopped asking for it. She rides her bike with the mini Toto in the basket--we have headphones for her for the car ride. On my 11 year old--I downloaded Harry Potter and Percy Jackson for her.

[scm1011]

fancynewbeesly, oh amazing!! I'm glad to hear its such a hit! I appreciate you noting your 4 year old's favorites. I think I'm going to go for it.

[fancynewbeesly]

I ended up getting the holder for her off of Etsy. She got it for Christmas and still uses it ALL the time. The holder was in her Easter basket. 😊

[scm1011]

That is too cute! So is your DD

[nicolewi]

Can someone explain this more? It looks so cute.Wondering it it would be worth it for 8 or 10 year old. How is this better/different than a tablet or using Alexa?

[fancynewbeesly]

nicolewi,

So for us with the nearly 5 year old, is it is completely independent on her part. She can switch tracks and put in any cards she wants. She doesn't need help access her music/stories. And even though you use wifi to set it up, it doesn't need to be hooked to wifi (unless you use the radio or podcast). So she can take it in the car, restaurants, etc. We love the phonics and math cards. We want to try out the baking cards.

Our 11 year old LOVES it because it is super cute, and works in places where wifi isn't the greatest--we download books to her for her blank cards. She also loves their non fiction section.

We try to use it instead of the tablet or phone to reduce screen time. And Alexa can't go in the car Plus DD1 gets carsick so this perfect for her to listen to audiobooks.

[Pilsy]

My little one loves her Toniebox. Is that similar? My older daughter was 7.5 when she got hers and wasn't really into it, but the little one was 4.5 and is going strong with it at (newly) 6.

[fancynewbeesly]

May 10, 2023 9:26:57 GMT -5 Pilsy said:

My little one loves her Toniebox. Is that similar? My older daughter was 7.5 when she got hers and wasn't really into it, but the little one was 4.5 and is going strong with it at (newly) 6.

It is. I feel like there is way more longevity with it though and there are ton of things geared towards older kids. My 4 year old had a toniebox when she was 3. The second she got the Toto player she willingly packed up the tonies. I also feel like this is way more portable--for instance when she rides her bike, she puts it in the basket. But it is a similar concept. Plus in looking at the card store--they have over 600 choices--and unless you get a pack, many of them are cheaper than the tonies.

[Pilsy]

May 10, 2023 9:30:07 GMT -5 fancynewbeesly said:

May 10, 2023 9:26:57 GMT -5 Pilsy said:

My little one loves her Toniebox. Is that similar? My older daughter was 7.5 when she got hers and wasn't really into it, but the little one was 4.5 and is going strong with it at (newly) 6.

It is. I feel like there is way more longevity with it though and there are ton of things geared towards older kids. My 4 year old had a toniebox when she was 3. The second she got the Toto player she willingly packed up the tonies. I also feel like this is way more portable--for instance when she rides her bike, she puts it in the basket. But it is a similar concept. Plus in looking at the card store--they have over 600 choices--and unless you get a pack, many of them are cheaper than the tonies.

Nice! Our tonieboxes were gifts, so I never did any comparisons. Anyway, OP, the general concept is great! Highly recommend.

[gerberdaisy]

We have a toniebox too, and it doesn't get much use. I'd say DS listens to it to go to bed a couple times a week, but that's it. Sounds like the Yoto play is more versatile though.

[IndiaInk]

I bought the Yoto Mini for my son for his 6th bday and he loves it. His 9 year old sister does too. I searched and searched for a portable screen-free, bluetooth enabled music player and this fits the bill well. Both kids huge fans of the free daily podcast, and we all enjoy the radio feature - it's got great family friendly music that's not just "little kid" music but a range of genres all pretty upbeat. There's a lot of free content on the app that you can transfer onto cards for the player.
The downside is that the cards are kind of expensive and you have to own the music/audiobooks in order to put them on a make-your-own card, which is an annoyance for me because I only stream audio these days. But I have broken down and bought a few of his favorite albums on iTunes and it's fun to see how much joy he gets out of the autonomy of being able to pick what playlist *he* wants to listen to. One other awesome way we've been using the player is that my mom has been recording herself reading chapter books and then sending me the audio files and I transfer them onto cards for the kids to listen to. That's been a huge hit.

[kate1482]

My kids still use them daily after 2.5 years! They are 5 and 8. We have 3 of the regular size yotos. They just use them as a clock and around the house so I haven’t bought them minis. We do take them with us traveling but mainly since they are addicted to falling asleep listening to them. They still prefer their iPads on the airplane.

[scm1011]

fancynewbeesly, do you have a referral code I could use? It looks like I get 10% off and you get points/tokens.

[fancynewbeesly]

May 10, 2023 14:19:46 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

fancynewbeesly , do you have a referral code I could use? It looks like I get 10% off and you get points/tokens.

Just PMd you it  

[sometimesrunner]

Sounds like you already bought it, but we just bought one for DD's 7th birthday and she loves it. We got a regular sized one with the carrier and she totes it all around the house. I need to buy a case for the cards, though, because I've found those all over the house, as well.

[beerlover]

I wish I had purchased something like this, I love the tech-free aspect, but DS already has his own Echo dot that plays books from Audible (plus all the other things Alexa does) so I am not sure how interested he would be in this. Though, the portable aspect is nice. I love the idea though.