wonderwhatif
Member Since: January 26, 2015Reviews
Elizabeth Arden Retinol Ceramide Capsules Line Erasing Night Serum
I received a free sample of this. I really loved them. I'm quite suspicious of skincare, especially anti-wrinkle stuff. I've used some very expensive stuff that did nothing and some cheap stuff that's amazing, so it's best to be suspicious and see... +
I received a free sample of this.
I really loved them. I'm quite suspicious of skincare, especially anti-wrinkle stuff. I've used some very expensive stuff that did nothing and some cheap stuff that's amazing, so it's best to be suspicious and see if it works for you. This worked very well for me. From the second application my skin was feeling softer and just overall better. By the end of the seven days my skin was smoother, with a better complexion and less flaws. The difference in my wrinkles was not massive, but slight. Usually big difference in wrinkles takes more than seven days, but the overall improvement in my skin was incredible. I kept catching sight of myself in the mirror and realising how much better my skin looked, to the touch it was also much nicer.
I always take pics before and after testing skincare to make sure my experience matches the actual results and you can clearly see my skin has improved after the seven day treatment.
Using a single capsule feels wasteful...yet luxe and I was concerned there wouldn't be enough fluid in there. When you squeeze out the fluid (which BTW, is super fun feeling) it doesn't look like much, but it spreads really well and easily covered my face with serum to spare! It's a gel-like serum that feels velvety and soft and absorbs within a few minutes. I was also surprised that it is COMPLETELY unscented. As in there is no scent added, but it also smells like nothing, no chemicals, no scent at all, very few unscented products actually smell like nothing.
Honestly, this stuff is a bit out of my price range, so I wish I'd been sent full size products because I adore these and will definitely try to snag some on sale in future.
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Elizabeth Arden 5th Avenue
I received a free sample of this I loved this perfume. The word for this perfume is Elegance. It's a sweet, lightly floral scent that has no one outstanding note, but an overall lovely scent. Perfumes are obviously a very personal thing and one of... +
I received a free sample of this
I loved this perfume. The word for this perfume is Elegance. It's a sweet, lightly floral scent that has no one outstanding note, but an overall lovely scent. Perfumes are obviously a very personal thing and one of my fave perfumes of all time is L'air Du Temps, which my mother wears. My Fifth Avenue is absolutely a rival for that. It smells like an elegant, rich, classy lady who instead of being cold or standoffish, is warm and full of motherly affection. The kind of friend who will take you shopping, feed you and tuck you into her warm guest room.
I'm not an expert on perfume by any means, but it smells so good to me and I've been wearing it almost every day since receiving it. It also lasts. The sample I received is a dab bottle, not a spray and just a small dab on my neck and wrists easily lasts the whole day with a faint whiff halfway through the second day. It's not overpowering, but it's also not subtle. It's the perfect strength. I would recommend this as a nighttime perfume for those who want to smell classic and receive a lot of compliments!
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Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles
To be frank, these are five star quality chocolates. But I'm forced to give them four stars because four stars reflects my personal rating. Simply put, I'm from the UK and when I first moved to Canada I ate waaaay too many of these. As a result, I'm... +
To be frank, these are five star quality chocolates. But I'm forced to give them four stars because four stars reflects my personal rating. Simply put, I'm from the UK and when I first moved to Canada I ate waaaay too many of these. As a result, I'm actually kind of sick of them. So while I personally rate them four stars, objectively they're a five star quality chocolate...so maybe like 4.5 stars is a good rating.
These are rich, luscious European style chocolates. The biggest danger with them is (as I did) eating too many and making yourself feel ill or becoming tired of them. They are extremely rich, so I mean it when I say don't over do it! (or do I'm not your parent :P)
For those who don't know, Lindor chocolates are a harder, shiny chocolate shell, with a soft chocolate 'ball' centre that melts in your mouth. If you eat them warm or unrefrigerated it's more melty. I personally prefer them from the freezer where the inside is still soft (but no longer melty) and the outside is hard and crispy.
They're unique in the chocolate world and even living in the UK I've never had anything else like these. This is the basic, simple chocolate flavour. While I personally prefer Lindt's other chocolate (due to the previously mentioned reasons), these really are delicious and make a great gift to others or yourself!
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Purina Beyond Simply White Meat Chicken and Whole Oat Cat Food
When I’m trying out a new dry cat food, the two things that matter most to me are a) what does the nutritional information and ingredients list look like, and b) how much do my cats love it? For this food from Purina, I was happy to find that both... +
When I’m trying out a new dry cat food, the two things that matter most to me are a) what does the nutritional information and ingredients list look like, and b) how much do my cats love it? For this food from Purina, I was happy to find that both of those criteria were met.
I was happy to see that the list of ingredients contains nothing that would signify a lot of unheathy padding. Chicken and chicken meal being the top two ingredients is a very good sign, and going down the list I can’t really take issue with anything I find. The inclusion of taurine is important, and the information about how much protein and fat can be found in the food is an important addition that all too often gets left out of the packaging for other cat foods. When supplemented occasionally with some wet food (to make sure your cat has enough water), I think this dry food is a good nutritional choice.
The other major factor is how my cats reacted to it. I introduced this into their existing diet slowly to ensure it wouldn’t upset their stomachs to have a sudden change in food, but before that I took out a dozen pieces of the food as a treat, just to see how they would react. They immediately seemed to be in love with it, so much so that I sprinkled a few pieces of it in a little puzzle/activity toy they have which I normally drop treats into. They absolutely flocked to it when I put it out.
Having fed them this dry food for over a week now, I can say that they’re still very enthusiastic about it, and eat it much faster than their last dry food. I’ve also noticed that this dry food doesn’t have a particularly strong odour, either in the bowl or on their breath, when compared to other dry foods I’ve tried over the years. It doesn't have that 'cat food' smell.
In terms of nutrition and enjoyment, I would say this dry cat food does a great job. At least for my 3 cats, all of whom loved it.
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LeapFrog Go-with-Me ABC Backpack
This toy is absolutely a must-have in the educational toy field. When I was a kid I had a bunch of paper books you fill in that taught you stuff and this is basically the electronic version of that. It teaches the alphabet, how to write it, animals... +
This toy is absolutely a must-have in the educational toy field. When I was a kid I had a bunch of paper books you fill in that taught you stuff and this is basically the electronic version of that. It teaches the alphabet, how to write it, animals and to a smaller degree, vocab. One of the things that really impressed me about this is that in the case of animals, instead of choosing more simple ones, they choose more complicated names that really help increase kids vocabulary. For example, instead of being Frog for the letter F, it's the more complex Flamingo. Not only does this help them increase their knowledge of more animals, but it will help their language understanding overall.
It has a lot of settings and games, which I'll describe in features, but the basic backpack features Alphabet letters, which can be removed by pulling them from the top and when reinserted they will trigger Mr Pencil (the game's host) to say the letter and an animal beginning with that letter (presuming the game is turned on). Even if the game is off, kids can use the drawing area to have fun drawing or practicing letters (standard wipe-away board, like an Etch A sketch but with a large, fun pencil (the aforementioned Mister Pencil) instead of dials.
The fact that you can play the simpler games with younger kids and then the more complex ones as they get older, means it's definitely worth the cost, as it ages with them. The kids who tried it here, enjoyed it so much I don't even think they realised they were learning!
For Ages 3+ This is the English Language version.
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Features
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As well as the play mentioned above, there's a bunch of buttons on it which start different modes of play. I'll describe these below in the order of the buttons from left to right:
Letter Zoo - Insert or press the letter and Mr Pencil will say the Capital pronunciation, the 'sound' of the letter and the animal (with a small picture of it). For example: A, a, Alligator. Simple and good for younger ages.
Meet the Letters - A game in which Mr Pencil will 'introduce' a letter and they must find it and insert and press it into the left side of the backpack. After they press it Mr Pencil will say the Capital pronunciation, the 'sound' of the letter and the animal (with a small picture of it) and praise them! Good for teaching them to recognise letters.
Mystery Word - Mr Pencil will show an animal picture and pronounce a letter, they must find the letter and insert it. When done so it will appear on the panel and he will ask for another letter. Once the letters are done they will complete a word and he will teach them how to sound out and say the word and show a picture of it. A little more advanced and great for teaching vocab and spelling!
Uppercase Letters - Kids can pick a letter (Insert and/or press as usual) and Mr Pencil shows them how to write it, inviting them to follow along on the drawing board. The only downside is he cannot tell if it is correct or not, so this is one game where parents might want to look over the shoulder to offer helpful corrections! When complete Mr Pencil will say the letter's animal and allow another letter to be picked. This is great for improving writing away from school.
Lowercase Letters - The same as above, but with non-capitalised letters.
Letter animals - This is a really fun one and great for artistically inclined kids! Kids pick a letter and Mr Pencil will teach them how to draw an animal made up of that Letter. For example, G becomes a gorilla face. He will teach one line at a time to build up the drawing. This gives kids a way to practice writing that is also artistic and helps with spacial recognition and many other things!
Let's Sing - The last mode is a more advanced, but fun mode where Mr Pencil will sing a parade themed song (mostly the same chorus every time, but the lines will change depending on the letter/animal that is picked). This song will very quickly become old for parents and also get stuck in your head, but it's a great way to teach kids while they sing and dance and don't realise how much they are learning! The lines will teach about the animal's behaviour.
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Set-up
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It's really easy to get out of the packaging and set-up. Five minutes or less.
The backpack closes to a hard shell and is reasonably heavy. It comes with two straps that you must insert (the instructions are a little vague, but if you face the buckle side out you can easily figure it out) to make it a portable backpack. It also has two different sound settings, the loudest is like normal speaking volume, with an exuberant punch and is perfect for noisy households or kids who don't hear well. The quiet setting is good for when parents need peace or it's early in the morning.
It comes with the batteries, ready to go.
SUMMARY
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Pros
+ Teaches so many things, with 7 modes that vary from fun, to simple and educational.
+ Features more advance vocabulary in a way that will be picked up easily.
+ Allows kids to draw and write, both for fun, but also to teach them letters.
+ Mr Pencil is cute, friendly and has lots of animations.
+ Closes up to be portable.
+ Comes with batteries.
+ Ages up with kids, with some modes that are simple and some that are more advanced.
+ Even without battery function has uses.
+ Two sound modes to suit everybody.
Cons
- A little heavy.
- Straps are cheap feeling and must be attached by parent.
- No 'silent' mode for public places.
- Cannot detect or correct kids on their writing.
Recommended: 100% a must buy for when kids are just learning to read and write!
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Jurassic World Dino Mask - Blue
For both kids and adults, this Velociraptor mask is overall a pretty cool choice for a costume/toy/or just a cool display item. It works well with only minor flaws. One of my biggest worries on seeing it is that the face would be really visible... +
For both kids and adults, this Velociraptor mask is overall a pretty cool choice for a costume/toy/or just a cool display item. It works well with only minor flaws. One of my biggest worries on seeing it is that the face would be really visible through the large panels and while they give great visibility outwards, the face doesn't really stand out at all, even when it's an adult.
Basically how it works is you strap the mask on, rest your eyes and nose on goggles inside and put the chin strap on. When you open your mouth, the chin strap is pulled down and opens the raptor mouth. When it opens a little, it does a low growl. Slightly more open and it does the 'yip' Velociraptor noise (think Kitchen scene, original Jurassic Park). When it's open extremely wide it does a roar/scream. All of them have good volume and sound great! Make sure the chin strap is on tight enough because if not, you will not be able to open it wide enough to get the big roar.
Therein lies my two problems. One very minor. If you are an adult wearing this and you tend to carry a lot of weight around your chin (double chin) this will not fit. However, even if you're large and you don't carry a ton of weight on your chin, it will fit fine (I am large, but don't carry chin weight), just be aware if you are very jowly the chin strap might not be large enough. The mask itself fits easily on big heads and therefore is a little heavy on little heads, but they will have too much fun to complain.
My second note would be comfort. I see a lot of people saying how comfortable this mask is and to wear, yes, it's surpisingly comfortably. However, no matter how it's positioned (at least for an adult) it is quite uncomfortable to use. While the goggles are soft, thick, padded feeling plastic, when you open your mouth they are pulled down hard again your nose. You must really open/pull to activate the mask, so this can be painful, especially over time. Not sure if this is an issue only for adults, because when kids are having fun they don't worry or complain about those kinds of things.
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Regardless, it's a really fun toy, so just be aware that comfort isn't top notch, as you'd probably expect from a toy mask (fun is the priority). One final thing that's really awesome is that when the mask activates the eyes move, which gives it another touch of realism. The mask itself is a lovely sculpt, lots of great details, glassy lifelike eyes and the paint is accurate to Blue's design (a lot of Blue toys are just generic Raptors). I'd recommend it for sure!
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SUMMARY
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Pros
+ Great design, well-made.
+ Fits a broad range of ages.
+ Eyes move with sound.
+ Three unique and well done Velociraptor noises.
+ No setup, ready to go.
+ Comes with batteries.
+ Fits even larger heads.
+ Fun.
Cons
- A little highly priced.
- Can be uncomfortable painful on the nose for adults.
- Chin strap might not fit if you carry a lot of weight on your chin (for adults).
Recommended: Yes, great fun for everybody. Even better if on sale, but even at full price it can be worth it!
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FurReal Ricky The Trick-Lovin' Pup
Last year I tested Torch from FurReal friends and to be frank, many of the problems I had with Torch are also problems that have carried over and are even amplified with Ricky. In short, Ricky is a bit disappointing for us. At first, I thought it... +
Last year I tested Torch from FurReal friends and to be frank, many of the problems I had with Torch are also problems that have carried over and are even amplified with Ricky. In short, Ricky is a bit disappointing for us. At first, I thought it was just me, but even letting my partner try him had the same result and frustrations. Furthermore, the kid test was the same, while both ages of kids enjoyed it, they had a lot of the same problems we did when trying him. It was awkward how disconnected his actions were from what they were doing.
If I had to make a suggestion I would definitely choose Torch over Ricky, especially as he can often be found on sale and I prefer him overall. Read my full review to find out why Ricky only earned 3 stars, I'll also list some of the features he has.
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Cute factor
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In terms of looks, Ricky really does a great job being cute. He's furry, he's adorable. He basically looks like a husky puppy, so what's not to love there? He's soft and feels nice to cuddle and both older and younger kids found him to be adorable (even I agree, as an adult!).
He loses a bit of cute factor compared to Torch simply because of his actions. It feels like he 'enjoys' being touched less. Torch the dragon makes a lot of cooing and trill noises that come from you petting the sensors, but in the case of Ricky, he spends a lot of time yipping and making strange noises that don't sound terribly dog-like exaggerated whines. This means he rarely feels like a real dog (they love to be petted) and it never really feels like he's enjoying being petted unless you pet his cheeks (which triggers the 'lick' feature).
The pooping/tooting function also had a bit of a cute factor, depending on if your kids like this kind of thing (hint: Most kids and some parents find it hilarious).
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Features
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Tricks: I feel like the amount of 'tricks' Ricky can do is a little exaggerated by the advertising. He can do two tricks. The bone flip and the paw raise/shake. Both of these tricks are nice and amongst everybody's favourite part of Ricky. Part of the reason for this is it's hard to 'trigger' a lot of Ricky's stuff and he feels disconnected, like he doesn't always react to you, but around 90 percent of the time these tricks works.
Bone Flip: Put the Bone on Ricky's nose (logo face up) then you can make any loud noise and he will flip the bone into his mouth. Genius! While you can make any loud noise (many people choose to clap), in my opinion, the best way to do it is to name the trick "Ricky, Bone Flip!" which makes it seem even cooler, but it's just make-believe he will respond to any loud noise. The problem with the trick is he drops the bone afterward. While this might seem like a good idea, and pulling it out of his mouth is easy, he makes a sad noise when you do so, in practice it isn't. If you have tiled or wood floor it is so loud falling on the floor that I wish he didn't drop it.
Hi-five/Paw/shake: This is Ricky's second trick. Since this isn't triggered by sound it mostly works, though sometimes he inexplicably does something else. If you press (his, not yours) right paw he will lift his paw for a second for a hi-five before starting to 'shake' it. I do think the 'shake' comes too fast after hi-five, not giving a child enough time to change the movement and grab his paw, but overall it's a cute trick that is easy to do.
100+ Sounds and Motions:
The sounds Ricky makes aren't cute to me, or the kids who test it. The only sounds we found cute were when he sings a song and when he makes a sad noise. The rest of the vocals are...odd and sound like fake whines. Dogs don't whine a lot, they have a lot of cute noises like chuffs sighs, quizzical noises. The noises Ricky makes are not really like any of those and don't sound real or different enough.
As a result, while there might be 100+ sounds and motions, I would struggle to point out more than 15. They mostly all sound the same and are indistinct from one another.
We also couldn't figure out what 'triggers' the song that he sometimes sings (very cute). Sometimes pressing or holding the paw seemed to cause it, but never on a consistent basis.
For motion/movement, he definitely does more than the sound. There are more motions than sounds, for sure. For a start there's the tricks, but other than that, he mostly just moves and blinks in generic ways, nothing I could pinpoint as exciting or realistic dog behaviour.
He will lick if you rub both his cheeks at the same time (again inconsistent), but it's not in anyway realistic (not expected), it feels like dry plastic poking you. Of course, kids still love this and next to the tricks, it's a favourite feature.
Eat and poop: Both older kids and younger kids find this hilarious, but we did have massive problems with the execution. When you feed Ricky you are supposed to touch his upper lip to make him 'chew' the treats, but he never seems to be able to swallow them. no matter where we put them. But no matter what we tried he rarely swallowed the treat down, it just got stuck at the back of his mouth. This would easily be fixed by having his head tilt slightly back at the end of the 'munch' motion and should have been caught in testing. As a result, a lot of the time the kids ended up poking the treats back so he'd swallow them. Unfortunately, sometimes this would 'trigger' the 'munch' motion and he would chomp down on their fingers. This was a bit scary to younger kids and if their fingers are near the outside of the mouth it's quite a firm pinch that can be startling.
The poop problem is really more the instructions. It says to 'pat his back', but that's not really accurate. if you pet or rub his back like a normal dog, nothing. You have to very firmly press on a panel near his tail to activate it. So it doesn't really feel like petting a dog. Once you know how to activate it, it's cute and kids really laugh at the tooting and treats falling out of his 'bum hole'. But because the eating is so difficult and annoying, you lose a bit of the magic.
Be careful using this. Though it's rated for 4+ I do feel concerned that some kids might eat the dog treats, which are small magnets, this could be pretty dangerous. Overall though, I'd recommend it more for those younger kids than older, as they are more willing to go-with-the-flow and won over by Ricky's cuteness. Older kids immediately (to my surprise) knew what the bone trick was (magnets!) and while they still enjoyed it, they had the same problems with Ricky I did. They were awkward and didn't like that he didn't seem to respond well to their actions, was inconsistent and the feedback I got gave the impression that they would probably only use the bone trick regularly and he'd end up cast aside after a bit.
He also comes with a 'treat pouch' that is stiff, difficult to open well and kind of annoying because of this.
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Set-up
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Ricky takes 4x 1.5V C batteries that do NOT come with and as with all kids toys you must open the panel with a standard crosshead screwdriver. The panel is located by tearing open the velcro on his tummy.
He's not difficult to get out of the box or set-up, as always I recommend a set of nail clippers to cut the parts that are tied in (pet or human is fine) and it shouldn't take more than ten minutes.
Comes with: Ricky (no batteries), Treat pouch, treats, big bone treat.
SUMMARY
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Pros
+ Very cute.
+ Soft and easy to cuddle.
+ Has a lot of movement and some sound.
+ Does two tricks and can hum a song. (Bone trick is a highlight)
+ Can eat the treats and toot and poop.
+ Easy to setup.
Cons
- Batteries not included. 4x 1.5V C batteries
- Becomes boring quickly.
- Sounds are unrealistic and 'samey'.
- Older kids know how the tricks are done.
- Inconsistently responds to petting, doesn't seem like he enjoys it.
- Tricks don't always trigger correctly.
- Hard to get him to eat treats properly.
- Instructions are vague (petting back doesn't work well for 'pooping').
Recommended: If on sale. For younger kids (4+) who aren't annoyed by Ricky's lack of reaction and inconsistency. Kids who enjoy other Furreal products.
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Mkay Wireless Stereo Headset V4.2 with Deep Bass
The first thing I noticed about these headphones, and probably the biggest issue I have with them, is the audio quality. It’s not bad, but I certainly would not describe it as good quality either. The big issue is that it has a hollow, echoey... +
The first thing I noticed about these headphones, and probably the biggest issue I have with them, is the audio quality. It’s not bad, but I certainly would not describe it as good quality either. The big issue is that it has a hollow, echoey sound to everything that plays, whether it’s phone calls or music. It sounds almost like the audio is coming from far away, or at the end of a long tube, and it’s incredibly distracting at first. You very quickly get used to it, and now I barely even notice it, but when I switch back to more expensive headphones it’s like night and day. Aside from the echoey quality, the volume is good and the bass levels are fine in my opinion. Compared to Bluetooth headphones in the same price range, the audio is not terrible, but it’s still behind other models I’ve tried. I feel the cost is a little high because of this.
The microphone that is built into the headphones is better than I expected. It’s not on the level where I would use it to record something for professional use, but for phone calls it works well. I could be heard clearly by the person I was speaking with, and the switch from music to phone call and then back to music was easy. The controls on the side of the headphones make it easy to answer and hang up calls even when you’re busy.
Speaking of, the controls on the outside of the headphones are easy enough to use, but do take some time to get used to. You have your standard options, pause/play, volume control, and skip forward/back. The buttons are large and easy to find/press, so once you learn where each button is located it’s easy to control your music or phone calls.
Despite being Bluetooth headphones, these also come with an Aux cable and can be plugged in for wired mode, which is useful in case you are trying to connect to a device which doesn’t support Bluetooth. As well as the Aux cable, these headphones also come with a charging cable (micro-USB) and a carrying case which can be clipped onto your bag.
Overall I found these headphones to be pretty comfortable on the ears, and the adjustable section has enough room that it can fit both very small and very large heads without any trouble. The cushions over your ears do a good job of reducing the amount of noise that can be overheard by other people, though they do get a bit sweaty if you use these headphones for long periods of time.
In summary, I was not impressed with the audio quality of these headphones, but other than that they work well and have all the basic features I would look for in headphones like these.
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Mega Bloks ABC Musical Train Building Set
This set is great as an additional set, or even a beginner Mega Bloks set. What it really comes down to is mostly it's just blocks. For example, after you remove the 'train' piece from the box there's just a non-reusable net of blocks inside the... +
This set is great as an additional set, or even a beginner Mega Bloks set. What it really comes down to is mostly it's just blocks. For example, after you remove the 'train' piece from the box there's just a non-reusable net of blocks inside the box. So this is a good amount of Mega Bloks, with the alphabet written on them and a couple of unique pieces (wheels and train cart bottoms) that will allow your child to make a train or even some cars.
If you have even more Mega Bloks, it'll be even more fun. The alphabet blocks are not only great for teaching letters, they make a great addition to a standard set to allow older kids to spell words on their creations. The only downside is this doesn't come with any storage, so you'll need some kind of big tub to keep them all in, if you don't already have a storage space.
It's a bit misleading to say the train plays songs and sounds. It's one. It plays one song and does one train whistle. For the price, it's a fair set, but I don't like it when they try and pass it off as more than it is. It's a Mega Blok set with alphabet blocks, some additional train pieces and one train block that plays a short tune and whistles. It's good at what it does, but imagination is key here.
This is a great toy for little ones to build imagination and also understand shape and colour. Since the blocks are chunky and not sharp-edged or rock hard plastic, there's no chance of injury or frustration. The music the train plays is short, but pretty loud, if it annoys you. just unscrew the screws and take out the battery, but they really do enjoy pressing the button and taking the train around.
They'll need your help to build a perfect train, but let them have some freedom and watch them build amazing stuff with this, especially with access to more blocks. A great gift for any toddler.
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Fisher-Price Dance & Groove Rockit
This is a really good toy, with only a minor quibble. So let's get the minor quibble out of the way! I've tried a few bi-lingual toys now and my feelings are always the same. I believe they should add a three-way switch French-English-Both. The... +
This is a really good toy, with only a minor quibble. So let's get the minor quibble out of the way! I've tried a few bi-lingual toys now and my feelings are always the same. I believe they should add a three-way switch French-English-Both. The reason for this is that it's great to know lots of languages and if you're teaching your kids to be Bilingual, this toy works great! However, if you have no desire for a language other than English (or indeed French), it can be really annoying to have both languages play. One of the things I really like about this toy is how advanced some of the speech is (long phrases, songs and dances), but going through that whole song in English and French, can be stressful for toddlers who easily get bored and don't care about the French (or vice-versa). It also drains the batteries more. Furthermore, if you are raising a child who speaks a language that is neither French or English, you might want to focus on one language at a time. I really hope they add such a switch to future toys! Even though I'd like to raise my kids bilingual, it also means I can't 'play along' with them when the French part plays, as I do not speak French well (despite five years of trying).
Other than that, I really love this toy and so do the little ones! Right off the bat, my favourite thing about it is the Smart Stages technology. It's basically a switch that changes how 'advanced' it is and what the focus of learning is. This means that it ages up with your baby and you can make it more advanced based on the recommended ages as they get more clever and learn more.
Due to this, the toy is packed with phrases, songs and more (too many to show or list them all!). One particularly fun feature is the ability to record and play back in a silly voice. Even kids who can't talk well find this feature hilarious. On a fun note, adults can use this feature to have Rockit say crazy things in a funny voice, just make sure the kids aren't around to pick it up! There's nothing quite like having him say 'Kill them all' in a jolly voice to a room of unsuspecting adults, maybe that's just my sense of humour!
He's a really fun toy to play around with and you can help teach your kid alongside Rockit as well as dance with them, of course! I really like how he has different textures and design. That being said, his movement is pretty limited and repetitive, even if his phrases aren't and being quite hard plastic, he's not very cuddly.
He also has an option to be at a louder volume or more quiet, but the quiet volume is almost useless because the sound of him moving drowns out his voice. If you want some quiet time though, it's an option.
What he is, is a great teaching toy that will last a few good years with the option to get more advanced using SmartStages. For the price, I can't recommend it enough, as I've seen similar toys from less trusted brands sell at twice this price.
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