Smart-e-bear is a Playdate Pick

A toy for the tech parent has arrived. With a user friendly website that’s similar in function to ITunes, Smart-e-bear has modernized the stuffed animal. A huge leap up from the 80’s toy Teddy Ruxpin, Intellitoy's Smart-e-bear allows for countless downloads of music, interactive games and stories with its small electronic pack and USB port. Even though this is an electronic toy it is as cuddly and soft as a stuffed teddy from that “mall” place.

Smart-e-bear arrived and my youngest daughter was literally climbing on my husband to see what it was. Being a stuffed animal I knew she would immediately fall in love and her reaction was exactly what we expected. She grabbed the bear and ran away; not giving us a chance to turn on Smart-e-bear and show her what it was all about. Finally after some examining and cuddling she brought it back to us, we were then able to turn Smart-e-bear on by its very discreet hidden button.

As soon as my daughter found out it talked she smiled and begged for more. We showed her the buttons on the feet and paws and pressing away she went. While she is too young to appreciate the stories and most of the interactive games she loves the music and singing. Head Shoulders Knees and Toes is her new favorite song, even the Japanese version.

I also invited a little friend to try out Smart-e-bear. He’s four years old so I figured he would understand the games and the storytelling functions much better than my 18 month old. And he did, he immediately walked over to Smart-e-bear and took a seat. He sat so quietly with his head in his hand listening to stories. He then chose to play Simon Says, he didn’t fully comprehend the game at first but he laughed every time Smart-e-bear said oops if he touched the wrong hand or foot.

Preloaded with tons of songs, games and stories and the ability to add more is incredible. No way is a child going to get bored with this. Software installation was quick and uploading to Smart-e-bear was simple also. Simple words and instructions get toddlers doing and interacting rather than just sitting and watching. I would recommend a minimum age of 2 but to really utilize all of the great features 3 years old would be a more appropriate age. I’m just glad we get to grow with Smart-e-bear over the next few years.

The one feature my husband wanted me to talk about is the easy packaging, one fastener and Smart-e-bear was out. That is something any parent can truly appreciate.