If there's one thing that children want to do more than anything else, it is to do whatever their parents are doing. Any parent who has ever tried to use a laptop whilst a toddler is in the room will know that they will very quickly run over and start trying to press buttons – normally whilst you're in the middle of something rather important!
At just 18 months old Little Miss C could already get past the screen lock on my iPhone and before than she managed to launch various applications on Granny's computer too. We were beginning to think that it was time to get her some technology of her own when Cuthbert's Toys came along and asked us to review the VTech My Laptop. It should be noted that the recommended age range for this laptop is 3-6 years, so Mr C and I have tested the full range of functionality whilst Little Miss C has concentrated on the bits that appeal to her now.
The first thing that struck us about this laptop is just how much you get for your money. The RRP is £16.99 which seems a bargain compared to so many other toys. The laptop is designed for preschool children and comes with loads of games on it which encourage the learning of letters, words and numbers. The simplified mouse and basic, chunky, keyboard are easy for little hands and fingers to use whilst also teaching the child some fundamental computer skills. For the older pre-schooler there really are enough games to keep them amused for hours. The laptop also comes with a workbook which is a combination of extra games that can be done on the laptop (and the answers written in the workbook) and other activities like dot-to-dot and colouring. As a bit of a geeky-child I used to love workbooks like this and that alone would probably have made my day. For the price it really is amazing.
As soon as LMC saw the laptop she ran over to it shouting "pooter, pooter!" and that day we really had problems separating her from it. She loves pretending to type on it and has got the hang of turning it on and off and enjoys the various different noises based on which buttons she presses. I can see that this will easily be a toy that she comes back to time and time again as she grows.
Not much in life is perfect though and there are two things that I would look to change on the laptop. Firstly the volume control. There is a specific user interface built in for changing the volume, but sadly the total range isn't that big at all. Mr C and I really felt that it could do with being quieter. This would be particularly useful if you were hoping to use the laptop to keep a small child entertained whilst you did some work on your laptop – the last thing you want is someting loud distracting you when your child is actually quiet. The second thing that we found strange was some of the pictures that are on the letter keys. VTech have tried to put a picture on each key of something that starts with the letter on the key. The problem is that some of the choices are not totally obvious: k for kitten (but a child might easily think this is a cat), o for oak (easily seen as just a tree by a child that doesn't know the difference), q for quail (how many pre-schoolers know what a quail is?) A shame as with some more obvious choices this could remove some confusion and looking online I can see that other people have raised a few concerns about this.
Working on the move!
One thing that LMC did try to do with the laptop quite early on was put her hand on the screen as if there were touch-screen functionality. You can see why though when she seems mummy and daddy using iPhones regularly. This is where I'm sure the new VTech InnoTab fills the gap in the market, but as such I do wonder if children's laptops will become somewhat redundant, especially for children whose parents have iPads or other tablet computers.
If you have a toddler and a laptop of your own I definitely think that a laptop like this (or one of the others in the VTech range) is a fantastic thing to have. As well has having an educational value for your child the abilty for a child to pretent to be like Mummy or Daddy is such a valueable one.
Disclaimer: I was given this VTech My Laptop to review by the lovely people at Cuthbert's Toys. Cuthbert's is an independent toy shop with physical shops in St Albans and Letchworth, as well as an online shop on their website.
zooarchaeologist says
I have to sadly announce that we have this and I havent worked out how to use it properly, the kids are entertained turning it on and off! Send LMC round to give them lessons please 🙂