Babyboomboom Baby Band-Bag

2015 – Shortlisted for 'Best Baby Toy Under 12 Months' Award!

The Babyboomboom Baby Band-Bag is a fabulous concept; designed to introduce little ones to a second language early on by singing well known nursery rhymes in English and another language of your choice – the range is vast, including the likes of Spanish, Italian, French and a host of other options.

The CD is accompanied by four instruments; a rainbow shaker, a smiley face drum, a fishy shake rattle and a caged bell, which little ones will love – stimulating their interest in a fun way! It’s also great for encouraging one-to-one interaction between mum/dad and baby. The Baby Band-Bag comes in a compact, clear, zippy bag, which is great for travelling; a good way to keep baby entertained in the car or on a long journey. A really worthwhile improvement would be an upgraded sing-along DVD version, with on-screen visuals and read-along words to follow by syllable.

2014 – Shortlisted for 'Best Toddler Toy 24 Months +' Award!

Babyboomboom’s Junior Band-Bag is a great little set. It comes with a music CD, in a choice of two languages (English plus French, Spanish, German, Italian, Polish, Chinese Mandarin, Scottish Gaelic or Welsh), and a tambourine, recorder, castanet and a maraca.

The CD is a good way to encourage speech development and is perfect for travel sing-alongs, with familiar tunes and rhymes that are repeated in each language. The lyrics are also printed in both languages (although the text is quite small), which is handy resource for parents! The ‘foreign’ accents in the songs are authentic, which facilitates correct annunciation and pronunciation although the tempo of the tunes is quite fast, which can make it difficult to follow the words.

Whilst the musical instruments, which come in a convenient storage bag, are very amusing, they are also very loud – and, of course, there is no volume control. A two-year-old and a recorder is a not an ideal combination but, along with the CD, they are a fun introduction to music. The instruments are a fantastic group activity, teaching rhythm and sharing, and children will enjoy using them on their own, too.

Unfortunately, the graphic design of the brand/CD is not particularly engaging and doesn’t match the overall quality of the product. The CD insert is a little bland, with no illustrations, and there is no obvious link made on the CD or in literature to assist the use of the instruments, like prompts (‘when the sun comes out, shake your tambourine' or 'tap to the beat') on the CD, for example.

The set is pricey but it is good quality and wonderfully entertaining; a fun activity for parents and children to do together. Good value for money.

Product Information

Songs included: