Magic box
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Getting your kid to eat a meal can, at times, feel like going to war, albeit with an unreasonably cute foe. These are the moments I’m most thankful for my Toniebox.
Launched in 2016 in Germany, the Toniebox is a cube-shaped audio device designed for screen-free kids’ entertainment. I’ll admit, when I was gifted the squishy original and its accompanying figurine audio cartridges, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Pregnant with my first, I added it to the ever-growing pile of baby devices I hoped to one day understand. Two years later, the company just dropped its Toniebox 2, and I was among the first in line.
The box itself retails for $119.99, with sold-separately Tonie figurines ranging from around $10 to $20 apiece. There are also discounted bundles and giftable themed packs, with seemingly endless options for children ages one through eight. Among others: Literary Tonies based on classics like Dr. Seuss, educational with Peppa Pig, adventure Tonies featuring the Coco soundtrack, and soothing sleepy time Tonies (the one my son recently put on by himself in the wake of a particularly rough tantrum). If your kid has a favorite book, show or movie, there’s likely a Tonie for that. And if you’ve held out on watching these household names, you can still be part of the playground discourse with a Toniebox. (Despite never actually watching Ms. Rachel, for better or worse, I have now committed all of her songs to memory.)
Compared to the original Toniebox, the 2.0 edition packs in new features like interactive gaming capabilities (for slightly older children) and a programmable sunrise light for wake-up time. Compared to the Yoto Mini, a popular and more compact competitor, the Toniebox is less geared toward travel, functioning more as a friendly household fixture for daily routines.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends zero screen time before the age of two. We didn’t make it quite that far, but with the Toniebox, I can confidently say we’ve enjoyed hours of screen-free singalong and story times with our baby over the last two years — and far fewer mealtime meltdowns. Honestly, priceless. –Falyn Wood
→ Shop: Toniebox 2 • from $107.99.