I know, I know, an MP3 player for toddlers seems as bad an idea as a cell phone for pre-schoolers, but after reading this review I’m pretty sure you’ll be adding the SweetPea3 MP3 player to your holiday shopping list!

I’ve often thought it would be nice for my three-year-old to be able to listen to books on tape or his favorite children’s music while riding in the car. I’m on of those moms who rarely pops in a children’s tape (yep, tape…no CD player in my ‘95 Odyssey) while driving. The noise level in the car with two tween girls is nerve-fraying enough without Disney’s Silly Songs blaring over the speakers. But even the simple CD and MP3 players my girls own are still too complex for my toddler, and I’d rather not have him watching movies every time we go further than Costco. We finally have a totally toddler-friendly option with our new SweetPea3 MP3 player from SweetPea Toy Co.

I don’t feel bad about my toddler toting his own MP3 player because he’s learning music appreciation in a whole new way–and he loves it! The first day we had it he carried that thing around only putting it down to eat and bathe. Even at his young age he easily figured out how to work the three–yes, only three–buttons (rewind, stop, fast forward). It has a rubbery yet solid exterior so it can be bumped, banged and tossed around, which I guarantee will happen, and a size that makes it hard to lose. And even though it has the three simple controls for toddlers, parents can access a menu to control volume (settings 1-5 and 5 isn’t too loud for little ears), playlists and play duration. Along with a headphone jack the SweetPea3 has a built-in speaker so everyone can enjoy listening in. (I made sure to load mom-friendly children’s songs just for that reason!)

You can download songs and stories just as you would for any other MP3 player. I had three separate playlists loaded in minutes! But the SweetPea3 goes beyond toddlers; you can even use it to soothe your overtired baby with calming music. My tween girls couldn’t wait until their little brother fell asleep so they could check out his new toy and our one-year-old has laid claim to it as well. Good thing the player’s enclosure is made from rubber that meets FDA food grade specifications. In fact the entire unit is lead free and exceeds the requirements of ASTM F963 Toy Safety Specification–good news in today’s world of unsafe children’s products.

Though designed to withstand all a toddler can throw at it, the SweetPea3 player looks cool. No bright primary colors and clunky parts. It would even look good on my grown-up desk. Hmmm…maybe I need to create my own playlist and borrow the player when its owner is in bed for the night! The SweetPea3 is sure to be a very hot item this holiday season so order it early before it’s out of stock. At only $60 and a 3-day money-back guarantee, the SweetPea3 is one super sweet buy! –Emily

tags CD, MP3 player, music, Sweet Pea Toy Co, Technology

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 28th, 2008 at 7:20 pm and is filed under Daily Dish. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.