LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set Reviews

• Great for Speech-Delayed kids!

  
  By AO5V41SKV2ZJ3 on 2004-03-15
  My 4-year-old daughter is a former micropreemie and as a result, she is profoundly delayed, non-verbal/non-sign, and has autistic traits and sensory integration dysfunction (SID/DSI). She functions at about a 15-month old level. She got this toy for her birthday and it is AMAZING!!! She is identifying letters...if I say, "where's the K?" she'll put the K magnet in the toy. Since she has autistic traits, she likes repetition, and this is the perfect thing! She is even starting to say some letter sounds like, "mmm, mmm, mmm". She has MANY Leap Frog toys, and this is another great one to add to the list!! My daughter licks *everything* in sight, including the letter magnets of this toy, and it has not affected the ability of this toy to work.

  *** Note to parents/friends of Autistic/SID/DSI kids - My daughter "stims" on several of her toys, but this one doesn't cause her to do it as bad. She sometimes likes to push the button of the toy without a letter tile to hear it go "blingy, bling", and sometimes will push the letter tile/magnet repeatedly at the beginning of the song so it goes, "A/A/A/A...A says/A says...but like I said, not as bad as with other auditory toys. ***

  I do find that I have the "A says ah and A says ayy" song in my head a lot. There are two volume settings and an off switch. However, even on the low setting this toy is awfully loud. We put clear packing tape over the speaker and that helped a lot. The ABC song and the letter sounds song are the ones you will find on other Leap Frog toys and the Leap Frog videos. This is good if you want reinforcement...which my daughter needs.

  The magnets are nice and strong. If they come off the fridge, they aren't too bad to step on either :-o! ...unlike the "traditional" letter/number magnets.

  The toy is very multisensory - kinesthetic, auditory, visual (color/letter), and tactile. Kudos to Leap Frog for another great educational toy!

  My 6 year-old also likes to help his sister with this toy. He loves to arrange the letters for her and quiz her. Then he likes to spell words and teach them to her. The vowels are red and the consonants are yellow or blue. So I ask my daughter to find letters based on certain colors to increase the educational value. Unfortunately, her name has two l's and two e's, so we can't spell her name with the letters.
  
  

• Good for focusing on individual letter sounds

  
  By A229V7X9UUWIKW on 2004-04-22
  I thought that my child would be able to place a letter in the special gadget that comes with this product and quickly hear the sound the letter makes. I thought that we could quickly place three letters in the gadget in a row, and hear their sounds, rapid fire. For example, I thought you could place the letters D, O, and G on the fridge and quickly get to hear all of the sounds in the word dog. I based my assumption on the fact that some of Leap Frog's products allow you to hear the letter sounds without being distracted by songs that tell about the letter names. (The Leap Frog caterpillar toy called Alphabet Pal allows you to do this.)
  When you place a letter in this gadget, though, the gadget sings an entire song from The Talking Letter Factory movie by Leap Frog: "The A says Aaah, the A says Aaah, every letter makes a sound, the A says Aaah." The song is informative, but it's lengthiness gets in the way of showing a child that letter sounds can be glued together to make words. In order to show your child that D,O, and G make the word DOG, you have to listen to the D song and then the whole O song and then the whole G song.
  I would only recommend this product to a child who does not know his letter sounds at all - not to a child who is ready to put letter sounds together to make words. My one year old son was a more appropriate user of this product than my three year old.
  I would not recommend this product to a parent or teacher who wants to avoid teaching letter names until letter sounds are mastered.
  
  

• Great toy -- go buy it!

  
  By A165UK4J81OR00 on 2003-11-08
  This is a GREAT toy. My daughter is 23 months and loves playing with this toy. It's great that it's in the kitchen too so I can cook or clean while she plays. She has pulled it off the fridge and banged it a few times and it still works great. I love that she is learning the alphabet so early. She now recognizes letters and points them out to me. We had foam letters for the tub too, but this is the best and most fun. We love Leap Frog!
  
  

• great toy

  
  By A5W9AHW3EQDVF on 2004-07-09
  This is an amazing product. My mother purchased it for my 1 year old at Christmas, and even though she doesn't understand it yet on an educational level, it works on her motor skills because she has to pick the letters off of the fridge and put them correctly in the spot for them. She then gets the reward of listening to it sing to her. My four year old daughter will sit in front of the refrigerator for what seems like forever and just arrange the letters in order while she sings the alphabet song along with the toy. My oldest daughter who is six will sometimes even go to the magnets when she is stuck on a reading word and I tell her to sound it out. Lastly, every child that comes to our house is drawn to the magnets. They all love it, and so do I !
  
  

• Fun & very educational

  
  By on 2003-08-15
  I bought this toy for my 2 1/2 year old. She loves it!!! She loves to sing along with. She doesn't even realize that she is learning her letters and the sounds they make. She especially loves that it also plays the ABC song. This is a wonderful toy!!!
  
  
• A great toy for it's value
  By A2DHELU3JNWTKZ on 2003-11-21
  While shopping one night to keep our nearly 2½ year old daughter occupied we saw this. We couldn't get it out of her hands to put it back on the shelf when we were done, so we bought it. We were not expecting the price to be as reasonable as it was.

  When we came home we put it on the fridge. Our daughter loves to learn and in no time was telling us "M says Mmmmm" and so on. We do watch Sesame Street too but she is more receptive to talking to this and listening to this since it is a 'toy' in her eyes. I am not sure if because she has known the alphabet for a year now that learning letter sounds is easier or not but I think it is helpful.

  She can now pretty much tell me what all the letters say. We have another Leap Frog alphabet toy (the tree) that she loves also, as do I. But this one is also winner in my book.

  The only thing I hate about it is that the volume control is on the front of it where her little fingers always switch it to the louder setting. But hey she is learning her letter sounds.

  If I only saw this toy sooner I wouldn't have wasted the few dollars I spent on the regular refrigerator magnets that slowly are migrating under the fridge. Oh yeah the letters are huge so they don't go under the fridge and they have also been dropped and thrown (2½ year old tantrum) quite a few times and have not broken.
  
  

• Best Birthday Gift!
  By A1GTFKOAZT8GQL on 2004-04-02
  This product was given to my daughter for her first birthday. At first my husband and I were concerned that it was to "old" for her, but we put it on the fridge anyway just to see how it went. Good thing we did, our daughter LOVES playing with it while we are in the kitchen and anytime she can get to it. She loves hearing the sounds of the letters and the ABC song. She quickly learned how to put the magnets in the main magnet to make it work. Although, she is not familiar with her letters, I believe this is a great early start to her learning of them. We are going to a birthday party this weekend and our daughter will be giving the birthday boy the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Set. We think this is a great education toy....Leap Frog has done it AGAIN....Bravo!
  
  
• An Excellent Educator!
  By A25ZIPHT1AYI72 on 2004-06-14
  My 20-month-old daughter has been addicted to this toy since I got it for her at Christmas (14 months). After about a month of playing with it, she knew ALL HER LETTERS & SOUNDS! She can identify any letter and we're starting to put short words together too. She can't quite sing the whole alphabet song yet but gets several strings of letters right.

  The phonics part is really helpful beyond just saying the letter itself. She quickly figured out how to turn the letters upside down or around to fit into the space since it has a unique shape. She often pushes it repeatedly so it sounds like she's rapping until she lets it go and sing the rest of the song. It is a catchy tune and not annoying to hear while you're busy doing dishes or cooking in the kitchen.

  They will hurt your feet when you step on them though so when she pulls them all off onto the floor, we play a pickup game to put them back up there. You can also keep some up high out of reach and rotate them. When I first started with her I put the "main" ones down for her to use regularly (save the X, W, Vs for later).

  Only problems: Once I thought we had a bad letter or two when it made a funny sound once or twice but a change of batteries seemed to remedy that. Good thing too because Leapfrog was going to make me send in the whole system for repair/replacement instead of just sending me a letter or two. And some spots on our fridge don't seem strong enough to hold up the player part so we just stick some other magnets (or letters) underneath to prop it up at the right height.

  While I really recommend all Leapfrog products, the new Leapfrog Letter Factory video is an excellent complement to this product too. As is the little Phonics Radio.
  
  

• Parents, don't be misled!!
  By A2IDQ4OICIEU8Y on 2004-03-29
  As a child development specialist, I see that this toy has very little to almost NO educational value for any preschool age child(5 and under). Parents, the best way for your children to learn to read is by READING to them. Stories with rich vocabulary, rhymes, and interesting content are the most important avenue for reading readiness. A kindergartener will learn letter sounds within a few weeks when he/she is ready. There is no need to start early. The first five years are for building that vocabulary and learning grammatical structures! Reading includes much more than just phonics. Comprehension of the language is far more important. Consider how you may be able to "read" a paragraph in French, but can you answer, "What happened?", "Why?" and "What might happen next?". Have your child play with blocks, playdough, and pretend play activities to expand their conceptual(colors, sizes etc.) and language skills while they are preschoolers!! Also, a toy that does everything for a child does not encourage them to use their problem solving or creative skills. Don't forget, the best thing you can do is to get down on the floor and play with your child. You are his/her best language model. Above all, READ to your child! Plus, mechanical music is just plain annoying!
  
  
• Leap Frog has done it again!
  By A3KWYM3MN1YGZH on 2003-08-14
  My son will turn 3 years old next week. I bought this for him for successfully being potty trained, finally. Anyway....I only wish this had come out last year! He absolutely loves it. I do too. He dances to the Leap Frog tune of each letter and repeats the letter sounds. It keeps him busy while I cook dinner too! This makes singing the alphabet more fun than listening to me sing it. He has almost mastered singing the whole alphabet in just one week. The little compartment you stick the letters into is small enough and the whole thing sticks to the fridge like glue so it won't fall off everytime they stick a letter in it. The only negative comment I have about it is that I only wish Leap Frog had included the numbers as well. Enjoy learning letters with your child!
  
  
• Fun! Fun! Fun!
  By A2928DVOMCVZ6K on 2003-09-23
  I bought one for my Kindergarten class and one for my 11month old- it is a big hit with both groups. What a great way to make the fridge letters more fun! The letter sounds are very clear! It is great!
  
  
• Best Educational Toy We Own
  By A1Z8DVTTSICY7A on 2003-11-05
  My 20 month old started playing with this in the store and hasn't stopped since. After having this less than a week she can sing most of the ABC song and can recognize most of the letters. She likes singing and dancing to the song and stays occupied listening to the sounds of the differnt letters for relatively long periods of time. I'm amazed that she learned so much so quickly from this toy. We have several educational toys and I would rank this as the number 1 must have. Reasonable price and very easy for a young child to learn to use.
  
  
• 2 year old's favorite!!
  By on 2004-01-17
  My 2 year old son got this for Christmas. He loved it from the moment it came out of the box. I can actually get things done in the kitchen now since he sits at the refrigerator and plays with this toy. The best part has been that this toy has helped him begin to imitate sounds. He is speech delayed, so anything that helps with speech sounds is a sure winner in this house!
  
  
• leapfrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set
  By A3VLC7J7CDNL0D on 2004-11-01
  My son is 3yrs & 8 mths old. Prior to buying these I had the plain magnetic letters on the fridge. Unfortunately, my son played with them mostly when I was busy preparing supper. Because he is still learning his letters he sometimes put the letters upside down and then asked me what letter it was. I found myself having to turn the letter around and then telling him what the letter was. After a while he kept asking me if "this was right" (in other words, was the letter upside down)? He became frustrated with not having the letters in the right direction. With this toy, you can only place the letters in the correct direction. It clearly states what the letter is and cheerfully sings the alphabet song with a push of a button. A BIG PLUS- VOLUME CONTROL. Two draw backs. One is that every letter has a song that is VERY MUCH THE SAME and as with most toys keeping track of all the pieces is a problem. Even though they belong on the refridgerator, we have searched high and low looking for one missing letter many times. Recently our search ended after we finally found the missing letter in the GARBAGE (naturally, not on top). Overall, it is 100% better than the plain letters mainly because EVERY time you place a letter on the device it states the name of the letter and the sound. Also, letter recognition is enhanced because children are not allowed to place the letters in the device upside down.
  
  
• Great for all ages!!!
  By on 2003-10-30
  I recently bought this for my 18 month old daughter to teach her the letters. Within the first 20minutes after opening the box she was already singing part of the ABC's. Also, my son who is in kindergarten has really been struggeling with letter recognition loves it and it has really been helping him also.
  
  
• Very Disappointed
  By A3NY2YWVQ14TLP on 2006-05-30
  I have several of the Leap Frog Products and this one was the worst. As we took it out of the box and started putting in the letters the hand held toy would say the wrong letter. After putting in all 26 letters only a handful of the letters were identified correctly by the toy. My poor 3 year, old who knows his letters, was getting confused when he put in the letter E and the toy said "G". We just packed up the toy and returned it for a totally different new toy. I was told by several other Mom's that there Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set did the same thing. Buyer beware. Stick with the Phonics Radio by Leap Frog!
  
  
• worth every penny, great learning tool
  By AHG3094OLQP3H on 2004-11-05
  I bought this for my daughter 2 months ago, when she was 20 months old. It was love at first sight. At first, she just enjoyed putting the letters in and taking the letters out. Then she became interested in pushing the letters to see what sounds they made. A month ago (one month after receiving this), she started pointing out letters on signs and in books and telling me what they were!! She continues to play with this every single day, and she is now trying to sound out letters wherever she sees them. This is, by far, the best "toy" we have ever given her.
  
  
• Terrible for young would-be readers
  By ANP5ZZGG9U7KZ on 2008-09-06
  This toy would have been good for youngsters if they had simply used lower-case letters. Unfortunately, focusing exclusively on the upper-case alphabet is disastrous for those learning to read.
  
  LeapFrog forces you to buy an expansion pack to get the lower-case letters, an extra hidden expense. However, most parents either will receive this as a gift or won't realize when buying it that the expansion pack exists, or may not know that teaching a child to recognize only upper-case letters is actually a DETRIMENT to early reading ability.
  
  Many upper-case letters bear little or no resemblance to their lower-case counterparts. Almost all text is printed in lower-case, with the occasional upper-case letter to start a sentence or proper noun. This means that a young one who wants to start sounding out words around her is best served by learning lower-case letters first. In fact, learning the upper-case alphabet comes as a free bonus to a young learner. (For example, reading the word "The" at the start of a sentence will teach a young reader about capital T, since in context the word will be easy to recognize.)
  
  Buy or recommend this set only with the caveat that the expansion pack with lower case letters must also be purchased, and the upper-case letters stored away. Otherwise, the recipient child will wind up able to read all-caps titles and banners, and little else.
  
  
  
  
• One of the best purchases that I have made
  By on 2003-10-11
  I purchased this for my then 19 month old daughter. I loved the concept as soon as I saw it. My daughter LOVES it. A day doesn't go by that she does not play with a few letters. Last week my husband and I were talking and we couldn't believe it when our daughter walked by saying "A,B,C,D"! I highly recommend this toy. I always read the toy reviews, however, I have never written one of my own. I love this toy so much, that I just had to write a review. The toy is extremely durable -- my daughter has dropped the pieces many times and not one has broken. This is one of the best toy purchases that I have made -- and that says a lot considering my daughter has a ton of toys.
  
  
• Leap Frog - Magnetic Letter Set
  By on 2003-10-29
  This is a must-buy for any toddler/preschool aged child. My 2-1/2 year old son has loved it since we put it in the cart at the store. I regularly have him sing his alphabet on the phone to long-distance relatives :) He points out letters in signs and books all of the time now (o,s,w, and e are his favorite). I'm picking up two more for other children we know this christmas!
  
  
• My child will be illiterate!!!!
  By A23KU0GGJTLBY8 on 2006-05-04
  The letters are all wrong!!!! For instance, it keeps telling my boy that a 'T' is a 'W'. I'm wossing iw in whe wrash.
  
  
  
• This toy talks and teaches!!
  By A3PSYS05ZOUTGN on 2003-09-30
  My son received this at his 3rd birthday party and he hasn't stopped playing with it since! He already recognizes his letters, but he is fascinated to know those letters make sounds. He'll sit for 30 minutes to an hour in front of the refridgerator placing the different letters in the base to hear what they say. Later on, I'll hear him in his room singing what he just learned, "B says Buh...B says Buh. Every letter makes a sound. B says Buh." This toy develops language development, creativity, and motor skills. Bonus: It keeps the kids in sight while you're trying to cook!
  
  
• what a great idea!
  By AOHKV11MHFTZF on 2003-11-21
  my son got this as a gift for his 2nd birthday and he hasn't stop playing with it since! he loves hearing the songs and trying to say the letters and sounds each letter makes. he's also learning his letters, so when i ask him to put in the letter "D" he knows what it looks like. what a great toy! i highly reccomend this to anyone. i could go on and on and on...
  
  
• If You Run a School in Your Home the Fridge Phonics is Great
  By A1E7QLJVWNFOZY on 2005-04-09
  Initially this toy was a huge hit. The learning entertained him, and I was amazed. At the time, I did not have a good attitude about LeapFrog. I considered their toys to be expensive gadgets that enticed parents, but not necessarily children. After my son earned all the letters, he played with the Fridge Phonics for a few days, and that was it. I didn't think much about it, as kids alternate favorites frequently. Honestly, 3-weeks was the extent of play with this toy! Once he learned the letters, and the sounds, he moved on. The toy sat on the shelf in a bin for months on end. He never picks it up. I placed the bin in his closet for a month thinking he would ask for it, or at least be pleased when I returned it. He could care less. Before writing this review I tried again, and put the letters and reader on the refrigerator. He went over and played with them for a few minutes, but there they still sit, and it's been weeks. So, basically they've sat for a year with minimal play.
  
  I don't hate this toy; I just don't think it's worth the money. In addition, why didn't LeapFrog anticipate the desire for lower case letters, and numbers? At the time I would have been willing to pay more for those add-ons had they been available. Also, as caveat, the Parent Guide carries a WARNING about the magnet. "Keep at least 6" away from pacemakers, and avoid contact with magnetic computer media, including floppy disks, Zip disks, removable Hard Disk Drives, Televisions, and Computer Video Monitors, other magnetic media including credit cards, ID badges..."
  
  The Fridge Phonics did amuse my child, and he did learn the alphabet, but I have a feeling that a tête-à-tête with mom could have produced the same results. I think this would be an awesome toy for a daycare, a pre-school, or special-needs school where many children can benefit. Overall, the toy is made well, and the sound quality is decent; however, my son had a problem with the letter F sounding like S, and the letter D sounding like E.
  
  
  
• HIghly Educational and FUN!!!
  By A2GEV3AYPJ4GLB on 2003-10-20
  I bought this toy for my 18 month old son and now at 21 months he can recognize all of his letters just from us working together with the game a few minutes every day After having the toy only a week he began singing the "ABC song" all the way through while before he would always stop after G. This toy has been abused so much but it doesn't have a dent. This is one of a few Leap Frog toys we have but this one has produced the greatest results. It's just amazing how much fun this toy has made it to learn!
  
  
• Great for kids that are just learning their ABC's
  By on 2003-11-19
  I bought this for my daughter who was just 16 months old at the time. When I brought it home and opened it up I was surprised to see that the Magnetic Letter holder could either go on the fridge or you can mount it on a wall. We decided to put it on the fridge, and it never fails that everytime one of us is in the kitchen our daughter comes and plays with her letters. I love this product because it teachs how to sound out the letters when the child puts a letter into the magnetic holder and it sings the ABC song when you push the music note. There are 2 different sound levels also, soft but not too soft and high. There are four different colors, red (Vowels), yellow, green and blue. Our daughter is already at 18 months starting to learn her ABC's and say those colors names.
  I highly recommend this product!!
  
  
• Genius in the making
  By A4NAU4L2IL3K on 2004-10-26
  I purchased the Fridge Phonics for my son last year as a spur of the moment gift add on. At the time he was 1 1/2 years old. I thought he was a bit young for it. To my surprise, it was his favorite toy. Within 2 weeks he could line up the letters in alphabetical order. He knows the phonetic sounds of each letter. And now at age 2 he can spell his name (Nicholas). I am completely satisfied with this product and purchased it for other children that I know.
  
  
• Finally a toy that helps you focus!
  By AJ7HUXO43Z5TQ on 2004-12-15
  My son was four years old and could not recognize his letters on sight. I bought and tried every phonics toy on the market. All of the electronics toys bored him until we tried Fridge Phonics!
  
  We placed all of the letters on the left side of the fridge and every day we learned a new letter. EAch day he would recite the ones he learned and if he forgot he would plug it into the machine and hear the sound/letter. After three weeks he could recognize every letter!
  
  This is a wonderful toy. We are looking to buy the Word Whammer so that we can move on to sounding out words. I strongly recommend this toy.
  
  
• Misreading Letters?
  By A2ZI0IPEAN9D0V on 2005-12-31
  I bought this Fridge Phonics two weeks ago. When I took it out of the box the only letter that worked was the one in it from the store. I called Leapfrog and they gave me a real simple fix. There are little buttons on the inside of the base that push up and down and recognize each letter differently. Apparently these buttons stick when on store shelves for a long time. I took some rubbing alcohol and and cleaned them all off but one was still stuck down. Pryed it up with my fingernail and now it works perfect. Great product for my niece.
  
  
• Great if it worked...
  By A33AW5XJT418EH on 2006-01-06
  I have a friend whose child's Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set works great. Ours refers to most letters as an E or an F any letter after L it just makes a digging sound. I have ensured that the buttons aren't stuck, so I know that isn't the problem. I know my son enjoys this toy as he has played with it before. I am just frustrated that I have to drive 30 minutes to exchange it.
  
  My advice is to test it before you leave the store even though you shouldn't have to.
  
  
  

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