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I got this toy to go with his FP Farm house (everyone needs a mailbox). We got this more for the aesthetics to complete his farmhouse and didn't think this would be educational or fun. SO WRONG.What baby likes: the letters they're tasty I guess....he giggles when he eats them. Opening and closing the door is also exciting. He can't stop. He hasn't figured out that the flag goes up and down, but when he does, I'm sure he'll go to town with it.
What I like about it: keeps my kid entertained. It's not a one hit wonder either. He takes his "mail" with him and then will come back to his mailbox to open and close the box. The music is very standard FP stuff, so he's familiar with it. The little birdie was the same as a few of his other Laugh and Learn toys so that's nice (same with a few other features/voices/sound effects).
It goes well with his farm house, he loves the toy.
Anything I don't like there isn't a back to the box so it's not really a "box". He could go in the back to get his mail, but he hasn't figured that out yet, and still opens the door.
What i like about FP toys in general they're super durable. We've got a rough kid plus 2 dogs that trample over his things. Plus we play with them too. We haven't had issues with anything. Also the FP customer service is amazing. When we did have a piece break, they gave us a certificate towards another replacement toy. NICE! If we had questions, we could always find info on their website or call customer service. Their toys are always multidimensional and have a vast variety in music, education and activity. I like getting my money's worth and I generally do with FP.
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This was a gift to my son... Honestly, he got it because he was cheap and it was one of the few toys that is geared for 6 month olds that is something different than the same old thing. The idea of a mailbox toy just didn't seem appealing to me. So of course, it's one his absolute favorite toys.
The concept is simple enough, it's a mailbox. The front opens, it has a slot on the top to drop letters into (3 plastic "envelopes" and a "package"), the back is open, and there are little fun, interactive decorative features... A snail with a ball for a shell that spins, there's a roller on the side with numbers on it that triggers songs, a push button butterfly in the grass, a flag on the side of the mailbox which also triggers songs, and a red bird that bounces on a spring which also triggers noises and songs. Of course the mailbox door opens and closes too to another series of songs and sounds. There are two modes, a musical mode and a learning mode. I personally do not find the voice of the mailbox to be annoying as some others have found it to be, but I will admit I can tune this stuff out pretty easily. The musical mode makes me a little nuts, so I generally just leave it on learning mode.
I love the overall interactivity of the mailbox. With so many trigger points my 7 month old son (though he's played with it since he was 4-5 months old) gets really engaged and will play with it for awhile. He is too young to insert the envelopes into the slot on the top, but he a lot of fine motor skill building by constantly picking them up and he loves putting them in his mouth. He has just figured out that the package rattles, though he still really prefers to goof around with the letters. He will play with them with the mailbox and he will take them out and play with them on their own. Also, he is a little too young to regularly open the front of the mailbox by himself. While it's not hard to open, it does stay closed really well and is still a little beyond him developmentally. I know that a lot of people complain about the open back, but honestly I really like it. As I said, he's still too young to figure out how to use the slot on the top of the mailbox or open the door, but he can take the letters in and out through the back, which he loves to do. I love leaving the front open and handing the letters through to him. This is a great toy in that just in seeing how it grows with him and he's constantly making discoveries with it (he just discovered the bird on top and loves it) and I feel like this is a toy that will grow really nicely with him as he figures out the rest of the features. It's very sturdy and well-built, so I'm not worried about how it'll withstand over time. Also a big plus is while it does take batteries, they really last for a long time (daily use for 3 months and it's still on the factory batteries) and if they do die, it doesn't impact how the toy works (for those who hate the songs and voice, it may be a win/win).
The major drawbacks with it is that while it does have a decent sized, sturdy base, it is top heavy and it falls over when he yanks on it. Now that he's sitting up on his own it's less of a big deal (as you can see in the video, he still plays with it), but when he played with it on his belly he would constantly yank it down and hit himself in the face with it. The big issue we're having with it now is that it's the perfect hight for him to use to try and pull himself up and he will pull himself up, steadying himself by leaning on the top of the mailbox. Because it is top heavy, when he puts his weight on the edges of the mailbox, it topples over and he goes along with it. So for right now, he can't really play with it without me right there to watch him like he can some of the other toys, like the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Cookie Shape Surprise, but I know he will grow out of it.
This is really a great toy and he's gotten a lot more from it then I could have ever guessed he would (and so have the other kids who've used it... It really seems like a big hit with all ages). I've attached a video of him playing with it to give an idea of how it works, the songs and sounds it makes, to show the issues he has with yanking it down, and also how much he really likes it (he actually gets way more into it normally but the red light on the camera distracts him). The beginning of the video has the mailbox in "learning" mode, and the last little bit is in the song mode. The letters are on the floor in the background. I hope that it helps show how engaging it is, but also lets people who're getting it for similarly aged little ones (or little ones of similar developmental levels) see how they might use it.
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