Ideal gift tonnie box???

[KateC1x1]

Hey, not sure how they are spelt exactly but has anyone bought or thinking of buying a tonnie/toni/tonni box thing for Christmas.

I'm going back and forth on the idea as we have a 2 year old girl and a 4 month old boy, would they like it or even use it?
Generally they both like silence to sleep and we don't have a TV on for naps etc.. so think it's useless for our family there.

They are advertising it EVERYWHERE and I will admit I'm starting to really want one haha.

Opinions please. Especially if there's a cheaper alternative as it might be an expensive dust box yet haha.

Thanks 😊

You need a yoto. It's got much more longevity. We got DS one just after he turned 2 and it's still used daily 2 years later. The cards are very durable and there's such a huge variety, he's learnt so much from using it and it would be very handy for when your eldest needs some quiet time when the baby still naps and he doesn't.

@YourNameGoesHere ahhh thank you. Looks much better.
I was worried the little figures for the tonie would end up in my toddlers toy box and gone forever if she got hold of them too haha.
Will check out the yoto now. Thank you 😊

We’ve got a Tonies for my 5yo and so far he’s loving it. Unsure about how yoto works. The statues are expensive but Tonies tends to do 4x3 every now and then so that helps bringing the price down. There is also a blank statue you can put whatever you want in it

Agree with @YourNameGoesHere . Yoto has much more longevity. Search for Yoto on here and you will find a ton of threads about that and Tonies.

A yoto works on much the same way as a Tonie Box but uses cards instead of figures. You can use a make your own cards to create your own content but given the huge assortment of fiction and non fiction cards you probably won't need to. ( I think it's something like 120 tonies to 600+ yoto cards). It also has podcasts, a clock, a nightlight and a free radio station just off the top off my head.

If your 5 year old likes his Tonies player I would definitely look into a yoto as he will very rapidly grow out of the Tonie. The yoto will last him another 5-8 years easily just based on the content available on the cards available on the store.

Another one who agrees with @YourNameGoesHere The Yoto is a much better purchase. The content will grow with your child, and there's a larger variety of content available compared to the Toniebox.

Obviously it might just be me. But everyone I know who bought a Toniebox has gone on to buy a Yoto, but those who started with A Yoto havn't bought a Toniebox.

Is the Yoto easy to set up?

@AmyTobin1234 It's very simple, here's a helpful guide

https://uk.yotoplay.com/blogs/yoto-journal/getting-started-with-yoto-player

I was looking at the Toniebox for my 2.5 year old, but this has made me consider the Yoto. How durable are the cards? My little one breaks/snaps most things and I've been told that the Tonies can be thrown across the floor and still be fine, but I'm concerned cards would be easily destroyed!

Very sturdy, they are similar to a debit card. I'm not saying they would never get broken, nothing is infallible but we've had the yoto since DS was just 2 and it's not happened to any of the cards so far.

I would personally be more concerned that a Tonie figure would get broken as they are basically toys and there's more temptation to play with it whereas the yoto cards were just used for the yoto so less likely to get damaged if that makes sense.

I've also never had a card break, but if it were to happen you can still play the content from the App or add it to a make your own card. Where as if a Tonie figure is lost or broken I believe the content is gone for good, unless you buy the same Tonie again.*

*If this is wrong i'm happy to be corrected, as I don't own a Toniebox and was told this by a friend.

We went with a Tonie for our ds who will be 3 (it’s actually his third birthday present but it’s the week before Christmas.)

I do like the Yoto but I think he’ll get more from the Yoto in a couple of years.

If you've not given it yet I'd honestly return it and get the yoto to be honest. At 3 he wont get long out of it and will be perfectly capable of using the yoto player.

Whinge I've heard the same from the only person I know who brought a Tonie player (she's since sold it and got a yoto ). In the first few days her child lost one of the figures and that was it, there was nothing she could do and no way to have the story once the figure was gone.

We’ve got it and I’m fine with it thanks. It says three plus. I can’t see ds using many of the other features on the Yoto - I’m not totally sure he’ll use the Tonie much either!

I'd go with Tonies at that age. Part of the appeal is being able to use it themselves and choose what they want to listen to themselves and the characters are better than the cards for that at a younger age. Sure they might get more use out of a YoTo when they are older but you're buying it now. My 18 month old can use his Tonies on his own. I doubt he would be able to fully independently use a YoTo for another year or 2.

We got a Yoto for our (then 20m old). They had no problems using the cards. I didn’t like the Tony when I looked at a friends, it seems a bit limited. We made a lot of cards together playing music and singing, which they love. I’m very impressed with it and think they’ll use it for a long time, unlike the Tony.

DS could use the yoto perfectly well at 2 i.e putting the cards in and choosing which cards to listen to but there were some features he didn't use much until he was older like the radio and the clock which he uses like a gro clock to know if he can get up yet and a few he's started getting into more recently, like the podcasts. I liked that he couldn't do it all at 2 as it means it's growing with him rather than him growing out of it if that makes sense.

We've got a lot of use from streaming yoto cards during long car journeys. Definitely more flexible. If you get an adventure jacket, it's also virtually indestructible.

I liked that he couldn't do it all at 2 as it means it's growing with him rather than him growing out of it if that makes sense.

That's a lovely way of looking at it.

Another vote for Yoto here! Had it since just over 2, not sure why putting a card in would be harder than putting a figure on top?

I think tonies often do better introductory offers than Yoto who rarely offer more than 10% off. But the cost of the tonies is around double that if Yoto cards, so I think long term Yoto ends up cheaper.

We have both DD 3 has tonie and has done since she was 1. DSS 9 has the yoto. I prefer the tonie for younger children, we have lots of song ones, steif bears and night light tonies, we will often play it for background noise during the day (there is one even I enjoy and play when DD is not around). The yoto is better for older children, DD prefers tonie to yoto at the moment but as she gets older will probably want the yoto. We will then sell the tonie box as they sell really easily and if in good condition seem to sell at a good price.

Pros of tonies - very robust (more robust then yoto), easy to use for little people, can get teddy bears and nightlight tonies. Soft and can be taken to bed with child

Pros of yoto - has content for both small children and older children so has longevity, has a clock, has a radio and podcasts, can get a mini so can be taken in the car and on trips and the cards are a lot cheaper.

Both our kids adore their Tonie boxes (7 and 5) and have done for over three years now. Figures are great for small ones and the 'create your own' ones are amazing. When I was reading all the Faraway Tree stories to the kids at bedtime, we used to record the chapters and then they'd re-listen when they were nodding off to sleep. We do that will all their bedtime books - they love it

That's lovely, but do you find the time limit of just 90 minutes is making this more difficult as your children are getting older and the books are getting longer?

Have a look at the Yoto cards available vs tonies too, I was set on a tonie box for DD aged 2 as she loves bing and there was a bing tonie but no bing yoto card but they’ve just released one so now I’m unsure again!

Hi @Whinge You can save hours and hours of Tonie recordings, the only limit is how long you can upload to the Tonie at a time. So for one week, they might have chapters 1-8, the next week, 9-15.