The Bottom Line
Pros
- Customizable toy says your child's name and his favorite food, color and animal.
- If your child's name isn't on the list, you can ask LeapFrog to add it.
- Toddlers really love to play with it.
- Controls in the paws are easy for little ones to operate.
- Stuffed animal is soft and huggable, unlike other singing toys.
Cons
- A grammar error (Scout sings, "Me and my pal Johnny") is unacceptable to me.
- Music selection is weak and song quality is disappointing.
- LeapFrog Connect software took 30 minutes of fidgeting before I got it running properly.
Description
- My Pal Scout and My Pal Violet are the same except one is designed for boys and one is designed for girls.
- They can be programmed to say your child's name, favorite color, favorite animal and favorite food.
- If your child's name isn't on the list, you can ask LeapFrog to add it.
- My Pal Scout and My Pal Violet sing songs, play games and soothe toddlers to sleep.
- Scout and Violet play cute games like, "Can you guess what I am? Oink! Oink!"
- It's nice to have a customizable toy that costs around $20.
Guide Review - Educational Toy Review - My Pal Scout and My Pal Violet
My Pal Scout and My Pal Violet are the same except for their appearance. They sing songs and play games and can be customized in several ways.
You can plug My Pal Scout into your computer (Mac or PC) and Scout will say his name in the games and songs. They have more than 3800 names in their database and add more every quarter. I taught My Pal Scout that my son's favorite food is bacon (absolutely true!) and when My Pal Scout asks for a snack he says, "May I have some bacon?" It makes me laugh every time.
I had trouble getting the software to run on my Mac because I already have the software for LeapFrog's Tag Reading System and Tag Junior installed. LeapFrog's website made me reinstall the software before it would let me customize My Pal Scout. It would be so much easier if each toy was plug and play and the software could recognize that I wanted to add a new device. It took nearly half an hour to get it running properly and I am comfortable with technology. A non-technical person who wanted to customize My Pal Scout and My Pal Violet as a gift might have a more difficult time. I'd like to see LeapFrog rework the LeapFrog Connect software so it was less of a hassle and the devices worked seamlessly together.
My 2-year-old son is quite attached to Scout and drags him with us everywhere. He can work the buttons on My Pal Scout's paws easily and likes that his little dog tag lights up. I like that he's easy to turn off, too.
My Pal Scout and My Pal Violet can play two, five or 10 minutes of bedtime music to soothe little ones to sleep. I put My Pal Scout in my toddler's crib and loved it until my son rolled over on Scout and the music started up again and woke him.
The music is a disappointment. I wish LeapFrog had licensed more familiar songs and put more effort into the music production. Many of the songs sound like the tinny background beats on a toy keyboard. My son and I do like that the toy says his name in the middle of the songs.
I admit that I'm a grammar freak, so when I heard Scout sing, "Me and my friend Johnny, we like to do everything together" I was disappointed. LeapFrog is known for its high-quality educational toys and My Pal Scout and My Pal Violet are marketed as learning toys, so I always consider, "What will my child learn from this toy?" If my child learns to say, "Me and my friend" instead of "My friend and I," he's learning incorrect grammar.
Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.