Gift advice - YOTO

[autumngirl714]

Thinking of getting my son a yoto but I have no idea what the difference is between all the different versions! Can anyone advise what I should go for?

Both my sons (4 & 2) have the gen 3 yoto player & love it.

There is part of me that wishes we'd gone for the mini as I'm sure when they're older they may want to listen to their stories in the car, but for now I still find the normal yoto player small enough to pop in a suitcase if we go away.

The bigger player can also be used as a nightlight, although we don't use it as you have to turn the player down so you can't see the story images (this might have been updated with the newer model though?)

Yotos are brilliant whichever one you get!

How old is your child?

Agree Yotos are an ideal gift and the website shows the wide range of cards available. GD loves hers
Would recommend getting the jacket too

We have the 3rd gen here too. Would also recommend getting a case (ours was dropped by LO but is fine due to it).

I don’t think there’s a massive difference between generations and IIRC the main difference between the player and mini is the lack of screen/night light type features.

How old is your dc? We got ours for LO when he was 3 and now at 5 he’s using it more and more and as far as I can see it’s going to grow with him as he can use more features.
I would definitely recommend it as a present.

Yoto are not selling the 3rd gen players any more but you can still get them eg from Natural Baby Shower (for home delivery) or from Smyths (out of stock for delivery but still available for click and collect from quite a few stores) for just under £72.

That's what I'd go for. It's much cheaper than the new 4th gen and I don't think the new features are really worth the extra money (plus I actually prefer the old design to the new one, personally).

We love ours - we bought them for the kids nearly 3 years ago when they were 3 and 6 and they’ve been used every day since. We have the minis which are super handy for travelling with (as ours insist on taking them on holiday). Genuinely our best ever purchase, both financially (given how much they’ve been used) and how much they’ve been loved. If it broke I’d have to replace it tomorrow 🤣

Our granddaughter 10 had the big one when she was younger and the mini now she is older. It's small and easy to take on holiday and she still loves it, probably for a few more years.

Our boys aren’t bothered about theirs at all. They are 5 and 7 and we’ve had it for ages. They prefer being read to or reading themselves (older one)

So my son is 6. He loves a bedtime story and I just thought this might help bring it to life! I’m not sure which version I need 🙈

For a 6yo I would get the one I suggested (3rd gen full size player).

My 6yo loves her full size Yoto and likes to take it in the car even though we also have a mini. If you get a dock it works brilliantly as a bedside clock and the day/night visuals are helpful, we have used the Yotos for that long after retiring the gro clocks.

My 9yo also prefers his full size Yoto to the mini, although I would probably just get a mini if it was for an older child who's likely to travel a lot with it.

You can often get bundles, an adventure jacket is a must and a card case is useful too (although you don't have to get the Yoto branded one). It's worth signing up to the Yoto club for a few months as you get credits towards cards so it's a cost effective way of building a small collection.

Personally the bigger one is better )we have both) DD9 likes the larger icon / light up display on the bigger one. We use it at night time and it acts as a night light

Have you put Yoto daily on? My son used to listen to it every day and still enjoys it now.

What about music? I did MYO cards with DS's favourite music and he listened to those a lot before he got more into audiobooks.

And for travelling (by car/train/plane) when you can't read to them for hours on end, a good audiobook is a lifesaver.

Mine love their Yoto Minis.

Top things they do:

• travel use with Bluetooth headphones
• Yoto Daily podcast every morning at breakfast
• Yoto music channel is really fun
• make your own cards: their grandpa records books they love on a playlist linked to a card, and they can follow along with the real book or just listen.

We have the mini and love it

for those that have one, have you found it replaced you reading to your child? I would feel sad if it did but also can see other times when it could be useful

DS had a 2nd gen for 5 years used it daily, it started to not charge properly, I contacted yoto and because they don't make the model or charger anymore they offered me a 70% discount on a new one which I thought was incredible customer service. We now have a 4th gen and ds loves the green button , you programme it with his favourite 20 cards, two playlists one for daytime and one for bedtime and he can easily select from them without getting cards out. He does also have a mini for travel. He is ND and his yoto is very dear to him, it also helps him regulate, so I'm probably very biased

No, we read to ds, he reads to us then has his yoto for lights out. He also plays yoto podcasts during breakfast and we all listen to them. The other day he was building a train track while listening to James and the giant peach, the TV is rarely on in our house

@fitnessmummy ours hasn't taken away us reading to her at all. She has several stories read by us each night then listens to something on her yoto to fall asleep too.
I held off buying one until she was 3 and was worried about that aspect too but it has been fine!

DS1 (7) and DS2 (3) both have the minis and they're great. We listen to yoto daily together over breakfast most mornings. The 3 year old mainly uses his when we're in the car, but sometimes will put on a card when I'm cooking if he just wants to hang around with me. DS1 uses it a lot more, generally in the morning or before bed, but also if he's tired after school sometimes he'll just lie on his bed and listen to a book. It's not replaced me reading to him, and while I thought it might replace him reading to himself I don't think it has. I personally don't see the benefits of the larger one, but I might feel differently if I had one!

Nope, not at all.

My GD has the mini and it’s invaluable on car journeys , she’s only 2 but has had it a year and loves it so much