Toy Review Tuesday: Alphie The Learning Robot by Playskool

Alphie is Matthew's current favorite toy from his 3rd birthday. He says things like "Alphie-nomenal" and "You compute me." Yes, he's cute and a little corny. I found Alphie a little annoying in the first few days when Matthew started playing with him. He talks almost constantly and loudly even at the lower volume setting. But over time, I've learned to tune him out and actually like him.

He's an interesting, fun, engaging little toy. It took a little time for Matthew to figure out which buttons to press and how he could only put in one card at a time in the slot but otherwise Alphie is very kid user-friendly.

He sounds out letters, has interesting fun facts, matching, animals, sequencing, colors, rhyming and number games. Some of the double-sided cards that come with the robot have concepts that are a little advanced for Matthew at this time. The toy is rated by the manufacturer for kids 3 and up.



Right now, Alphie's main purpose is to keep Matthew's mind off of his post-surgery discomfort. Matthew does enjoy the letter cards and he sometimes sounds off the letters himself. He recognizes more upper case letters from playing with Alphie. Matthew likes to listen to Alphie talk. He understands some of the simpler activities/ concepts. He'll randomly press buttons when he doesn't understand what Alphie asks for or says. Alphie hints at the right answer if Matthew presses the wrong button. Matthew will eventually understand the more advanced concepts as he gets older. It's a toy to grow with, assuming he doesn't lose interest.