Tried & Tested Thursday: Playgro's Activity Friend - Roary Lion

Disclosure: I have been provided with the Playgro's Activity Friend Roary Lion for the purposes of review. All views and opinions expressed are my own.

Since we received our lovely package from Playgro Roary has always been a great toy and a favourite when calming little V down when he gets a little cranky.

Playgro's Roary Lion is part of Playgro's Activity Friend Range.  The whole range can be seen here.  Roary Lion is designed for O months + and I agree with the classification.

I remember the first time I saw Roary I was actually in Hawaii on my honeymoon and I was buying a present for my flowergirl! 

Playgro have definitely hit the nail on the head with this toy - not only is it super cute but it is easy for little hands to hold. V loves the bright colours that have been used to design Roary which appear to hold his attention.   The various textures allow for your child's sensory skills to develop.  The Roary Lion has a crinkly main which V seems to love and whiskers made of little ribbons.

The hands and feet of Roary are great because they are not only a nice green colour but are made from satin so there is another texture involved right there.  

Roary has a knotted tail which is made of felt.

The ball inside sways from side to side and has an enjoyable roaring noise for children which is not digital nor scary so it is nice for little ones as they won't get scared.

Roary also features a nice large white hook and is great for hooking onto the pram or in the car when going for a drive.

Roary is a great toy for babies at all stages especially those little ones who are putting everything in their mouths there are no pieces which are small that would get caught in your little one's mouth so it gives parents piece of mind :) 

Want another opinion? check out Mizz Mummy's review of Playgro's Roary Lion

Roary is available from all major Playgro stockists.

Don't forget to "like" Playgro Australia on Facebook.

Tried & Tested Thursday: Playgro's Loopy Loops Ball

Disclosure: I have been provided with the Playgro's Loopy Loops Ball for the purposes of review. All views and opinions expressed are my own.


This is our third Playgro review and we are looking at (playing with more like it) Playgro's Loopy Loops Ball.

If there is one toy that all children should have I believe it is this one.  It is only one of V's favourite toys it is my favourite toy! 

Playgro's Loopy Loops Ball is designed for those children 3 months + and I agree with the classification.

What I love about this ball is that it has different colours for each panel of the ball (which keeps their interest) and they are all different textures which is important for kids.  An added bonus is all the little loops are different textures as well and makes it easy for your little ones to grab onto the ball and shake it.  In fancy terms this toy helps with your little one's sensory development.  

The ball has a great little chime to it and when it is time for quiet play before bed time this toy is great for calming your little one down.  Or, if you are teaching your little one to follow noises it's a nice chime for your child to follow :) Improving their auditory development.

Playgro's Loopy Loops Ball also provides for recognition skills as the bottom of the ball has a mirror so your little one gets a bit of a surprise when you turn it over.

I find if you like to play "rolly polly" with balls this is a cute manageable ball for little ones to roll back to you and enjoy.

I also love the fact that it is a great toy for children to crawl towards as it provides a good focal point.

From what I have read it terms of child development books a lot recommend that children have a ball with a bell in it and I find this is a great toy that fits the description.

All in all I highly recommend this product because it helps your child not only with sensory and auditory development it is a great little toy to have when your child needs a calm down and it's cute and lightweight and does not take up too much room in the nappy bag when going out :)

I had a quick search on the internet and this toy is available at a lot of the major Playgro stockists.


Does your child own an activity cube or activity ball with a bell in it? Would you consider buying the Playgro Loopy Loops Ball?

Tried & Tested Thursday: Playgro's Safari Sounds Musical Tag Along Rattle

Disclosure: I have been provided with the Playgro's Safari Sounds Teething Rattle for the purposes of review. All views and opinions expressed are my own.

This is the second Playgro review we bring to you :) 

Today we are reviewing the Safari Sounds Musical Tag Along Rattle.

Playgro's Safari Sounds Musical Tag Along Rattle has been designed for 0 months + 

Just like the Picture Pal's Teething Book, I have never seen a rattle like this on the market before so we were keen to give it a go.

The top of the Playgro Safari Sounds Musical Tag Along Rattle has a zebra print which fits in nicely with the safari theme. The clamp was able to be hooked onto the pram and car seat with no problems and I knew it was not going anywhere. However,  V decided that it would be the perfect carry around item and put it on his arm.

I love the fact that this toy is so brightly coloured and appeals to the eye.  There are 7 balls inside the rattle and they are all different colours so if you are teaching kids about colours this will help out.  The balls move from side to side and is great for travel since it rattles along the way and kept little V entertained on drives as he would watch the balls go from side to side.

I like the shape of the green clasp which holds three detachables.  V thought it was the perfect teether. Maybe it is the shape that allows him to get it further inside his mouth and manipulate more.

I think it is great that Playgro have designed this rattle with two detachable characters and a teether as I put these on V's Playgro Dinosaur Gym (which I received as a gift from M's Aunty) and they hang great and still in reaching distance for V.

The first detachable character is the Zebra.  To be quite honest I did not know it was a zebra until I looked it up on the Playgro website! I suppose it has been designed with kids in mind so the bright colours would appeal to them.  When you press the Zebra it plays twinkle twinkle little star.  Unfortunately that is the only song that it plays.  For the future Playgro could consider maybe putting "the lion sleeps tonight" or some other safari themed songs or maybe just more songs than twinkle twinkle little star.  On the other hand though V loved it but has yet to figure out how to press it for the music to come out.

Now to V's favourite, the teether.  The shape is a star (which links in with the twinkle twinkle little star music).  

What I love about this is the different textures so V could turn the star around in his mouth to have different sensations.  V automatically put the star in his mouth - this kid knows what he is doing

The last of the detachables is the tiger - which I had been calling a leopard to little V - my bad.

The tiger is brightly coloured and has three ribbons which provides a different texture and is easy for little ones to grasp. 

The back of the tiger is a mirror which helps kids with recognition skills.












Whilst I can appreciate that it could be used from 0 months + I think that little ones maybe 3 months + would be able to get more use out of the product.

All in all another great product from Playgro - so if you are looking for something that is nice, different and unusual as Kath Day-Knight would say, I would recommend this product.

To purchase Playgro's Safari Sounds Musical Tag Along Rattle you can on sale at Baby Bunting for $13.56 here

V's first job - Playgro Toy Tester

At the ripe age of 4 months old V was gained his first job as an official Playgro Toy Tester! Both V and I are are excited to work with such a great company as Playgro.

Whilst most people's jobs are not all fun and games for little V it is literally all about fun and games. My job - to use my mummy mind reading and observation skills to communicate his views on the products as well as take some photos along the way for our lovely readers to see our progress.

On Friday last week a lovely courier dropped off V's first box of toys - this was V's first ever package. When I saw who it was from I was excited. However as I did not want V to see it just yet I opened it in the cloak of darkness when he was asleep.  I wanted to make sure I got photos of all the goodies before he saw them.

L to R Activity Friend Roary Lion, Loopy Loops Ball, Safari Sounds Musical Tag Along Rattle and Picture Pals Teething Book

The toys provided are so lovely I did not know which one to choose so I decided to give V the box and for him to make the first choice for review...

So which did V pick from the box?

V chose the "Playgro Picture Pals Teething Book."  

On this blog I have introduced a new segment (I suppose I can call it that?) "Tried & Tested Thursday" where on Thursdays I will bring you V and/or I's reviews on different products so make sure you stop by for a visit.  This Thursday I will provide a review of V's first pick.

Now V is not the only lucky Playgro Toy Tester out there...the other Toy Testers and their mummies are on the same mission as us and have different categories. Our category is 0 - 6 months. 

I really recommend you check out the other bloggers as well as we all receive different things and as no two children are the same may have different views on the products. So without further adieu I introduce the other Playgro Toy Testers:

• Laura  www.mizzymummy.com
• Karina http://beautyandlifestylehunter.blogspot.com.au/
• Lauren http://xavierloves.wordpress.com/
• Nikita http://njtreviews.blogspot.com.au/
• Olivia http://budgetconsciousbeautymumma.blogspot.com.au/
• Peta http://www.greatgoogamoogas.com/
• Toni http://findingmyselfyoung.blogspot.com.au/
• Jeanine http://vidotfamily.blogspot.com.au/