Remember the days of the short range walkie-talkies we used to play with? Even today, they are still a hit with the kids around here! Sometimes I even keep one handy when they are playing nearby at a neighbors house or in a fort in the back yard so I don’t have to yell to get their attention. But what if there was a toy that allowed your child to exchange voice messages with ONLY approved contacts, just with the press of a button? Let me tell you about the safe way to exchange messages for kids with a Talkie from Toymail.
About the Talkie
No screens, just talk: Talkies are the only safe and screen-free device for kids to voice chat with friends and family. No need to give your child a phone.
The Talkiebox: The hidden component inside your Talkie that is compatible with phones, tablets, and other Talkies. It’s removable too, so you can put it into a new Talkie skins as your tastes change.
Talkies bring you closer: With just a push of a button, kids can connect to Mom, Dad, Grandparents and friends at any time, from anywhere. Parents use the Toymail app to send messages. Approve your child’s trusted circle through the Toymail app.
The Toymail app: Instantly connect to a Talkie using the free Toymail app. Use the app to send messages to a Talkie and approve a trusted circle of friends and family to chat with your child.
Toymail cloud expands your toy: Keep your kids on track with reminders, turn your Talkie into a bed buddy to help lull your child to sleep, or unlock new voice filters by accessing the cloud channel on the Toymail app. New features and content uploaded all the time.
My Thoughts
This isn’t your average “talkie” type of toy. At the most basic form, the Talkie by Toymail allows your child to exchange messages with only approved senders. You have control over the list of approved contacts through your smart device and this is how you send and receive your messages to and from the Talkie. They have a number of designs to choose from whether your child wants an animal, creature, or even Chunk, which is a Sloth.
They are easy to set up the first time. It took me about 5 minutes to get the app downloaded, set up our account, sync the toy to the Wi-Fi network, and make sure our guy Hank was up to date.
Immediately, my son and I started exchanging messages, including everything from answering what was for dinner, to I love you, and even if he could play a video game or not. And I quickly sent a link through the app so that his grandmother and father could both use their phones to talk to him too.
The Talkie records a voice message by holding down the conversation button icon, then it can be approved & sent or canceled. There is also an address book feature so the Talkie’s message can be delivered to the intended party. But again, they can’t be sent to just anyone, only connections you approve through your app.
And if their siblings or friends have their own Talkie toy, they can be set up to exchange messages too, just like other devices! We would like to get one for each of the cousins so they can keep in touch between visits, plus it’s great for out of town relatives with a child too young to be allowed to have their own phone.
And the Talkie isn’t just for exchanging messages, you can also set up other features in the app like to send reminders to your child, tell jokes, make silly sounds, and more! Plus you can customize the time frame when the Talkie can be used to keep it quiet after bedtime. The Talkie automatically checks for new messages about every 20 minutes, but you can always force it to check with a press of a button. And I get a little notification on my smart phone when I’ve received a message.
I can’t believe just how much we use Hank the Dino. It’s not that I can’t call upstairs to get my child to the table or anything, but he loves to be able to send and receive messages and I don’t have to worry about who is in contact with him. He loves especially to be able to have a few messages with his Dad while he is working long hours during the holiday season. Be sure to check out this safe way to exchange messages for kids whether you have one or several children. The app is free and there is no subscription charge for the basic features. Take a look today to pick out just the right Talkie for your little one!
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We’ve added Toymail to our 2018 Valentine’s Day Gift Guide! Check it out here!