Customer Reviews

Tolo Toys Rolling Shape Sorter

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recently bought this for my 19 month old who absolutely LOVES it! She'll actually sit down and play with it for a good 30 or 40 min, take a break, then come back to it and play with it again for another half hour. The shapes are the perfect size for her little hands. Each shape is also a rattle, so they make fun noises for younger babies.

A parent can easily open the sorter by twisting either the top or bottom, but I think it would be very difficult for a baby or toddler to open. The other thing I like about this sorter is that it has three shapes on either end, so as the baby becomes more confident with the toy, they will learn how to flip it over to find the opening they need rather then mom turning it for them. My daughter started out with a sorter that was a bucket with a flat lid that had 4 different shapes on top. This worked when she was younger (though she still liked all sorters), but has since masteed it and therefore grown tired of it. This new sorter adds a new challenge, so it's still interesting for her. Another nice feature is that each shape and opening is color coded making it easier for the child to find and match the shapes. It's obviously also a great chance to teach colors.

The only negative I can mention is a minor one. The hole for the round shape isn't very tight, so sometimes the circle falls back out. It doesn't bother my daughter (I don't think she notices), she just pops it back in. Some shapes need to pushed a little harder then you'd expect, but that's just helped my daughter to learn the word 'push.'

All in all, I'd say it's an excellent toy that, if bought as early as 8 months, will easily last you for a year if not longer.

This shape sorted was purchased for my oldest child's first birthday. He also has special needs and was in PT and OT at the time. 4 years later and after 3 kids, this toy is still much loved and looks like new.
We have also had/used many shape sorters and this one is by far the best. It is appealing to younger and older children, younger ones may need more help getting the 6 differnt shapes to the right holes, and the older ones like to flip it back and forth getting all the shape in then opening it and starting over.

As far as quality, this sorter is made of a hard plastic. So even during those early Teething years, this toy will show NO teeth marks. And the hard plastic allows for it to easily go in the dishwasher for cleaning.

This is my 10 month old's daughters favorite toy. She studies it very hard to figure how to put the shapes into the sorter. She had even started putting the shapes in without any help. She will play with this toy for a good 30 minutes before getting bored with it. That is a lot longer than any of her other toys. LOVE LOVE LOVE this toy!

I searched high and low for a good shape sorter after learning that the Fisher Price one my infant son was given is made with harmful chemicals known to cause cancer and birth defects. I learned this from Amazon's note to CA residents. (Thank you Amazon!) This one from Tolo is terrific in so many ways.

First, I like having 6 different shapes, each of a different color. So many sorters have just 3 or 4 shapes and/or every shape is the same color. Both of those characteristics lessen the educational value of the toy, and the lack of different colors also makes it harder for a young child to distinguish the shapes from one another.

The toy is very well constructed and the quality of the material(s) must be good because my son is constantly banging things on the sorter and there is hardly a scratch. While some may not like that the top and bottom (or sides, depending on your perspective) cannot be removed by a baby/young child, requiring adult intervention, I think this helps force the child to sort the shapes.

My son never tried to sort the shapes with the Fisher Price Brilliant Basics Shape Sorter. He always removed the top, took out the shapes, and banged them together. With the Tolo shape sorter, he immediately tried to fit the shapes into the slots. I felt ecstatic. Finally, he's learning something!

My only complaint is that there is no square included. I can't understand why the company thought it more important to have a couple of flower-type shapes (at least, that's what I assume they are-- the dark blue and red pieces) than a square. The square is a fundamental shape that every child will have to recognize in school. It really irks me that it's not included here. If it were,the toy would be perfect. As it is, it's currently the best shape sorter I can find.

I have been working with children, including those with special needs for 10 years and this is the best shape-sorter I have ever seen. All 6 shapes are different colors and make noises (such as rattle), so infants love to hold and shake them. Each end of the toy unscrews to release the shapes, so parents (or siblings) need to help young toddlers. You can unscrew just one side and use it as a see-through bucket to put pieces in and take them out. It rolls on its side and makes great rattle noises that babies love. The rails on the side make it easy for little hands to grasp. You can even unscrew both ends and use it as a tunnel to look through. The opportunities are endless!

Though the listed age is 1+, this toy is great for younger babies too. I bought this toy for my granddaughter when she was 6 months old, just starting to sit up. She loved reaching in to the container and pulling out the shapes to use as rattles. The shapes are very easy for little hands to grip. When she was learning to crawl, the container rolled ahead of her and and motivated her to keep going. Now she's cruising and uses it on end to push herself up. She isn't a year old yet and hasn't even gotten to the shape sorting or colors stage, so there's a lot of use still left. It is made in China like most toys today, but the quality is excellent. Each piece is extremely strong and the ends of the container open and lock easily. Unlike many toys, this one will be handed down for years to come.

My 8 month old loves this toy--and my 4 year old and her friends love it too! It's durable, safe, entertaining, colorful and educational. We love it, and we love this brand of toys! This is definitely heirloom quality and will be handed down to our daughters' children.

Durable, pretty colors, and a great value. I'm a big fan of this toy, and so is my daughter. It's almost impossible to find objects that hold her attention once she's "conquered" them; she's always moving on to the next thing. This toy is a rare exception. At 14 months old when she received it as a gift, she enjoyed putting the shapes into the holder and taking them out, and rattling the shapes to make noise. Now, at 16 months, she's figured out how to fit each shape into its corresponding hole and will do this over and over. The cool thing about the toy is that kids can enjoy it for different reasons at each stage of development -- in another month or two, she'll have figured out how to flip it over and twist off the top by herself. Very good toy.

She is 11 months old; I enjoy her company once a week, (friend's baby).

We have had the toy for a couple of weeks, and this is the first toy baby tries to get. Bright colors, gentle rattles are the perfect size for little hands. Like others have mentioned, the yellow round shape does fall out, but no worries. This is a high quality baby toy that can be passed on. Sure beats the old Tupperware shape sorter, and their price! Very pleased with this purchase---I will definitely be buying this toy as gifts for family and friends.

P.S. I signed up for Amazon Prime and paid $3.99 for overnight shipment. I have been making a lot of Amazon Prime purchases---love it! Ssshhh---I think Amazon may be losing money on me!

This toy is so low-tech, and yet it is one of our son's favorites. Just goes to show that you don't need uber-fancy toys with lots of bells and whistles to entertain children. Highly recommended.