Tablet, yoto or toniebox?

[anon2423]

Looking to get my little girl a system for audiobooks and I'm just not sure how best to do it? Looking for something that will grow with her (from about 18 months) and would last. I like the idea of audiobook files for a tablet so that they can go on various devices and we have less of a risk of losing them. However, the huge draw of the yoto and tonie box are that they're screen free (and sometimes it feels like I'm fighting a losing battle against screens!!) I know she might struggle to work anything herself yet (and we can help her until she's ready!) I just want something she'll enjoy that will last!!

I was deciding between Yoto and Tonie and we went for Yoto mini. I think for your age child I would go for the standard yoto as chunkier. Our decision was based on the toy things you need for the Tonie are added gimicky plastic which looked awkward to store, the Yoto requires less space and it’s easy to story cards and we like the podcasts and radio on Yoto. The Yoto feels as though it has more longevity; older child likes the yoto as much as the younger and the Yoto has about triple the cards compared to the Tonie figures. The Tonie looks easier for little ones to use but this didn’t outweigh the preference for it being relevant beyond 4/5. We got the adventure jacket for extra protection.

Our children also have tablets but we very much prefer the screenlessness of the Yoto for music/audio books.

We went for a Yoto over a Tonie for the exact same reasons as the poster above.

4 year old DS has a full size yoto, he's had it 2 years. It's great, he uses it every day. You can use the app to play the cards you have on your phone, so play in the car etc.

Love love love our tonie box

Yoto - DD2 is now 11 and we download MP3 books onto my yoto cards for her. Also you can play direct from the app if you happen to lose the cards. DS is 9 and uses his every night to go to sleep. I find the clock helpful too because it changes colour to show the time it is ok to get up, which in the summer is really useful as DS can wake as early as 4am. They also like the podcast and radio features.

We’ve got yoto and love it. Loads of content for it.

Love the tonie. We get so much use out of it. Hands down the best thing we ever bought for DD. Two years and it’s still used daily

Everyone I know who has purchased a Tonie Box has ended up replacing it with a Yoto later on. The figures are appealing for younger children, but the Yoto just has a lot more features and the content grows with a child.

Yoto for 7yo with dyslexia www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4776292-yoto-for-7yo-with-dyslexia

Thread about YOTO from the weekend.

We love our YOTO players. The kids use them every day for books and music.

We went for a Yoto for the reasons mentioned above.

Plus it can be used as a day/night training clock, nightlight, and for white noise.

It gets used every day without fail.

Oh that's fantastic! I'm dyslexic myself and it's the biggest reason I want to get my little girl into audiobooks - they really helped me as a kid (and I still love them now!) Maybe a YOTO would be better... We LOVE the tonie figures for her now but seems kids a lot older are still loving their YOTO players!!

Thanks so much folks - really appreciate the input!! Seems no one suggested "audiobooks on a tablet" which our family thought was the obvious answer. My worry with that was games being the attraction rather than the books!

We've got a Tonie and our daughter loves it. She worked out how to use it at 12 months and enjoys putting the music figures on. Still too little for the story books (19 months) but enjoys the figures and has worked out how to do the volume now. I've not used a YOTO but can't imagine it would be any better for her needs now and I can see the Tonie lasting a good 5 years if not longer.

Yoto. My DC are still using theirs at 10 and 8.

My 8 year old has a Yoto mini, she listens to audiobooks daily and uses the Sounds for Sleep white noise card at bedtime

Another vote for Yoto - we now have a mini and an original player. Both kids love them and the great selection of cards for different ages

We got a Tonie first for DS 1st birthday. He could use it in the most basic way of putting on and taking off the figures and listening to the stories/music right from his first birthday and it still gets used now with a 4 and 5 year old.
We also have 2 yoto players, bought for 4th birthdays and they are in my opinion far better than the Tonie box for longevity in terms of cards and other features such as podcasts radio etc. And the cards are cheaper for the amount of content you get compared to tonies.
However, I would worry about the yoto with a smaller child who might be a bit clumsier. The cards and the actual box itself aren't as robust as the Tonie box which is slightly padded so handles being knocked about and dropped very well. Our toniebox has fallen down the stairs before and still going strong after 3 years.
I would say yoto perfect for child to use themselves from 3 and can't really see an end point to it. I would say toniebox from 1 until 4 or 5.

We've got a Yoto for the youngest and a Yoto mini for the eldest. They're really great, spent a long time deciding between the Yoto snd Tonies. Glad we went with the Yoto. Cards are cheaper and content is longer too.

I started that thread on the weekend. We've gone for a standard MP3 player in the end and downloaded books from borrowbox and also songs.

I figured it is more adaptable in the long term as well as easier to replace. He is finding the reading and choosing of songs fine so that is a win

Definitely a yoto!

https://prz.io/BJ0krVbtl

have popped my Yoto code above incase you decide to get one it is 10% off.

I was tossing up between Yoto and tonie a few years ago now when my little boy was just turned 2. At the time Yoto box with a discount code was cheaper than the tonie box and the cards themselves were soo much cheaper. Not sure what the comparison is now though probably not as much as a price difference as then but would assume cards still a lot cheaper.

I also thought the Yoto would last longer as it’s got a lot more stories and for a lot wider age range. Has podcasts, radio etc. night light.

it is one of the best things I have purchased. I love it. Child loves it.

100% this. A yoto will grow with a child and still be used long after a Tonie would have lost its appeal.

The podcasts, timers, radio and not to mention the fact the cards are so easy to store plus much less babyish in comparison just make it a product with unrivaled longevity.

Ds got one for his second birthday and could use it in less than 5 minutes. It's been used daily for over a year now and we're still only just scratching the surface in terms of use.

I'd just get an Alexa echo dot. My dd was using one from 2 to call up her favourite audible books (from my account). You can set up a kids profile so they can't accidentally start listening to Stephen king. And so much cheaper in the long run.

Definitely Yoto. We've now got 3 in our house 🙈 Tonie seems like a waste of money as they'll grow out of it so quickly. Yoto is far more adaptable over the age ranges.

I also like that I can control it from my phone so we can play books in the car even though the Yoto and cards are at home.

I wouldn't get an Alexa personally but people seem less concerned about security with it. Yoto doesn't allow general internet access.

You can set Alexa up to stop access to the internet. And if you wanted to you could turn off the microphone and just control it via your phone, but my dd loves yelling at it!

Another vote for Yoto here! For all the reasons already given. Got my daughter a Yoto at 2.5 and a mini at 3.5 - big one lives in her room and works like a groclock and plays music overnight. Mini comes in the car every day. Definitely an extravagance having 2, for an under 3 id get the original big one. It is child proof with a jacket on.

I can see the appeal of the characters for tonies for a very young child, but when I looked 18 months ago they worked out much more expensive than Yoto cards. Also if you lose a card you can make a copy from the app which I don’t believe you can with tonies. Also if you have CDs/MP3 format music and audiobooks you can put these on cards too.

I wouldn’t go for a tablet, as there’s too many other options on there which may seem more interesting! My sister tried using the Yoto app for her 4 year old on his tablet, went in at 10pm to find him playing games!