Customer Reviews

VTech ABC Food Fun 26 Magnets

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I got this item after having the letter set. I can definitely say it is older technology as the pieces are harder to place than the letter fit to the newer version. It also talks too much which could cause focusing problems. But it is very fun afterall as my 16 month old goes back to it again and again.
The only complaint, the door, once shut, is very hard to open.

I would have to 100% agree with Carrie from Massachusetts,

I too have the Leap Frog farm animal fridge magnet and I love the fact that I can turn down the volume or shut it off need be. It's all around a better toy.

From my point of view not only is this ABC food fun toy annoying, it's a nightmare.

I think it may just be a very poor design. We have to constantly remove the batteries just to turn it off. If we have forgotten to do so it will remind us at odd hours of the night to remove them.

It is supposed to have an automatic shut off when it is not in use for several seconds or so. Not so much for the one we have, ours is like the energizer bunny. It keeps going, and going,.........AND going!
It's just a pain. Although I think it's a very cute and an educational toy it's not worth 20.00 bucks and the hassle that comes with it for free.

For other parents, in the future I'd like to see Vtech add a volume control AND a SHUT OFF button.
~Cause when a toy starts driving yer KID crazzzzy......you know there's something wrong it.~

P.S. Thanks "in San Diego" for the good tip about the tape. I'm going to have to try that.....If that dosent work im sure the ole hammer trick will do it. (just kidding!)
Thanks again.

My almost 4 year old daughter is semi interested in this toy. We've had similar, like the leapfrog farm, letter and word whammers, so it was apparent how to use this. It is somewhat difficult for a toddler to get the food letter item into the fridge without bumping one of the three buttons above the space, and that screws up answering the question correctly and getting the desired praise. She seems a little confused when it does not respond as she expects it to. Making this about a third bigger would be desirable.
She does play with it for about 10 min at a time several times a day.

One Major Problem! When you put a magnet in (say the apple) the refigerator
says the WRONG item (like grapes). I contacted the company who would replace it
after I PAID to ship the item back to them... I would NOT buy this toy!

I just bought this and debated returning it after reading all of the bad reviews. but I'm keeping it because 1) it's not that annoying 2)it teaches letters and colors AND good eating habits such as "try to eat lots of vegies...etc... 3) it also has a quiz portion which is really fun for learning the letters, or so I've seen with learning his colors, numbers, and shapes 4) my barely-speaking 2.2 year old son just said "eat an apple a day" because he has been playing with the exposed letter, A, while I researched whether or not to return it...and tears nearly came to my eyes.

UPDATE AND PROBLEM SOLVED-we still really like this toy but over the last few days the problem some other reviewers encountered started happening to me...the toy took a life of it's own and started rambling on and on when not in use, and in the middle of the night. I put in new batteries and have not had the problem since then, so I believe that low batteries cause the toy to act in an erractic way.

My 1-year-old loves this toy so much I had to hide it at times. Of course, it would give way because the automatic shut-off didn't shut off fast enough. It's true that it can be annoying but overall, I like this toy.

My daughter's speech is early. So, she's really interested in the names of the food and other facts about them. So, I now use the magnets only without the little fridge that comes with it. I put all the magnets in an empty container and leave it by the (real) fridge in the kitchen. She likes to stick them to the fridge while I cook and I can teach her the names and other things about each piece of magnet while doing my chores. It also serves like a little menu before her mealtimes as she sometimes picks up a peice of magnet and tells me she wants to eat that particular food. (Example: Grapes! I wouldn't understand what she meant if she didn't show me the magnet becasue a 1-year-old speech is still limited however early.) When she knows all the names and letters, I might reintroduce her the little toy fridge that one reviewer called "the energizer bunny".

Most pieces are great... with an exception on the letters Q and X. These two pieces have no food on them but the letters themselves. The letter U introduces the term "utensils" to the little ones. The Apple and Tomato also look alike and it's a bit confusing to a 1-year-old, but a 3-year-old can probably tell the difference.

I have to say I like it a lot becasue these magnets keep my toddler busy for a good 30-45 minutes at a time! And without the noise!!!

Update: Now my second child is 21 months old and he loves it, too, with or without the little fridge. Well, he'a a boy and he only plays with it for about 5-10 min at a time. But we've had this for over 3 years and it's still running well after being thrown across the floor and down the stairs and bounced back to the kitchen a million times.

My (just turned) 2 year old son is not interested in this toy. He loved the Leap Frog Phonics with the alphabet; thus I thought he would really like this. He looked at it, listened, winced, and walked out of the room. The volume is loud and there is no volume control other than putting a piece of tape over the speaker. There are three different modes of play - which is probably a bit overwhelming for him (the Phonics game was basically a one trick, push the button toy - and more appropriate for his young age). I plan to remove it, store it, and hope that he likes it in six months to a year.

This is a wonderful toy. We've had the fridge for four years now and it is still a favorite. Every few months my 4 & 2 year-old's rediscover this toy and will play with it throughout the day for weeks! It's fun, educational and very durable. And, yes, it has started by itself in the middle of the night and has been difficult to turn off, requiring battery removal. But that has only happened a few times. It's a small price to pay for a toy my kids actually play with!

My son is a toddler. He loved this toy for the two weeks that it lasted. He pulled it off the fridge and it landed on the floor. Although no visible damage on the outside it won't work. Do you know any kid that doesn't drop their toys? They should've made it a lot more durable.

A few things we did to modify it: We removed the 'fridge door' from it, it was too hard for him to open. Like alot of other toys, the speaker is just too loud and there is no volume so we did our typical resolve which is to place a piece of masking tape over the speaker. It lowers the sound to a bearable level.

If it says the wrong letter, wipe off the notches on the bottom of the 'fridge' and /or the notches on the bottom of the letter. Certain notches being pushed down is how it recognizes the letter.

Anyway, my 16 month old absolutely loves this. We bought it because he liked the fridge phonics so much. He's been playing with this for over a month now and already can find the correct letters and foods during "quiz time".