Toys that go beep in the day
March 3, 2014 2:55 PM Subscribe
Our 18 month old son loves things that beep and we'd love for him to play with things that are much less expensive than our $100 dollar Harmony Remote.
As mentioned above, he loves beeping things from the microwave to our Harmony universal remote. He likes seeing results ie- pushing buttons on the remote both beep AND change things on the TV. He also loves using the regular cable remote and seeing the guide come up and hitting the pause button on the DVR. Ideally, it would be a sturdy toy that would beep and light up. Other options would be iOS apps that disable the home button but otherwise make noise and do stuff.
Re iOS apps- I have enabled guided access, but this guy loves clicking the home button, so he usually hits the 3 click pattern without much difficulty. So if there are any apps that entirely disable the home button, please let us know!
Ps- I realize that an iphone is more expensive than a remote, but the iphone doesn't screw up the entertainment center or change the channel and aspect ratio of the TV. Plus, the iphone is sturdier than the remote.
As mentioned above, he loves beeping things from the microwave to our Harmony universal remote. He likes seeing results ie- pushing buttons on the remote both beep AND change things on the TV. He also loves using the regular cable remote and seeing the guide come up and hitting the pause button on the DVR. Ideally, it would be a sturdy toy that would beep and light up. Other options would be iOS apps that disable the home button but otherwise make noise and do stuff.
Re iOS apps- I have enabled guided access, but this guy loves clicking the home button, so he usually hits the 3 click pattern without much difficulty. So if there are any apps that entirely disable the home button, please let us know!
Ps- I realize that an iphone is more expensive than a remote, but the iphone doesn't screw up the entertainment center or change the channel and aspect ratio of the TV. Plus, the iphone is sturdier than the remote.
If you want to continue letting him play with your phone, maybe a toddler case that covers the buttons would help.
posted by bcwinters at 3:06 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by bcwinters at 3:06 PM on March 3, 2014
(In hindsight, that particular case looks kinda not-so-great, since the button cover pops off very easily. But you get the idea.)
posted by bcwinters at 3:32 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by bcwinters at 3:32 PM on March 3, 2014
We used our old, un-needed cell phones that were no longer connected to any service. Just charge the battery, and let the kid do whatever he wants -- no worries! It makes all the same beeps and boops as a "real" phone, but if they press Send (or whatever) nothing happens.
posted by Simon Barclay at 4:36 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by Simon Barclay at 4:36 PM on March 3, 2014
He needs a toy guitar! There are several brands that light up and play music. We just bought the Elmo Rocks guitar and our son loves it.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:36 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:36 PM on March 3, 2014
Hasbro Merlin (random e-bay link, looks like they're pretty easy to come by). 20 different beep noises and all the buttons light up, and it's pretty sturdy. And it plays nerdy logic games.
posted by anaelith at 4:41 PM on March 3, 2014
posted by anaelith at 4:41 PM on March 3, 2014
I have an 18-month-old who likes a lot of the same things you described. He has a lot of toys from Fisher Price's Laugh and Learn lineup - we like them because they light up and beep, and the sound quality and build quality are better than some other toys we've tried. The smartphone and the remote are both good, and portable too.
As a counterpoint to the idea of using an old cell phone, bear in mind that even a cell phone with no service or with its SIM card removed can often make a 911 call. Providers are obligated to complete these calls even without an account tied to the phone. This has caused problems for 911 operators in the past.
posted by pocams at 6:27 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
As a counterpoint to the idea of using an old cell phone, bear in mind that even a cell phone with no service or with its SIM card removed can often make a 911 call. Providers are obligated to complete these calls even without an account tied to the phone. This has caused problems for 911 operators in the past.
posted by pocams at 6:27 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Mchelly at 3:00 PM on March 3, 2014 [1 favorite]