Yoto Player – Revolutionizing Story and Play Time
Christmas is around the corner and if you are anything like me, you have already started preparation for the Jolly Season. A starts compiling his wish list the day after his Birthday in May, so by the time that I’m ready to actually start buying gifts his ideas are all over the place. Anyone who knows me would also know that I am the worst person to do gift shopping with, especially for my own child. I refuse to buy expensive toys that adds no value to his life, and that will either 1. Break after a month of playing with it, or 2. End up in a drawer never to be looked at again. No, when I buy gifts, I put a lot of thought into what that gift can do for my child and how long it could be treasured. And this is exactly why I HAD to write this blogpost and introduce EVERY SINGLE MOM to the INCREDIBLE new Yoto Player! A toy that is educational and made with children and parents in mind. A toy that gets children away from their screens and encourages their imagination to run wild! A toy that never grows “up” and that is always there for a purpose whether it is for a bedtime story, to make the dark a little less scary or even a long roadtrip. This “toy” was the greatest addition to A’s toy collection, and I have never been this excited about a toy for my child! So, without any further ado, let me introduce you to the greatest toy of all time – The Yoto Player!
What is this Yoto Player?
The Yoto Player is an interactive audio platform for children that features a curated world of stories, music, activities, sound effects, podcasts and even their very own kid-friendly radio stations! The Yoto Player puts kids in control allowing them to use physical cards to play audio content. The app also allows parents to perform the initial setup of the Yoto Player, and then also gives us the ability to control the player remotely. The Yoto Player was built for kids between the ages of 3 and 8 and offers hours of entertainment and learning fun without screens.
One of my favorite things about the Yoto player is the fact that it was created with children AND parents in mind. Everything about the Yoto Player is fun, exciting and simple!
10 of the Yoto Player’s Amazing Features include:
1.Built in re-chargeable battery
Even the battery was made with children in mind. The built in battery allows for portable play so that your child can carry it along with them on all of their adventures! When the battery runs out, children can easily pop their Yoto Player onto the clever magnetic dock to re-charge it and continue in their world of imaginary wonder.
2. Yoto Daily
Yoto Daily is a new piece of exclusive audio, delivered to your child’s Player every day absolutely free.When the little ones push down once on the right button Yoto Daily immediately jumps on with fun and interactive games! Every day there is a new game, story and educational fact that the children can join in on.
3. Yoto Radio
When they push down twice on the botton Yoto Radio automatically turns on and the can dance, sing and laugh to their very own children’s radio station! The fun never ends!
4. Volume Control
With just a twist of a button the child can turn the volume up or down, but the best part is that mom/dad can control how loud their Yoto Player is allowed to go via the Yoto App on your phone, so no need for endless battles or fights about the music being too loud.
5. Built in clock
Choose a clock for your child’s Player and set the night-time and day-time, to display the sun or moon at the right time for your child. This way they can “read” the time without being able to really read time! This is awesome if you have an early riser, since you can customize the color of the clock, as well as the time that you want it to go from daytime to night time. This way you can teach your child that when the sun comes up and the light is green it is time to get up, and when the moon comes out and the light is orange it is time to go to bed. It is also a useful sleep training tool for older toddlers.
6. Built-in nightlight
This is also one of my favourite Yoto player features. When you turn the Yoto Player onto its front it will turn on the nightlight. This allows toddlers to easily and safely turn on their own nightlight. To turn the nightlight off, just stand Yoto Player upright again. I also love how you can customize the color of the nightlight on the app.
7. Pixel Displays
A simple matrix display brings the audio to life. I love how this allows our children to “read” what is happening. They can easily skip to their favourite stories, switch it to radio, or turn the volume up by just looking at the pictures on the display.
8. Bluetooth
The Yoto Player can also use Bluetooth to turn into a regular Bluetooth speaker.
9. A world of stories and activities
You can purchase different story or activities cards for your child’s Player to expand his Yoto World, from Disney books to educational activities, the sky truly is the limit.
10. Make your own cards
You can also fill blank Yoto Cards with your own choice of audio and play them on your Yoto Player! So if there are specific songs, stories or activities that your little one enjoys, this is your place to shine!
If this is not enough reason for you to fall inlove with this amazing toy yet, let me give you some of the things that made us fall inlove with the Yoto Player:
1.It decreases screen time!
I have such a love-hate relationship with screen time, and I frequently talk about this on my social media. Let’s face it, sometimes moms need a break too! This is why the Yoto Player is one of a kind! It engages our children without the use of screens. Mom can still get a break, while our little ones are LISTENING (not just staring blankly at a screen), playing, dancing and learning. And the best part about it is that they are SAFE!
2. Full child and parental control
I absolutely love how it gives children the freedom to be independent. The Yoto Player is like a little robot radio that speaks to our children on their level, in a way that they will enjoy and can understand. Even the set up is filled with jokes and giggles. It is also so easy and simple to use that I didn’t even have to explain much to A, since he was able to figure it out all by himself. It is literally as easy as a push of a button. A can even put it on charge himself and he feels so “big” when he manages his Yoto Player. The simplicity of the cards also gives them the control of what they want to listen or play to. Then there is the app that gives us full control of the player itself without them even knowing. We can set the daytime and night time modes, customize the colors and bedlight, control the volume and so much more!
3. The size
I love that it is made with little hands and little people in mind. The Yoto Player is just the right size to be carried along by little hands. I also love that it has different ways in which it can stand so that it is always comfortable for them to play with, for example it can be leaned back when they are playing on the floor, and can stand upright when it is placed on the table.
4. The quality
I must admit when we first got our Yoto Player to try out I went into a little panic. I was so scared that A might drop it and let’s face it children are ROUGH! I was so relieved when I read that the Yoto Player has gone through rigorous ‘lifetime testing’ whereby they put the player through extreme use replicating real world scenarios. Imagine a machine that presses the buttons thousands of times, or a platform that vibrates continuously for hours on end. They also put the Player through drop testing to ensure no small parts break off. You may see some minor scuffs and scratches if it gets thrown around and dropped, but functionality shouldn’t be affected.
5. The make your own cards
This is my favorite of all favorite features of the Yoto Player! I love that I can customize what he listens to, because each and every child is different and have different interests. On the blank cards you can upload your very own audio, playlists or stories. Whatever your child imagines, you can make it happen! This card can also be re-used over and over again, so it’s pretty amazing!
6. It grows with your child
This is not a gift that your child would want to hide in a drawer. It’s something that he could take along on roadtrips (it has a port for headphones), that he can enjoy with friends or alone, something that could be used for bedtime, or during his morning routine. It never gets old, and as your child grows up, all that needs to change is the cards you purchase! And if you don’t want to purchase new cards, then that’s fine too, you can make your own!
7. The night and day time mode, and night light.
A is an early riser. As soon as the sun comes up he thinks it’s time for everyone to get up! I’ve always wanted to purchase one of those sleep training lights that could indicate to him when it’s time to get up and when it’s actually time to go to bed! So it was an added bonus when I saw that the Yoto Player actually came with these features AND that it could be CUSTOMIZED! How awesome! I also love that A can easily swith the night light on and off himself bu just turning it around. The nightlight’s light is also not that bright and it gives just enough light to scare away all of the “monsters”.
Some things to take note of:
- The Yoto Player’s built in battery only lasts a couple of hours, but the Yoto Player can still be used while it’s on the charging dock. I do however recommend leaving it on the dock if you want it to last throughout the night.
- Wi-Fi – You will need to be connected to wifi to set up your Yoto Player and download the cards onto it.
All in all there really is nothing to dislike about the Yoto Player – It is fun, it is educational, it is simple, it is incredible! It is definitely something that earned my respect and that I’d say is worth investing in!
The Yoto Player gets a double Thumbs up from both A and myself!
You can purchase your Yoto Player here:
- IStore: https://www.istore.co.za/yoto-audio-player?gclid=CjwKCAjw-sqKBhBjEiwAVaQ9axbFLFfMmns_qZNSDys9L8tbd7eYGH1oSJSEiWmu9mlIAGDBU_FNyhoCea8QAvD_BwE
- shttps://www.toysrus.co.za/yoto-audio-player
PS: Kids don’t remember their best day of television
~ Lots of love A and Mommy ~
