We purchased both a Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Table and a LeapStart Learning Table. The plan was to see which one our daughter (7 months at the time) liked best. We would keep the one she liked best at home and send the other to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Here is how the two compare.
1. The Fisher Price table is shorter than the LeapStart table and baby seems to be able to pull up on it at a younger age. Baby can also sit at the Fisher Price table easier because it is lower.
2. Both have stable legs and do not tip over when baby leans up against them or pushes on them. Both have legs that can be removed for floor play when baby can not stand. (We never used it this way because our daughter was early to stand.)
3. Both have a learning mode with ABC song and counting to 10 song and a musical mode.
4. In the musical mode the Laugh and Learn table plays tunes to familiar children's songs. It has a traditional feel to the music. The LeapStart table has music based on the different instruments on the table such as a banjo tune, a sax sound, etc. and it has a jazzier feel to the music.
5. The Laugh and Learn table has a food theme and looks like a set table. In the learning mode concepts such as color, shapes, texture, manners, shapes, open/shut, empty/full, peek-a-boo, and naming of common items such as apple, blueberries, banana, juice, etc. The LeapStart table has a musical theme with instruments such as a piano, maracas, sax, violin, and banjo. In the learning mode concepts include colors, shapes, high, low, on, off, hello, goodbye, etc.
6. On the Laugh and Learn table the parent has to change the mode. On the LeapStart table the child can change the mode by turning the page on the book in the center of the table.
7. The Laugh and Learn table has a bowl in the center that spins and can hold favorite objects. The LeapStart table has a small purple door that can hold favorite objects in the indentation underneath the door.
As a parent, I like the LeapStart table more. The music is parent friendly and even after repeated use, it does not annoy adults. I also like the different musical instruments and musical sounds that are introduced. That said, my daughter (now 9 months) likes the Laugh and Learn table better. She likes putting objects like small balls, Cheerios, and her pacifier in the bowl in the center. She also likes the peek-a-boo napkin with the peas underneath which says "Peek-a-boo. I see you." when she opens the door. It makes her laugh. Another favorite is the spoon rattle that can be removed from the table and the alphabet letters that float in the water sealed in the bowl that move around when the bowl spins. This is her favorite toy. She does play with the LeapStart table at her Grandparents house now, but her attention span is short with this toy. She can play with her Laugh and Learn table for long periods of time.
