It’s a fact that these days kids are exposed to screens from toddlerhood and in many ways even during infancy. As a result, many parents are looking for screen-free solutions, and why Tonie Box is an extremely popular gift.
Tonie Box is undeniably a cool idea for a gift for a 2 year old, 3-year-old or even a 4 year old and it can grow with the child, as new Tonies are being released and many of them are suitable for kids who are in early elementary school.
Is Toniebox the best, though? How does it compare to other popular audio players like Yoto Player or Storypod? We tested all of them over the last couple of years and ended up bringing only one of them for our travels.
Is Tony Box Worth It?
Overall, we were happy with the Tony Box and I’m glad I purchased one when kids were respectively 1.5 and 3 years old.
The kids were actively listening to different stories and switching the different figurines. For toddlers, there’s no better option, as they want to listen to stories about their favorite characters and since they can also look at them, it adds another level of fun.
I wish that there were more options for language tonies. There are some in German and some in French, but a lot of Spanish stories are basically the same story told in English in Spanish. Which, after half an hour of English my kids often feel weird about it and lose interest – especially considering that it’s the same exact story, just in a different language.
Another thing is that I have an impression that British Tonies are often better than American ones, as they’re more non-mainstream options. You can pick up some British tonies on your trip or even on Mercari, so it’s not a problem, but something you can look into.
Toniebox 2
Once the kids grew up a bit, I noticed a shift. My older son, who was barely 5 at the time, started complaining that we were listening to the Lion King or Minions story again when he knew what happened. I noticed that both kids started losing interest. My 3 year old liked the figurines, but they were mostly used for playtime rather than listening.
It was interesting, since the original Tonie Box is meant for 3+ year olds and only the new Tonie is supposedly aimed for kids 1+ year old. In our case, while we still used it, it stopped being a hit as it used to be.
While the Toniebox 2 now also offers games, considering that you need to purchase a controller and each game isn’t exactly cheap either, let me ask you a question: how often will your kid listen to the same basic game following the same instructions? Not too many times, unfortunately, at least not my kids.
The newer box also offers a nightlight (just like Yoto Player), and extended battery life, but again, it’s safe to say that most families already have a nightlight (we had Hatch at first and then switched to GroClock, which is similar to this Cat Sleep Trainer), so it’s not the most desirable function. And frankly, if I were to pick something for routines, I would pick the PawPal instead…
Tonie Box vs Yoto
We then gave it and got a Yoto Player, as many people told me it’s better for older kids. It’s basically the same system, but instead of little figurines, Yoto has cards that you need to insert. It will show a digital image on the tiny screen, and the cards are illustrated.
While Tonies are still being added and produced, they are mostly mainstream to intrigue younger audiences. Only recently Tonies offered educational content. Yoto Player, on the other hand, has more and more diverse content and way more options. Plus, the cards are cheaper than figurines.
My 6 year old got absolutely hooked on the Ladybird series and the Brain Bots series. They’re interactive and catch the attention of his 4 year old brother as well, but provide a lot of fun educational materials for curious kids.
I think the minimalist design and range of content for older kids make the Yoto Mini the one that will last the longest. The Toniebox has about 130 figurine options right now, while Yoto has about 650 card options. The Yoto Player includes a free radio station (a day and a night one) that is full of delightful kid songs. There are also options in other languages –
However, I would not gift Yoto to a 2 year old or even a 3 year old, because the cards can get easily destroyed by the child. On top of them, naturally, not being even remotely as cool and appealing to toddlers as physical figurines like Tonies. However, personally we swapped Tonie Box for Yoto Player.
Tonie Box vs Storypod
What about Storypod? Storypod is another competitor to Toniebox. It offers slightly bigger characters that are soft instead of hard like Tonies.
Unlike any other player they come with physical books, which is nice for early readers to visualize the story. There’s also an option of white noise, which can be nice for some, but if you already have a nightlight or something like mentioned earlier Hatch, then it’s not necessary.
Storypod has very few stories in Spanish and those available are mostly songs aimed at very young kids, but I assume they will be expanding. There are some known characters like for example Maya the Bee, but it’s mostly general stories that develop social and emotional maturity.
My personal problem with Storypod is that the soft plushies to put on top of Storypod are for very small kids. While they claim to be 2-5 years olds, my 4 year old finds them slightly too childish already. There are options for older kids but they come in the form of Magnets which naturally aren’t as cool as visual characters. Plus, if you have multiple kids they can be a choking hazard.
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