Customer Reviews

Playskool Explore and Grow Busy Ball Popper

5 star:		(167)
4 star:		(85)
3 star:		(65)
2 star:		(36)
1 star:		(49)

 

 

First for the drawbacks; 1)It is easy to lose the balls if you don't make a point of collecting them after play and keeping them somewhere safe, 2)There is music that plays continuously while it is on, which can be annoying for some, and 3)The play cycle is rather short so you or baby must keep pressing plunger to start it again. This might be a welcome respite for those offended by #2.
BUT: All four of my boys LOVED this toy!!! A favorite, and a toy I always buy or recommend to others. Perfect for a boy or girl. My boys were enthralled by the colorful balls shooting out of the hole and amazed when they almost always went where they were supposed to, which is around the ramp and back into the receptacle. They also LOVED to feel the air blow out of the toy (the air is what pushes the ball up and out of the hole) and would often just press the plunger to feel the air on their faces, hands and in their hair. They quickly learned to start the toy themselves and would be entertained by it longer than they would be by other toys. All of my boys got this toy for their first birthdays (I am a toy manufacturers dream, I sell toys in Mom2Mom sales after on child outgrows them and then end up buying them again for subsequent kids-- can't stand clutter and feel they deserve their own stuff).

I'm the type of person who reads almost every review before buying anything, and there were a couple comments mentioned by MULTIPLE reviewers that almost made me not buy this toy!

These bad comments were (NOT my opinion):
1. The toy is dangerous -- child's arm got stuck in the hole where balls shoot out from.
2. The toy is VERY loud and a potential danger for small developing ears.
3. The small balls are a choking hazard.

I decided to give it a try cause I could always return it, well I'm KEEPING it!

#1... the toy that I got is the updated version that now has "prongs" on the inside of the tube, so there's no way a child can get their arm stuck down there.
#2... the toy is NOT as loud as most of the reviewers describe it to be. When I got it, I thought it was gonna sound like a vacuum cleaner from all the comments! It doesn't -- it sounds like a muffled hair dryer. Louder than any toys he has, but FAR from deafening!
#3... the balls are a little bit on the small side. I tried putting the balls in my mouth just in case, and I really had to open wide! I don't think a small child could fit them in their mouth. In any case, I wouldn't let my son play with this toy alone anyway. It's not that big of a deal.

The amount of fun my son has far outweighs any of the negatives (if you can call them that) of this toy. I happen to think it's perfect!!! And I'm so happy I ignored all the bad reviews!

I bought this for my 10 month old daughter since my son seemed to love it at daycare when he was 1-2 years old. He's now 2 1/2 and still enjoys it. I think it's an adorable toy and a good way to teach cause/effect. My daughter watches intently as the balls pop up, then I show her where they go inside. I admit that she does flinch in surprise a little with the air/music combo as the balls pop up, but I don't think it's too loud at all. The anticipation is the fun part! I hate to say that 3 of the 5 balls are missing as of late, since they do fly all over the place when you play. I wonder if they sell extras/replacements...?

I was so excited to get this for my daughter, especially after reading all the positive reviews. I returned it the next day because after several attempts to get her to like this, she was actually quite terrified of it! It makes a sound similar to a hair dryer on a low-med setting + loud music. I know every child is unique, but keep in mind if your baby is scared of loud sounds, this may not be for them!

This was purchased for 1 YR old twins, they both freaked out when their parents turned it on. It was going to be returned. As their nanny I figured I'd give it a try a month later. It took me four days to get them used to the LOUD SOUND of the toy before they would even go near it! (playing it in the other room, getting closer to them, throwing the balls up in the air myself and making funny noises...I felt like a clown!) The fan overpowers the music and isn't coordinated with the actual balls popping up (same noise same over and over again, even without the balls)...so predictability isn't in sync. There are only 5 balls, and they are impossible to replace (they are smaller than "ball pit" balls). It eats up batteries, only lasted a month before the fan wouldn't push them up.
Notice in the commercials videos on this page they don't have the sound of the machine. I have it on video, it sounds like a vacuum!

I bought this for my son when he was about 15 months old. He is now 3 and a half and still LOVES this thing. Two major problems: The music is VERY loud and VERY annoying. The second problem is that it eats batteries like you would not believe. As soon as the power goes down a bit from the low batteries, the balls don't shoot into the air, they just sort of push up to the top of the tube which is alot less fun for the kids. That said, it was well worth the money if you are oonly considering the the amount of fun my kids have had with it.

We received this as a gift, and after installing the 4 D batteries (ugh), I was taken aback at how dangerously loud the music and fan are! I researched some more and discovered that it is on the Top Ten Most Dangerous Toys list for registering at over 90 decibels. That is quite dangerous for developing ears, and considering that this toy is meant for babies as young as 9 months, I am surprised at how unnecessarily loud it is. We are returning this toy. Toys should be fun, not dangerous.

If you're looking to purchase a scary toy that makes vacuum cleaner sucking sounds and plays the most annoying "arcade like" music, then this is for you. We received this as a gift for my son's first birthday - he was honestly scared of this toy for about 2-3 weeks (I think it was the horrible and loud vacuum cleaner sound it makes when you turn it on). I don't see any educational value from this toy and after 2-3 weeks of trying it out, we were all relieved when we decided to retire this to the basement.

My neice has one of the older ones of these and it was great fun. I ordered one for my now 6 mo old and set it up and .... nothing. Check the instructions, is there some safety switch, did I not screw in the battery cover screw all the way? nope. Just DOA.

Ordered from Amazon, so they were great replacement went out 12/24 arrived 12/28.... Only a little better. Did nothing ... read a review about having to press hard and pressed very hard. chirp, pressed very hard again, chirp, pressed repeatedly and boom, came on, fan blew, music blared, whew. Worked a few more times over the next few minutes and just when I set it up in front of my son and he got to see it once...and was reaching for it... no more.

What absolute Junk. Tried another brand new set of batteries... not a chirp, nothing.

Junk!

I have looked for anything similar by another maker, but so far no luck.

This toy is incredibly annoying. It plays awful music/sounds and the balls don't stay in the track - they fly all over the place and you are constantly rounding them up to put them back in the machine. I will admit that I didn't read the description well enough before ordering or I would seen that it was accompanied by music. I'm not sure I wouldn't have bought it so I offer this review to warn others. Heed this review and the earlier one -- this toy will test your sanity!