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Lincoln Logs or Logging On?
Do Toddlers Need High-Tech Toys? By Johnathon Allen
Other favorites in the 3-and-under category were Parker Brother's electronic Mr. Potato Head ($25), which teaches your child different dress-up games at two skill levels, and Neurosmith's MusicBlocks ($70), a set of blocks in which each block plays an instrumental variation of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nacht Musik. MusicBlocks are good for helping kids develop cognitive skills, because even very small children can make musical compositions by arranging the blocks in different ways.
Popular with the pint-sized programmers in the group was VTECH's Little Smart PC, a kid-sized computer, and Little Smart Count'N Call Phone, a toy cell phone that helps children learn to count, memorize their home number, and call 911. The Little Smart PC features a mouse mode, an LCD screen and large buttons.
Surprisingly, very few children choose Microsoft's ActiMates ($60) as their favorite toy. ActiMates, which are interactive dolls based on characters from the popular PBS series, Teletubbies, feature a small LCD screen in their tummies. They also play games and sing songs when children squeeze their hands or feet. With the optional TV Pack ($55) the Tubbies can interact with the Television shows or videos. Consumer Reports did not indicate if the children in the study group were familiar with the show. Doubtless, ActiMates are a big hit with little fans of the program.
Leap Frog ($55), a storybook offered by LeapPad Learning Center, reads words, syllables and sounds when your child moves its stylus over a word or picture, but also was not very popular with the youngest children.
Playmate's interactive doll, Amazing Ally, was very well received, though it is proba