When Leap Frog’s Speak and Learn Puppy first arrived at our toy testing laboratory, all of the kids were so intrigued, even the older ones! Bailey, the adorable head wiggling, ear flapping puppy, was designed to encourage verbal communication in children.
Bailey has buttons on her paws and one on her collar. The talk button prompts kids to answer questions and create fun stories. After pressing her paw, she asks “what is your favorite animal?” and even likes to talk about how she’s feeling. For example “I’m feeling silly! Make a silly sound,” and then repeats that silly sound back! The star button teaches letter sounds and counting, such as “wiggle your ears two times” as she flaps her ears up and down counting. The music button plays three different learning songs that sparked instant dance moves from our 18-month old. The babble button is on her collar and it prompts children to talk. For example, Bailey asks “say something silly and I’ll say it back” or “teach me a song” and will repeat back what the child says. Kids loved hearing the magical way that their words came back.
This sweet toy will engage your child and encourage them to talk along with you. Our little ones loved hearing grown-up voices transform and jumped on the opportunity to hear their own voice playback. With other learning components available, such as introducing animals, numbers, letters, and feelings, the Speak & Learn Puppy can reinforce language skills in your young one.
Available at Target
By Erika Cardamone MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-language pathologist, Mom, toy reviewer, speaker, foodie, runner
