Cleverkeet – Little Live Pets Review

Christmas is only just around the corner which means the wish lists are starting to grow! Santa is going to have to work the elves from sun up to sun down to get the presents ready in time; especially with all the amazing new toys being put on shelves recently.

As many parents will have experienced over the years, children often ask Santa for pets for Christmas. This could be any pet; a dog, a cat, a bird or even a fish. Unfortunately pets aren’t suitable for everyone though and often circumstances simply don’t allow it. This is where Little Live Pets from Moose is the perfect compromise!

Cleverkeet Review

Cleverkeet is an interactive robo-pet that dances, talks, responds to your voice and can even drive its very own birdie cart. This bird is smart!

When your child first opens their new ‘pet’ and gives it a name, this very clever bird will remember it. Like the other Little Live Pets, Cleverkeet can record and repeat messages but it also does so much more.

Just like a real pet, this Cleverkeet requires some creature comforts at home which it comes standard with. Included is its very own playground which contains: a swing, a mirror, a dance floor and a perch. He also enjoys playing, dancing, eating and drinking from his food perch and being carried around while having a chat with his new best friend.

He can often be a little too into himself as he loves showing off while dancing in front of his mirror. Your child is going to absolutely love their new pet and you will be grateful there is no mess, no food and fuss associated with owning such a cute feathered friend.

Suitable for children aged 5+ this is going to be a Christmas favourite. Available in pink or blue from major retailers for RRP $79.95!

What is on your child’s wish list this year?

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Technology in kids toys changes way too fast these days. It is a constant battle between allowing kids to use their imaginations and keeping them informed with the ever-changing way of the world.

Thankfully there are brands out there that understand this desire and design toys with a combination of elements involved. Vtech have been purchased from the shopping shelves for years because of their knowledge and willingness to adapt to the times whilst maintaining an element of old school. This is why we love Vtech!

For the past few weeks, my kids have been giving some Vtech toys a road test. I must say they arrived at the absolute perfect time because I have been so sick I can barely move from the couch, and these have kept them entertained and happy. *Thanks kids for sharing those delightful germs, next time leave them where you found them!

Vtech Toys Review

Turn & Learn Cube – RRP $29.00 – 6 to 36 months

Little hands love this cube! With something exciting, flashing or colourful on each of its 5 sides; they will never stop learning. This Turn & Learn Cube encourages discovery and exploration from a young age. The light up buttons introduce your little ones to new animals, shapes, colours and sounds.

The development of fine motor skills are crucial for toddlers. This is why Vtech have included manipulative features in addition to fun songs that are activated when the cube is moved. Your child will learn language development, tune those motor skills and progress into imaginative play with this conveniently sized play cube.

Play & Learn Aeroplane – RRP $20.00 – 6 to 36 months

Watch your child grow with the Play and Learn Aeroplane. It has features to help them progress in many levels of development; language, sensory and fine motor skills. Your baby or toddler will not only have fun pulling along the aeroplane but also learning music, spinning the propeller and watching the lights flash.

For the parents; the durable design also features an automatic shut off to preserve the battery life.

Kidizoom Twist Plus Camera – RRP $89.95 – 3 to 9 years

This camera is built with kids and little hands in mind! The child friendly design allows for a degree of impact when being dropped without any broken parts or functions. The Kidizoom camera makes it easy for children to change the effects and filters on the camera, which according to my kids is the funniest thing ever possible!

The features of this camera are endless which is more than likely why my all three of my kids love it so much.

Features include:

Twisting lens – makes selfies easy!

Over 50 Colour filters and effects – carnival mirror, funny faces, cartoon themes and so much more.

2.0 Megapixel camera

Video and voice recording

Photo editing

5x Built-in games

4x Digital zoom

Built-in auto flash

The batteries in this camera don’t drain like you would expect them to; the kids have been snapping like the paparazzi for a week now and the batteries are still going strong!

Kidizoom Smart Watch – RRP $89.95 – 5 to 12 years

Learning to tell the time can be tough but with the help of the Kidizoom Smart Watch, your child will have the desire to learn as fast as they can!

This smart watch is so much more than a just a watch; it has 8 amazing features in one compact band. My boys are still fighting over who gets to use this more!

Features include:

Clock – analogue and digital display options. 50+ face designs.

Voice recorder & distortion – 5 fun effects to alter their voices.

Stopwatch & timer – What child doesn’t want to time everything they possibly can?!

Games – 3 built-in

Alarm – child can select to use their own voice or one of ten different alarm tones included in the watch.

Camera – YES! It is basically like a spy watch. They can take pictures and videos and add effects to alter the image.

Everything kids love all in one touch screen, watch sized piece of technology. As you can understand, it would be crazy difficult for the kids to not love these Vtech toys. They are a mix of learning, imagination and a lot of fun!

Check out Vtech on Facebook and Instagram for more amazing products.

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WIN WIN WIN – Oh also if you want to win yourself some Vtech goodies –

Rebel Without A Pause has some to giveaway; check out the competition here!

Motherpedia – Enter here.

Disclosure: I received the above toys for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own or those of my kids.

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Games are a great way to develop children’s skills. By allowing them to discover and learn through puzzles, experiences and games, you are giving them the opportunity to grow in a stimulating environment.

Junior Labyrinth Review

Recently my children received a Junior Labyrinth from Child.com.au and they absolutely love it. Not only are they learning how to think logically, they are having fun whilst doing it.

The object of the Labyrinth, for children aged 3 years +, is to move the balls with the magnetic pens to each end without getting stuck in the barriers. There are moveable pieces of wood inside that make for an extra challenge when moving the balls around the labyrinth. In order for them successfully complete the maze they must think about not only the move they are making but also consider what action they will make a few turns in advance.

When my boys were in long day care the centre had a large scale one of these on the wall and the kids absolutely loved it. This smaller version has not lost any of its appeal and if anything because it can be used by 1 or 2 players at a time, they can enjoy a little bit of healthy competition as well. As a result of it being interactive and engaging, children do not realise they are refining their motor skills and challenging their hand-eye co-ordination. To them, they are just having fun.

The Junior Labyrinth is made with the highest quality in mind from sustainable rubber wood. This makes it not only strong and durable but also safe for your children to play with for years to come. It is perfect for indoor use or whilst travelling as there are no little pieces that can be lost and it requires absolutely no clean up.

With a retail price of $65.99 from Child.com.au this 30cm square Junior Labyrinth is the perfect size for children of all ages.

Do you kids enjoy mazes and puzzles? How do you assist in developing your child’s skills?

Disclosure: I received the Junior Labyrinth for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own or that of my children.

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Keeping kids rooms tidy is a struggle at the best of times and even when you have the kids trained to put their toys away it often still doesn’t look neat because of the storage tubs we use. In our house we use the ‘pack away before you move away’ theory and it works like a charm (except for Poppet, she’s still learning). For years now we have used those large clear plastic storage tubs or butchers tubs for the kids toys, as a decent toy box is hard to find at a reasonable price. That is of course until we discovered 3 Sprouts and their fantastic kids range of practical storage from CoolKidz. The 3 Sprouts toy storage is absolutely gorgeous and great quality! We have got a 3 Sprouts Toy Chest and a 3 Sprouts Storage Bin and I love them. They have completely transformed Poppets’ room and are absolutely adorable.

The 3 Sprouts Toy Chests are the perfect size for a childs’ room and is surprisingly spacious. It hold so many toys without taking up a lot of space. It is made from hard-wearing canvas and reinforced with cardboard. Don’t be fooled by reading cardboard; it is strong and will hold the weight of a child leaning over it! The toy chest makes organising a room full of toys easy and have 3 great designs to choose from. RRP $49.95 the 3 Sprouts toy chest stands at almost 40cm high and 60cm wide. Worth every cent!

These 3 Sprouts storage bins are just the most perfect size for kids to store all their most prized possessions (approx. 43cm high and 42cm diameter). Great for storing toys, books and even laundry! The storage bins are made from tough cotton canvas and have cute animals on the front; there are 12 gorgeous ones to choose from. They are easily folded so are a great space saver when they are not required to be in use but if you had one you wouldn’t want to pack it away. The 3 Sprouts products are a great gift idea for babies, toddlers and kids. RRP $49.95

3 Sprouts have more than just these storage options available and their range varies in size, purpose and price. Storage, bath, nursery and even organisation. Check out the CoolKidz website for the full range.

2 PRIZES UP FOR GRABS!!

Each Prize Contains: 1x 3 Sprouts Toy Chest. RRP $49.95 each. Total prize pool: $99.90

 **As the winners are chosen based on skill and not chance; you will be sharing for 0 extra entries however I’d love you to share the giveaway with friends and family. Sharing is caring and karma loves kind people. **

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If you are wanting to enter more giveaways click over here.

 Disclosure: I received the above items for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.

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Like all kids, mine love adding new toys to their collection. It is Poppet in particular this time as LeapFrog have added a few fantastic new products to their range that are perfectly suited to her. She has been playing non stop with 2 toys in particular – the Roll & Go Rocking Horse and the Mobile Med Kit which appears to be her favourite. Check out some of the new LeapFrog toys below.

 New LeapFrog toys

Roll & Go Rocking Horse

Designed for children 6-36 months this is a great product for developing gross motor skills and encouraging bub to crawl or move. The LeapFrog Roll & Go Rocking Horse features fun light and sound effects so every time it is rolled the lights blink and plays funny horse sounds, songs and rhymes. Each time bub touches the horse or pushes its saddle it plays short phrases like ‘Let’s go on a ride together!’ which provides exciting ways for the children to interact. I love that there are 3 volume options on the Roll & Go Rocking Horse; OFF, Quiet (which as an adult is easy enough to tune out) and of course Loud (which isn’t overbearingly loud). RRP $24.99 ea.

Mobile Med Kit

While this toys is recommended for 2+ years my 1 year old absolutely loves it! With the push of the siren button, sounds and lights will be activated to let everyone know there is an emergency and your little one is on the way with the Mobile Med Kit. It is an exciting way to combine learning with play. Included with the med kit is a stethoscope, otoscope, thermometer and syringe for authenticity and so your child can perform pretend check ups. When the Mobile Med Kit is rolled it plays phrases that teach your child about the body and sings songs like ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’. A fantastic option for role-play, learning and lots of fun!  Just like the Roll & Go Rocking Horse, it features the same wonderful volume options. RRP $34.99 ea.

2x PRIZES UP FOR GRABS

Each Prize contains: 1x LeapFrog Mobile Med Kit. RRP $34.99 each. Total Prize Pool: $69.98

**As the winners are chosen based on skill and not chance; you will be sharing for 0 extra entries however I’d love you to share the giveaway with friends and family. Sharing is caring and karma loves kind people. **
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If you are wanting to enter more giveaways click over here.

Disclosure: I received the above items for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.

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I have shared my love of LeapFrog here on the blog a few times now and that’s because it is a brand that just keeps giving. I love that they continually produce products to suit a range of ages and encourage learning from the start. Mr 5 has a LeapReader that he uses daily and we recently added a new book to the collection that is proving to be very popular with not only him but every other child that visits; Doc McStuffins: The New Girl. The book encourages good vocabulary skills and healthy habits while educating children about cultures, health and social skills.

LeapFrog

The fun new AlphaPup aimed for 1-3 year olds is a fantastic product that teaches the alphabet, phonics and is great for improving gross motor skills. It is full of colour and has a range of settings for sound that include: the alphabet, singing and dog phrases. Miss H loves pulling this behind her she crawls along and gets so much joy from the bright coloured buttons. The AlphaPup is going to be a hit in our house for a long time yet.

Disclaimer: I was gifted the above items for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own and those of my children.

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Do you remember back in the day when toys were made to last? When so many of the awesome playthings were made from wood? I LOVE WOODEN TOYS and always wanted to get some for my boys when they little but just couldn’t find any and if I did they were ridiculously expensive or poor quality. So unfortunately they missed out. That is of course until a wonderful blog buddy of mine opened her very own store that is full of – you guessed it – WOODEN TOYS!! That’s not the best bit though – they are extremely affordable. Woohoo!! There is a stigma for kids that learning is boring, dull and takes them away from actually playing which we all know isn’t always the case. The range at School of Mum is absolutely brilliant and combines fun with learning. The toys are educational yet exciting!! Catered to suit children of all ages these magnificent products are great quality and will provide hours, weeks and more than likely years of fun, learning and entertainment.

The variety of products don’t stop at classic wooden toys though; there really is something for every child. You will find items suited to babies, toddlers, school age with a wide range of clothing, personalised items, puzzles, teddies, clocks, memory and my all time favourite – wooden blocks – IT’S ALL THERE!! We have recently had an order arrive from the wonderful School of Mum and my kids couldn’t get into the bag fast enough. As you will see below some of the products can be fun so much fun for children that they don’t even realise they are learning. The memory game is made from wooden tiles with a letter of the alphabet and an Australian animal that begins with the same letter. Not only are they strengthening the memory part of the brain but they are also learning letters and animals.  

The clock puzzle is great for both my boys as we use it to help learn the time for my 6 year old and my 4 year old uses it to identify the numbers along with the concentration of working out the correct order of the numbers. There is a boy and girl version of this particular product.

For the babies in way of toys there are the Rattle and Roll Doves which are gorgeous, simple and easy to use. As bub moves or pulls it along the dove effortlessly rolls and rattles causing a great deal of excitement. This also comes in pink or blue.

With the Bird Smackeroo there are hours of fun to had and most importantly it is great for building on hand /eye co-ordination. As you can see from the short video below it is very easy to use and great enjoyment for the kids.

My all time favourite product is the Educational Wooden Blocks, this might be because they take me back to my own childhood but at the bargain price of  $15 how can I say no? There is no much that can be done with these little babies; building, stacking, learning, the possibilities are endless.

Now I’m sure by now you have worked out that I am very fond of this little shop and as a way of sharing some wonderful educational (and fun) products the extremely generous School of Mum has decided to offer a $50 voucher to one very lucky lucky Mad Mummas reader!! Just in time to get some great items for Christmas.

To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below. Winner is decided based on skill and chance plays no part. Australian residents only! Sorry everyone else. **The mandatory instructions MUST be completed or your entry will be void!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

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It’s hard keeping up with the new and ‘in’ toys these days. There are so many crazes at once and the kids still ‘need’ them all! In saying that though; I do love that so many of the TV shows that I grew up watching as a kid have made a come-back.  I remember growing up my brother, sister and I used to pretend to be Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and ‘fly/jump/somersault’ off the swing set in an attempt to destroy the villain Rita Repulsa or in later episodes Lord Zedd. My brother was always Jason the red ranger, I was Kimberly the pink ranger and to my sisters disappointment she was always Trini the yellow ranger. Power Rangers have clearly proved themselves with series after series being aired and while they have definitely changed over the years they are no less popular.

 It is great seeing my kids enjoying the same things that I got hours of entertainment from all those many years ago. Today however they do create Power Ranger toys that are so much cooler than they when I was a pink ranger. If your kids, like mine have embraced the world of Power Rangers then the Power Rangers Megaforce Gosei Morpher is more than likely on their Christmas wish list. It features lights, sounds and opens up to place your card inside. Each card unlocks phrases and sound effects which make for even more interactive imaginative play. 10 cards are included with the Morpher and more can be purchased to increase the phrases; there 180 phrases in total. Another pro to this toy is that it only requires 2 batteries!! RRP $49.95

As the heading suggests I also have 2 to giveaway to lucky Mad Mummas readers just in time for Christmas!!

To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below. Winner is decided based on skill and chance plays no part. Australian residents only! Sorry everyone else. **The mandatory instructions MUST be completed or your entry will be void!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

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It’s the end of financial year which means The Big W – Giant Toy Spectacularsales are about to begin and I can get a start on Christmas shopping. There is nothing I enjoy more than a good sale, except maybe being able to shop from the comfort of my own home. With the convenience of online shopping I can do it at any time of the day, wear my pyjamas and ugg boots or even enjoy a glass of wine while I shop!

The online sale begins on the 20^th June and ends on the 10^th July. I was fortunate enough to receive a gift card to personally experience shopping with Big W online. I told my kids they had a set amount to spend and could get whatever toys they liked within the budget from the toy section on the website, they were absolutely thrilled and found it so simple to pick and choose the toys of choice. I had considered using the voucher to purchase their Xmas gifts but I seem to be quite out of touch lately with what toys are ‘in’ and toys are ‘so last week’ and figured my boys are the toy experts and left the decision in their capable hands.

Last year I used the Big W Toy Spectacular Sale to purchase Christmas presents and must say that the Christmas Layby Service was a massive help. It allowed us to be select the items we wanted and pay them off over 6 months!

Would you like the chance to win a $100 Big W gift card to spend at the Giant Toy Spectacular? I have 5x $100 gift cards to giveaway to 5x lucky readers and their toy experts to enjoy.

To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below. 

Winner is decided based on skill and chance plays no part. 

**The mandatory instructions MUST be completed or your entry will be void!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

WINNERS ANNOUNCED: 

Jasmine N, Carolyn K, Natalie S, Benjamin T, Anna R-P

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Big W.

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Rockers and bouncers are a baby item nearly every family has had at some stage in their lives. It is one that I personally couldn’t have lived without when my boys were babies and their sister (who is set to grace us with her presence on the 11^th June) will be no different. However since it has been 4 years since gave our loved bouncer away and we had to make a new selection.

The Serenity Rocker by Steelcraft offers everything our old one did but with more features and benefits. I love that it can be used as a rocker or can be used in a stationary position, it is very easy to swap between the two as well. Along with folding conveniently for storage or transport it also has 3 seating positions for additional relaxation and a padded seat, supportive headrest, shoulder harness and crotch pad for extra comfort.

Another feature that I am very fond of is the vibration and music function, the one we used for our boys had this feature and it was great as the vibration soothed them. This rocker is suitable for use from newborn – 9kg.

The Serenity Rocker is available to purchase from:

babyschoice.com.au

babycarenursery.com.au

babysavings.com.au 

Prices range from $99-$140.

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