LeapFrog My Pal Scout

My Pal Scout Ages: 6 to 36 months Requires: 3 "AAA" batteries (included)

What We Think Fun factor: Durability: Educational factor: Novelty factor: The Good: Interactive toy can be personalized to your child's preferences. The Challenging: You'll need to use a computer to access new melodies and print activity sheets. In a Nutshell: An entertaining companion for kids from infant to toddler stage.

An ideal companion for a young child, My Pal Scott sings, talks, and can even learn your child's name. View larger.

Using the doll's USB port, you can personalize Scott to suit your child's preferences. View larger.

Soft Material with Bright Colors and Pleasing Voice
My Pal Scout, with its plush fabric and colorful puppy design, is appealing to children. The voice of Scout, a playful and upbeat young boy's, is fun and engaging for growing minds. Infants are also attracted to the name tag that lights up when Scout speaks or plays music. The name tag is made of durable plastic, and the new model features paws with embroidered symbols instead of decals so there are no removable pieces on the toy's exterior.

Your child can chew on this sturdy toy's ears or toss it around. My Pal Scout is light enough for even the youngest child to hold and carry. The handy Velcro closure keeps the battery compartment, USB port, and power/volume switch securely inside the toy. The switch has three settings: normal volume, quiet volume, and master off. In the "master off" mode, Scout will not operate when the paws are pressed, so only parents will be able to turn the toy back on. My Pal Scout's speakers are also inside the toy and provide balanced sound.

Advice for parents: when My Pal Scout starts to sound distorted, parents will need a screwdriver to open the battery compartment and change the 3 "AAA" batteries.

Music, Words, and Lullabies
Each paw on My Pal Scout is embroidered with a different symbol that, when pressed, turns on a special feature. The right arm paw with a ball symbol provides snappy sentences designed to help your child learn different emotions, colors, and words. The left arm paw features music notes; when pressed you hear a 15-second, upbeat song. The songs rotate randomly and include seven vocal songs to teach skills and three fun instrumental tunes.

Younger infants will be attracted to the melodies, while older toddlers can sing along. The right foot has a stars/moon symbol for five different selections of soothing music for naps or bedtime. Press it once for two minutes of music, or press it twice for five minutes of songs. If your child wants a little extra time with My Pal Scout before falling asleep, you can press the paw three times to hear ten minutes of music.

Parents can use the songs that come pre-loaded on My Pal Scout or change the songs by connecting to the LeapFrog Connect application. It's easy to turn off My Pal Scout by simply pressing the left foot's on/off switch; push any of the other paws to resume play mode.

Personalize for Your Child
A special feature of My Pal Scout is the ability to customize your child's experience. The instruction booklet will guide you through the easy process to connect My Pal Scout to a computer with the USB cord and download the LeapFrog Connect application. All it takes is 25 megabytes of free space on your computer and about 15 minutes to personalize the toy with your child's preferences. You'll be able to search for your child's name among a database of thousands. When selected, My Pal Scout will use your child's name in phrases such as "I love you" and incorporate his/her name into songs.

The application also allows you to choose your child's favorite color, animal, and food to personalize Scout's phrases to your child's favorite things. There's a resource section for printing activity sheets that your toddler will enjoy. Also, you can switch up the songs and lullabies so they're constantly fresh and different. The database is updated regularly with new songs.

The only drawback: if your child has a very uncommon name, there's a slim chance that it will not be in the LeapFrog database. However, you can choose one of many nicknames that you may call your child, such as "Munchkin" or "Peanut."

What's in the Box
One My Pal Scout toy, three "AAA" batteries, one USB cable, Quick Connect Guide and Parent Instructions booklet.