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Prioritizing play is essential for fostering resilience and innovation in children.
According to the United Nations, the act of playing also helps kids build relationships, improve control, overcome trauma, and problem-solve.
That's why they introduced the International Day of Play, which takes place every year on June 11. It brings people together at global, national, and local levels to shine a light on the importance of play.
Because play is important every day of the year.
Play is pivotal in helping children develop the cognitive, creative, emotional, physical, and social skills they need in order to thrive.
Play is pivotal in helping children develop the cognitive, creative, emotional, physical, and social skills they need in order to thrive.
Embracing play helps your little ones grow.
Our twin toddlers have a new favorite way to play, and we're already seeing a shift in their focus and growth in their skills.
Take on Tonies
So, what have they been playing with? The Toniebox 2 and Tonieplay.
Toniebox is a thoughtfully designed screen-free device that works with Tonies—different characters from your children's favourite movies, shows, and more, including Disney, PAW Patrol, Peppa Pig, National Geographic Kids, and Tonies Originals.
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Toniebox 2 by Tonies
Learn, Play, Travel, Dream
This is the Toniebox 2. It's a thoughtfully designed screen-free device that works with Tonies—different characters from your children's favourite movies, shows, and more—to help your little ones learn as they play and listen to songs and stories. You simply place a Tonie (sold separately; there are over 300 Tonies available) on top of the box and the audio starts playing as soon as it's downloaded to the device. Rated for ages one and up, Toniebox 2 comes in five colors (red, pink, grey, blue, and teal). Toniebox 2 comes with new features, like a sleep timer, sunrise alarm, and a dynamic light ring that glows with a rainbow of colors while Tonies are playing or during gameplay with a Tonieplay game.
There are over 300 Tonies you could add to your collection, and each one is stacked with songs and stories to help your little ones learn.
You simply place the Tonie on top of the box and the content downloads to the device.
Tonieplay gives your children access to a screen-free environment filled with interactive stories, games, quizzes, and challenges to keep them entertained while they play.
Just place a Tonieplay game piece (sold separately) on top of the Toniebox 2, put the Tonieplay controller (also sold separately) in the center of the box and game disc, and follow the instructions to get started.
The instructions are so easy, your toddlers can follow along and play on their own, if they want to.
Just like Tonies, there's a variety of Tonieplay games you can add to your library, from Disney or Pixar trivia, to ones all about animals or monsters.
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Tonieplay Game: The Quizzles (All About Animals) by Tonies
Fun for the Whole Family
This is a Tonieplay game that's filled with trivia all about animals. The game piece slides over the ear buttons on top of your Toniebox 2 (sold separately). Rated for ages five and up, these games are perfect for solo or group play, so if one of your twins wants to work on their quiz master skills, they can play on their own, or if the whole family wants to brush up on their trivia, everyone can play collaboratively. There are several different Tonieplay games that can be added to your library, from Disney's Quiz Kingdom to Pixar trivia, to monster madness, and more.
Our twins have been loving the Disney Quiz Kingdom game so far, but we're excited to incorporate other Tonieplay games into our family game nights or to help pass the time on upcoming road trips.
Because Tonies designed the box and games to be so portable, you can easily take the box and games wherever you go, which means your kids can learn while they play, no matter where you are.
Sayonara, screens
While those with multiples might be used to relying, to some extent, on screen-time in order to have just a few minutes to get things done, like loading the overworked dishwasher or finally getting a scary stack of clothes out of the dryer, this screen-free wonder takes the screen out of entertainment and encourages development through interactive audio play—and it really works.
We set up our Toniebox and checked it out with our twins before bedtime. The next morning was the first day in a long time when they woke up and didn't ask for "something on the TV."
Instead, they came downstairs, went straight to the Toniebox, placed the Elsa Tonie on top, and started listening to the story and songs.
We watched in awe for a moment and then used that time while they played quietly to get all of the necessary things done before it was time to get everybody dressed and loaded up into the car.
Twin-testing the Toniebox 2
As a parent of twins, one of the most important things about any toys that become a regular fixture of our home is that our twins don't fight over it.
Two other crucial factors are that they aren't unbearably loud and that they're beneficial to the development of our twins.
Lastly, we, of course, want them to have fun with whatever they're playing with.
Toniebox 2 and Tonieplay passed all of these tests with our twins.
Sharing-wise, we were worried there might be a squabble over the sole Toniebox. But because it was new and intriguing, they were just excited to see what it was all about.
They took turns nicely and played with it and the Elsa Tonie without any issues. And when we tried out the Tonieplay, they still did a great job of sharing, even when it was time for someone to hit the Play button to advance the game.
Instead of just one of them hitting the button, they worked together to synchronize the moment they pressed the button.
The Toniebox volume can be turned up and down using the two ear buttons on the device.
But if it's been a loud day, in general, and mom or dad needs everything to go down a notch or two, the volume can also be controlled via the Tonies app, so you can decide if it maxes out at 70 percent of its capable volume, even if Toddler B cranks it up as high as it could go.
...you can decide if it maxes out at 70 percent of its capable volume, even if Toddler B cranks it up as high as it could go.
This can provide a nice reprieve for parents' exhausted ears, especially when you consider the cacophony that comes from the quantity of toys blaring an overwhelming racket you can't lower or mute altogether.
Similarly, the intensity of the Toniebox 2's integrated lights can also be controlled by the app, so if you want to dim things down as the evening wears on, you can do it quickly in the app in a matter of seconds.
Developmental benefits
Between the Toniebox 2 and the Tonieplay, there are many different developmental benefits your toddlers can tap into, and we've been watching all of them unfold with our twins since they started playing with this set.
The Toniebox 2 and Tonieplay are sold separately, but they work together to create hours of screen-free entertainment for your kids while boosting the development of crucial skills.
Cognitive Skills: With Tonieplay, your children will work on recognition as they choose between game cards and tokens before placing them on the board. They'll also work on their critical thinking and problem-solving skills as well as their speech development, getting a vobulary boost from hearing stories and songs from their Tonies and from listening to and answering quiz questions during gameplay.
Creative Skills: You'll see imaginative play unfold before your eyes as they come up with scenarios to throw their Tonies characters into, whether they've seen the coinciding movie/show or not.
Emotional Skills: During gameplay, you'll watch your kids celebrate when they feel happy and excited because they got an answer right. And, you'll watch them recognize and figure out how to deal with the feeling of disappointment they experience when they get an answer wrong. Beyond gameplay, a Toniebox can become part of your twins' bedtime routine, helping them recognize that it's time to wind down for the evening when you turn on the sleep timer (when you pop a Tonie on top and start the timer through the app, the box will start reading a story with a soft light glowing for the length of time you choose).
Physical Skills: You'll see your twins further develop their fine motor skills while they play. Hitting the gameplay button on the controller. Adjusting the volume by squeezing the ears on the Toniebox. Placing the Tonie character on top of the box to start storytime. Collecting the game pieces and putting them away in the box after gameplay. Toniebox and Tonieplay were designed for little hands to be able to grasp and control, which means they grow alongside your duo.
Social Skills: You'll also watch their social skills grow as they practice interactive play. Toniebox and Tonieplay encourage and support both independent AND cooperative play, which means they help them further develop their social skills while they play together or with their friends.
You'll be amazed at the subtle changes you notice in your little ones' skills, even after a short period of time with their Tonies set-up.
Unlimited library
In addition to the array of books that fill out your little ones' library, Toniebox 2 and Tonieplay give you access to a vast variety of songs, stories, audiobooks, and games to keep them entertained and having fun while they learn.
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Tonieplay Game Controller by Tonies
Kids Can Control the Fun
This is the Tonieplay Controller. It interacts with the light ring on the Toniebox 2 (sold separately) light ring and Tonieplay game discs (also sold separately) to unlock the full Tonieplay experience. Kids can turn the controller and push the Play button to explore stories and games, making choices and shaping the fun themselves.
Tonieplay and Toniebox 2 make it easy for kids to immerse themselves in interactive play, providing hours of screen-free entertainment designed to help them further develop their skills in several areas simultaneously.
If you haven't already experienced the wonderful world of Tonies, give it a try.
You'll be impressed with how intuitive the controls are. Your kids will likely figure them out right away, which means you'll be able to kick back (and finally catch up on stuff, if you want to!) while they play and have fun.
And if your twins are anything like ours, they'll even be excited to help clean up the game pieces after they're done (tip: it helps if you tell them that's part of the game).
Then, everybody wins.
How do you help your kids embrace play every day? Let us know in the Comments section below or connect with us on Instagram to share your thoughts!
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