Find out what MNers have to say about Banjo Robinsons’ personalised letters to 4-7 year olds - Non-tester? Get 15% off your subscription

[EllieMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the Mumsnet users who tested the personalised pen pal experience from Banjo Robinson the travelling cat, who helps boost creativity, reading and writing skills for their child/children.

Non-Tester? 90% of Mumsnet Tester's children wrote Banjo a reply and Banjo Robinson has now officially launched! They are offering 15% off full subscription charges with the code BanjoLovesMumsnet. This code is valid until 31/10/18.

Here’s what testers received:

• An initial introduction pack which includes: a personalised letter introducing Banjo and his travels, a world map, stickers to track Banjo’s progress, personalised stickers to use creatively, a doodle sheet to colour, a reply page to draw and write their response, a reply envelope with postage stamp stickers.
• A follow up letter from Banjo Robinson detailing his next stop in his travels including more goodies.

Here’s what Tree Climber Publishing have to say: “Banjo Robinson the cat is in India at the moment, checking out the Taj Mahal. He was at the pyramids last Tuesday, and next week he's off to the Great Wall of China. And while he’s away on his amazing travels, Banjo sends real, personalised letters to your child full of exciting tales all year round. Your child will get a world map and stickers to track Banjo’s progress and two personalised letters asking them to reply with pictures and messages.

Letters from Banjo Robinson encourage them to craft a reply, improving their writing skills and creativity. Parents can spend quality time with their children, away from tablets and TV, reading Banjo's letters, widening the child’s vocabulary, learning about different countries, and building communication skills."

Testers please answer the following questions:

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
• What did you like most about the letters?
• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

All testers who leave the required feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

[BadlyWrittenPoem]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

Overall slightly dissatisfied because of the bits that tried to pretend it was real.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

Once I'd explained it was pretend my daughter loved it and she quickly wrote a letter and popped it under the sofa both times.

• What did you like most about the letters?

I liked all the information about different countries.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

The bits pretending it was real caused problems. Without those my daughter would have just accepted it as a game/story and a bit of fun without question but due to the bits added to make children believe she was confused and asked questions and I had to explicitly explain it was a game. It also meant she was questioning everything eg "Is Brazil a real country?" etc.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

I love the literacy and Geography aspects but unfortunately the explicit pretending it's real rather than allowing children to accept it either as real or pretend spoils it.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

I think for what it is it is a fair price. However I think a little less personalisation and a lower price point (around £5) would be better.

I'd also like to know if we'll be receiving a "goodbye" letter from Banjo if we don't subscribe? My daughter is now expecting to receive a letter from Banjo in China as the last letter said he'd be writing to her from China next.

[AliBingo]

-I liked the idea and thought it was well-executed
-my child was not as excited about the letters as I would have expected her to be, and she didn't want to write back, which surprised me
-the personalised aspect of the letters was really nice
-the posting the reply under the sofa thing didn't really work for us, was too implausible
-I would not recommend this at the moment as I don't think my daughter really enjoyed it as much as I would have expected
-I think it is a bit expensive for what it is, £5 would be more reasonable

[candiddaddy]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

I thought the idea was great. I was surprised at how involved my son got and he was very excited to receive the letter and learn more about the different places on the map and travelling. It did really inspire him to understand different countries and he was excited to receive the letters.

What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

Yes, my son wrote back and also drew a picture of a specific country. He really enjoyed receiving the letters

What did you like most about the letters?

I liked the fact that they were educational and also inspired my son to be interested in travel and different countries.

Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

I am sure that these might come with a paid subscription rather than the trial, but it would have been better if there were more stickers to use for the map.

Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Yes I would.

‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

I think this might be an expensive price for what is effectively two letters. I do think that the idea is great and that the meaningful element of the letters were the inspiring of children to look further afield and to understand other cultures. However, I think that people might find the price off putting.

[Cutiekarins]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
My 8 year old was super excited to receive the letters, and the fact banjo knew the colour of our sofa made it a little bit believable!

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

She enjoyed reading the letters, and wrote back immediately for the first one, hasn’t quite come around to writing the second one yet!!!

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

The fact that she spent her time away from tv and did something creative for a change.
Definitely would recommend it for younger children as my 8 year old found it difficult to accept a cat collecting post and me having lunch with a cat !!
Honestly wouldn’t pay for the subscription, as I don’t think she would continue writing long term !

[Papu5000]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

I was very satisfied with the first letter, the 2nd one didn't catch my daughter's attention.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

She was very excited about the first letter, and wrote her reply straight away, but she put the 2nd letter on her shelf and has forgotten about it.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

I like that it was giving her information about various countries.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

I Feel some goodies (magnets or recipes about the countries) may make the letter more appealing.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Not sure, I don't think I have had enough interest from my daughter to recommend it.

-‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

I believe this is a bit too much for what it is.

[IceBearRocks]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

The letters were somewhat complicated and had a level of humour that was above my DD understanding.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

DD loved receiving the letter but unfortunately thought reading it was a task. I'd hoped it would encourage her to read but she got bored very quickly and needed prompting. She wrote have to the first one....but not the second. She enjoyed drawing him pictures more.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

I liked the personalisation but thought there could be more to help with the realisim.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

Age appropriate, less sarky. More pictures and ess to read Sall bites of information

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Probably not at this stage of the development.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

It's far too expensive for what it is. If it had encouraged my DD to read more then I'd consider 5pounds.

[H007]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

It was okay, my daughter is an excellent reader, and the letters were rather simplistic there was very little information on the countries visited. I liked the envelope and the stickers, reply suggestions etc.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

She was excited to receive them especially the first, but she has shown little interest in replying to the 2nd.

• What did you like most about the letters? The stickers and envelop. That seemed fun.
  

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

More detail, age or ability specific. More direction for a response.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family? Maybe with younger children in reception or something, but not for the price.
  

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product.
  

No far too much considering the other things we do/are subscribed too. I’m not sure what she gained from receiving the letters.

[MakeTeaNotWar]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

It was ok - nicely packaged and a nice idea but didn't really go down well in our house.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

While my son was really excited by the idea and loved receiving a letter addressed to him, it was too long and difficult for him to read and he quickly lost interest. He also needed help to write the reply.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

I thought the map and stickers were great, also the small personalisation touches gave it a wow factor.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

The reading and writing level was too difficult for my reception son so perhaps he was too young for this.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

No

[Takora]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

The service was pretty slow and my son said it felt like an eternity waiting for the second letter. I understand they are still in the early stages though and getting a letter twice a month would be perfect.
The letters themselves and everything that came with them were great and my son loved it. We were disappointed that the map didn't show country divisions or names of oceans, etc - a missed learning opportunity here.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

He absolutely loved them and wrote back immediately on both occasions.

• What did you like most about the letters? The educational aspect and that they encouraged my son to draw and colour (which he does not do very much). I also like the way it encouraged the child to reply and gave them something specific to write about, rather than leaving it open. The quality of the stationery was lovely and my son really enjoyed using it and putting the stamp on as the finishing touch. I think he was a little reluctant to part with it because it looked so nice. My son struggles to compose letters as he doesn't really know how to structure them or what to say, so I think this could be a really good platform to teach these skills given a few tweaks.
  

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved? The letters should be more personalised - my son loved the mentions of our "brown sofa" and the "black and white cat", but they should also include references to the child's reply and be more bespoke in general. It is good that parents will be able to compose the final paragraph of the letter, but it would be much nicer if details about the child's life and interests could be threaded into the whole letter regularly to make it feel more special. Perhaps a questionnaire asking specific details could be sent out to parents every now and then.
  

I also felt that the style was a little verbose and difficult to understand properly in places. It would be great if the letters encouraged the child to look up a couple of things that are referred to, eg sugarloaf mountain is mentioned, but my son didn't run to the computer to look for a photo of it or info about it. I think it wold be nice if the font used was a handwriting font to give it more of a personal feel.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

I am not sure - not all children would buy in to this. I don't think my son believed for a moment that I had lunch with a cat and I didn't really enjoy lying to him at this age. He is nearly 9 and although he still believes in Santa and the tooth fairy (unlike a few of his friends who have older siblings), it won't be long before he cottons on! On the other hand, whether he believed it or not, he embraced it wholeheartedly and adored receiving the letters. He was very secretive about them and did everything himself including composing the reply, which he wouldn't let me see!

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

I would definitely not spend that amount. I don't see this as something essential - more like a bit of fun and excitement. The biggest educational benefit I can see is that it encourages him to write, but not in any structured way and not at length. If I have to personalise the letter myself, I would expect it to be much cheaper.

Overall, I was disappointed with this test. My son is really enthusiastic and excited about these letters. He has completely bought in to the idea and he has put the map up on the wall with stickers he has received so far (2 out of 24 countries). It was not clear before doing the test that your child would be given these things and that the letters received during the trial would be clearly part of something ongoing. If he stops receiving them now, he will obviously be very disappointed and won't understand why the letters have suddenly stopped, so now I have been left in a difficult situation and I feel under pressure to purchase the subscription (which I find way too expensive and can't afford).

[bellanotte22]

We were really satisfied. Dd was totally enchanted when she had post and loved reading the letters. We would love to subscribe and would recommend the service. My daughter would love more personalised info on there too.

[TolpuddleFarter]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
I was really satisfied. I have to admit I was quite sceptical about pretending to have met Banjo for lunch, but my eight year old boy seemed to believe me (and our cat being courier he also seemed to believe.) I think the letters and posters and stickers are really well-designed, and lovely to look at.

What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
My eight year old boy was so excited about it! He wrote back straight away both times, and made a big effort to make the letters interesting and drawing pictures - I actually felt guilty knowing that Banjo doesn't exist. When we were waiting for the second letter my boy checked the post everyday! He really benefitted from the experience - I was pleasantly surprised.

What did you like most about the letters?
I like the geographical element.

Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
I think it would be good if the letters could be personalised each time they get sent -- I think if the information is the same the child could get sceptical (example of this - we are getting rind of our sofa which is described in the letter - would be good to change this detail.)

Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
Yes, I would.

Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
I think for two letters it is a fair price. However, that might be beyond affordability for many families so you may have a smaller market

[Cosmia]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

Thought it was great, my son was super excited by it and loved getting the letters and seeing where in the world Banjo was.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

Really interested by them and did happily write back.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

Good level of detail and a nice way to introduce geography. DS loved the personal details too.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

More interactivity in the pack perhaps? Some more colourful stickers?

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Yes I would, although I think the age range may be quite small as not sure how long they would remain credulous of a letter from a cat.

• A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

I think it is bit pricey for what you get, there needs to be more in the pack (but not plastic tat!).

[SisterFrancisBeaverhausen]

1. Whilst dd2 (6) was excited to receive the letter she soon lost interest in that side of things. She loved the map though! However, the generic reply, rather than a personalised response, was disappointing, although I believe there will be an option for that. I also think she would prefer to actually post something rather than the ‘put it under the sofa’ method because she knows that that isn’t the normal process!
   

The time between signing up and actually receiving anything was also ridiculous. When we signed up she was just getting to grips with phonics and now she is a fluent reader so it must have been at least a year!

1. She liked the letters but preferred the map and stickers. She wrote one reply which she actually kept - she’s going through a sentimental phase and didn’t want to part with it. I didn’t push it to be honest because I knew the reply wouldn’t be a personal one
   

1. I liked the geography idea
   

1. We live in Wales, which wasn’t included on the map. This made it harder to say ‘this is where we live’ which would have made it more relevant. There are 4 countries in the U.K.!
   

1. No, probably not
   

1. No, I think that it is too expensive, I’m assuming personalised letters would cost more?

[WindyWednesday]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

Fairly satisfied. My child totally bought the idea of Banjo and was very excited to receive the letters. I do think more is needed in the letter about the country, I had thought there would be more information about the country Banjo was visiting. I had hoped the letters would be more personalised. The first letter was good, and seemed magical, but the second was a bit of a let down.

- What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

Yes. My child loved the letters. They wrote back to the first letter, but haven’t got around to the second reply.

- What did you like most about the letters?
I liked the stickers and the map.

- Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

Yes, more information from the countries Banjio is visiting. Also the format is the same every time. My child was a bit unimpressed by the same reply letter format. She said, he sent this last time.

- Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Sorry, no I don’t think I would.


- ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

I wanted to continue subscribing to this, but £7.90 is a bit steep. I think we will end up with a lot of paper strewn everywhere and not much education benefit.

[lupa123]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

Very satisfied. They looked great and were exciting to open. The stickers were a hit, and both my kids were interested in the map and have continued to talk about it.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

He loved the letters. He was pretty sceptical at first when I told him I'd met a cat who was going to write to him, but once the first letter arrived he entered into it fully and was really excited. He told lots of people about the letters and was most impatient for the second one to arrive. He replied to both letters immediately without any prompting from me, which I was quite surprised by as he's only 5 and still not very confident with his writing. He loved posting them under the sofa and kept talking to our cat about helping to deliver them.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

They were well-written and amusing. The stickers were a nice touch, and my son has remembered some of the details about the countries that were mentioned. It's also nice for my younger child to receive some post of his own for a change!

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

The sheet for writing back and drawing on could have been bigger. My son wasn't particularly interested in the colouring page (they weren't all that suitable for colouring in anyway, imho), and would have preferred something like a dot-to-dot puzzle or spot the difference.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Yes, I think so.

• A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

I think it's too expensive, to be honest. That would work out at nearly £100 to complete the poster, which seems an awful lot for what is essentially paper and a few stickers.

[BigBugs]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

I thought the initial pack was great and DD 8 was very excited to get the letter and stickers.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

Yes DD was excited and couldn’t wait to read the letter and write back straight away. She wrote a lovely reply and drew some pictures.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

Just the fact that it was time spent together without television or I pads. She asked questions and I felt learned a lot from the letters.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

Maybe the letters could be a bit more personalized as the subscription is quite expensive.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Yes I would definitely recommend this to other Mums at school.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

I think it’s quite expensive and could do with a slightly lower price point to attract more subscribers.

[katiewalters]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
Very satisfied, its a great idea, and a fun way to get a child reading and writing.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

They enjoyed hearing what Banjo was up to, and loved when Banjo knew things about her. She did write back, and was excited to do so.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

I liked how it was personalised.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

Maybe for the older children,it could be a pen pal that's a child their age, but that has magical powers so they know things about the child they are writing to etc. As the older children will know a cat cant write etc

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Yes if it was Available for a decent price.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

I would say £5 a month is fair, and I would be happy to spend that.

[Yummum19]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

I was very satisfied. There doesn't seem to be much the same on the market at the moment and I really liked the idea of it.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

My DD loved that she got some post and couldn't wait to write back. She fully believed in Banjo and the personal touches on the letter helped that.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

I liked that not only were they fun and allowed a bit of one on one time with my DD but it was also educational and would allow her to learn some facts about the different countries.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

My DD didn't understand some of the words/sentences in the letter and some went straight over her head so I would suggest maybe having different age brackets and tailor the letters to their individual ages. I also think a bit more personalisation is needed to make the letters that extra bit special so the online account where parents can personalise certain bits would be a good thing.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Yes I definitely would.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

I think either keep it at that price and include more into the subscription or lower the price for what is provided. However it would be something I would look into getting if these changes were made.

[asuwere]

- Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
Honestly, I wasn't impressed! It took such a long time for this test to happen that I was expecting something much more impressive. I also didn't like the first letter saying that I'd had lunch with banjo - DD asked me what he was like and was confused when I said I'd never met him!

- What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
DD loved getting letters and she did enjoy the little personalised bits (colour of sofa etc) although she found the letters quite long to read herself. She did write back to both letters but she didn't want me to see as it wasn't to me!

- What did you like most about the letters?
I liked the map but a bit disappointed that it won't be completed.

- Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
Letter was quite long but didn't have much info about the countries visited. I think postcard style would be better if it's about travelling rather than a penpal.
I also don't like the 'posting' letters under the sofa, DD knows how post works and couldn't work out how a cat can get in our house at night if the door is locked!

- Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
As it is, no, I wouldn't.

- ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
No, think it's a bit much for what it is.

[tattymum76]

I've answered all the questions on the survey but wanted to add to it. My son is 4 years old and I struggled to hold his interest for such lengthy letters. He's only 4 and I also had to paraphrase in places as the language / words were a bit too conplex.

[Blazedout]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
I'm fairly satisfied. I'm a bit in the middle as I think the product could be so much better, as it is it was okay.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

He was excited when it came through and wrote return letters but lost interest fairly quickly.

• What did you like most about the letters?

They had the personalised bit in there, and it definitely encourages kids to write back

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

More information on the country he was visiting. A timescale of when the next letter will be (my son has a calendar and would write it on) more information for parents. The ability to send the replies through the post.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

No I don't think I would.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

No I think it is expensive. I would probably pay £5

[WeeMadArthur]

-Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service? It took so long for the letters to come through after originally applying that I had almost forgotten about them. I liked the letters when they arrived, nice and bright, nice stickers and map.

- What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back? He was pleased, if puzzled, luckily we had met three cats in a driveway on holiday and I stopped to pet them so I told him that Banjo a one of them (with my best straight face). He wrote back to the first one but I think the novelty had worn off by the second.

- What did you like most about the letters?. I liked the personalisation the most, it really helped to engage him

- Is there anything that you feel could be improved?. The words and writing style are more suitable for older 7-8 year old children but they are almost too old to believe the concept. I think you need to write it in a way that 3-6 year olds are more used to seeing in their books.

- Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?. Not at the proposed price point

- ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?. I think it’s too pricey for what it is. I think £5 would be the most I would pay.

[Reubymum]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

It was a lovely looking letter and my son aged 5 got very excited about recieving the letter. Although he liked listening to the letter and did a reply he prefered playing with the stickers instead.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

Yes he 'wrote' back to one by drawing pictures but not as interested in the 2nd letter.

• What did you like most about the letters?

They look visually great.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

Not sure maybe the time frame between letters may be better or the age level different as my son wasn't that interested .

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

Maybe have friends who have children it might appeal to more.

[natty28]

My daughter (5) was initially very excited to receive the first letter. She wanted to write a reply straight away. When she received the second letter she wasn't as keen as it was the same format with very little different to the first letter. A definite lack of imagination used in the letter writing. I wouldn't have thought the author had children.

The format is ok. To be honest I thought it was a bit cheap looking. I think although my daughter's reading ability is good for her age, she couldn't read the full letter so may be it could be changed to suit different reading abilities.
Like most things at her age the novelty wears off quickly although she enjoyed the colouring in & stickers & the world map which encouraged further conversation.

I would not purchase a subscription as you could print off something off Google/write your own letter for a fraction of the price.

[userinfinity]

I applied for this product test with my 4 year old daughter in mind. I think the concept is very good, the whole idea of the child receiving a letter in their name, the little bits of personalisation, and encouraging her to write a reply. Sadly though, I felt my daughter found it difficult to relate to the content although this was something we sat and worked on together. The language was not at her level and sentences were long for her to appreciate what was being said. She was just very excited at having received a letter from someone that knows about her and that she had to write a reply. I can’t remember the age range this test was aimed at but maybe have different letters for different age groups? My eight and seven year olds appreciated the letter a lot more. I would recommend the service to others, I think it is a good initiative.