SweetPea3 2 GB MP3 Player for Kids (Violet)

I bought this for my daughter's 3 year old birthday. It was exactly what we were looking for. She loves to be able to play her songs on her "ipod" (she feels like she is a big girl like her older sisters) and I love her not having to always use my phone to play her songs. I only wish that we had this for our older two girls when they were little. We are actually going to buy another one for my 93 year old grandmother that is going blind. My 3 year old taught her how to use it and it will allow my grandmother to listen to her "oldies" music as well as have audio books now that she can't read (one of her favorite pastimes). Pros: Easy to set up (acts like a flash drive) and also easy for a child to use. Automatic shut off (can automatically shut off after playing for 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 60. 90 or 120 minutes or not at all). Can change the speaker and headphone volume without the child being able to change it. Can program up to 99 play lists When it is turned off it saves the place of where it was at so you don't have to start at the beginning of a song or playlist each time. Chunky design with handle works well for little hands and I feel that it is pretty durable. Battery life is great. Can hold both audio books as well as music. Cons: The titles of the playlists can only be up to 7 characters long - wish that you could do longer. There is occasionally a 2-5 second pause when playing a song. Other reviewers have said that this was a deal breaker for them. for me it is just a little annoying and my daughter has adapted to just remembering that when she pushes the button you have to wait a few seconds for it to begin playing (however it does pause immediately)

I bought this to replace a rollup keyboard that my 4 year old daughter kept playing the 'demo' songs on when she went to bed. It was easy to set the volume at an appropriate level, and very simple to add songs to. All I had to do was plug in the USB cable and drag the MP3 files to the directories to create playlists. Giving it 4 stars because if you want a song to be in multiple playlists, you have to load the same song into multiple directories. Now my daughter has 4 playlists. A customization allows me to change the playlists using a press and hold key combination so it is pretty easy, but she hasn't been able to figure it out yet. The customizations let you choose what can be changed quickly by holding the center button for a few seconds. The more advanced menu can be entered by pressing the left and right arrow keys for a bit. It would be nice to be able to customize it when the device is plugged in to the computer, but the menu system wasn't too difficult for me. My daughter uses this every night and sometimes on trips. While it is a bit pricey, I've found it to be worth every penny so far. It feels solid and durable, though my daughter isn't very rough with it. Batteries last for quite a while, only have had to replace them once since I bought it (4 months). The auto-off timer is also customizable and I've been able to set it without any complaints from the little one. Speaker sound is good, and kids aren't that discerning so overall it has been a great product. ***** update Sep 2013 I thought I'd write an update after having used this device for over a year. The device is still working great, and I've had no problem updating the songs as my daughter gets tired of the ones on it. She's still to young to understand how to change the playlists (she can't ready yet), but it won't be long. A battery lasts at least a month, but I'm not tracking diligently since it is a single AA battery and it lasts so long.

Both of our daughters (1 and 3) love music, so we wanted to find a way they could enjoy it without needing us to put on and change CDs for them, and without giving them access to a radio that would expose them to a ton of objectionable content that is not appropriate for young children. As we searched for a solution, we ran into a number of problems. It is NOT easy to find a music player that (1) doesn't include an FM radio, (2) is built durable enough to survive children, (3) is small enough to be easily carried by a child, (4) is simple enough to be easily operated by a child, (5) does not require headphones, since we have two children who will share it and want to listen to it together, and (6) has features that prevent it from becoming a nuisance to parents, such as a limited volume level, an automatic shut-off, a long battery life, etc. The SweetPea3 2GB MP3 Player for Kids solves all of these issues perfectly! At first, we were hesitant about the $70 cost, but in retrospect, this is WORTH EVERY PENNY! We love it, and so do our kids! Here's why... 1. Plays MP3s instead of CDs -- no piles of CDs to keep organized, need changing, or get scratched and need replacing 2. Small, light, and very portable -- even a 1-year-old can carry this easily 3. Durable -- there's no doubt this will survive a lot of casual falls and bangs against furniture, etc.; partly because it's ruggedly designed, and partly because it's so lightweight 4. Built-in Speaker -- multiple children can listen without need for headphones 5. Headphone Jack -- headphones can be plugged in if everyone else wants peace and quiet 6. Simple to Operate -- only three buttons: previous track, play/pause, and next track (all other features are hidden). The middle button plays/pauses, but also doubles as the on/off. To shut it off, you just pause it and after a minute, it shuts down. To turn it on again, push play and it starts up and then resumes playing. Very easy! Our three-year-old had it figured out in a day, and our one-year old had it figured out in about three days. The designer is to be commended for keeping it so simple, yet functional. 7. Hidden Controls -- the volume and controls to change the playlist of songs are hidden, so parents don't have to worry about kids turning the volume higher than desired, and can change the playlist once they're sick of hearing a certain list of songs played for the HUNDREDTH time. (Specific buttons need to be depressed for an extended period to activate a hidden menu of options, or to quickly adjust the volume or playlist--a very clever feature that is worth every penny we paid for this over cheaper, less thoughtfully-designed alternatives.) 8. Automatic Shut-Off -- can be set to automatically shut out after 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 minutes so children can fall asleep listening to it (or simply walk away from it and forget to turn it off) without draining the battery. We created a playlist just for lullabies so our 3-year-old can listen to it when she goes to sleep. 9. Single AA Battery -- one AA battery reportedly runs it for up to 50 hours! I'm not sure, but we're already about 20 hours in on the first (included) battery and it's still going strong! Finally, a kid toy that doesn't eat several batteries a week! 10. Simple to Load Content -- plug it into your computer and it shows up like a USB drive. Then drag songs into any one of the ten (numbered) MYSONG folders. Each folder shows up in the device as a separate playlist, 1 through 10. Disconnect the device, set it to a playlist, and push play! We filled two folders with recorded stories so that our daughters can also hear classic fairy tales and fables read to them if they wish. (It plays WMA files as well, so any CD you "rip" using Windows Media Player can be dragged and dropped onto this device to play just fine.) Since we control ALL of the content the device can play, there's no concern about them accessing objectionable content, unlike a radio. Yes, I know many parents feel it "isn't a big deal" for kids to listen to the radio because even if popular music features a superabundance of surprisingly graphic sexual themes, the kids "are too young to understand the 'obscure' lyrics anyway" and are "just enjoying the music." First, I'm not so sure the lyrics are "obscure" anymore. Second, studies have shown fairly conclusively that such exposure does, in fact, load the child's brain with all kinds of unhealthy views (about sexuality, misogyny, melodrama, the "coolness" of despair and apathy, etc.) that may seem to wash over them initially, but do NOT leave the child unaffected later. Instead, by the time kids are capable of understanding the content of those lyrics (and thus, capable of having mature discussions about the subject with their parents), they have already memorized tens of thousands of eloquent phrases that glamorize dubious morals--and their brain tends to "think with" those phrases and images, rather than resisting them. Thus, by the time they become able to discuss sex and values in depth, you (the parent) are already coming very late to the game because now you need to try to "deprogram" (explain, rebut, or correct) all those negative perceptions already ingrained in their minds with the force of habit and the appeal of poetry. Feel free to disagree, of course, but I'm convinced it's a very credible concern for very young children. This device solves that problem nicely. And when my children have school friends and are better able to understand lyrics later (which won't take long--probably when they're 5 years old), I realize it will be futile to try to shelter them. I just want to be able to guide them at that point without their heads already being filled with dubious viewpoints they've committed to memory beforehand. All in all, I HIGHLY recommend this product, especially for young children who enjoy music (and what young child doesn't?) and for parents who want to avoid the risks of needlessly exposing them to inappropriate content they cannot control (such as on the radio).

Before we owned the Sweetpea MP3 player, we owned a Sansa Shake mp3 player, which isn't really made tough enough for kids. My four-year-old dropped it on the floor (didn't throw it or treat it harshly, she just dropped it) and it broke. Then I happened upon this mp3 player, which is easier to set up with music files and easier to use. We have had the Sweetpea for over six months now and we have not had to change the battery yet. We have never listened to the pre-recorded music. I selected it so that we could pick a variety of music for our children to listen to. We used some of our itunes and mp3 tunes from our library and dragged and dropped them onto the folder for music with the Sweetpea connected to the computer. That was all that was involved in setting it up. It only took a few minutes to select and add all the music. It is extremely sturdy and you don't have to worry about it being dropped down stairs, etc. The parent controls are very simple to use, it just involves holding the two volume control buttons down for a few seconds to get to the menu. There you can select what playlist you want, set the volume level and change a few other settings if you care to. I bought this for my four-year-old daughter, but my two-year-old can easily use it as well. I love it and I highly recommend it for any child who loves music.

I planned on getting this for my daughter to use for her audio books that we could download from the library. While I liked the idea of the ruggedness and the IDEA of listening to the speaker without headphones, it was so much of a disaster that we returned it. The sound was not very good at all. But more frustrating is the volume controls are "hidden" meaning the parent has to press two buttons simultaneously and it is a TOTAL pain. I had many issues downloading files onto this thing. So much so that I gave up. And to top it off, it was not compatible with our library's audio files. So, it's gone and I do not regret it. Another thing: it was HUGE. I mean, I get the whole kid friendly idea, but this thing was just too big!

This seemed to be the best toddler-safe mp3 player on the market, so I got it despite the mixed reviews. My almost-2-year-old loves it and carries it all over the place. It's sturdy, clear, easy for her to use, has a reasonable volume level, and comes with a lot of space for audio files. It only eats batteries if you leave it in "no automatic turn off" mode and then forget to turn it off overnight (it can get really muffled if the speaker is face down on carpet, so sometimes you can't hear that it's still on). My only complaint is that ours seems to have a finicky battery connection. If we drop, squeeze, or shake the player during a song, the music stops playing even though the song is still technically progressing. We have to fiddle with shaking/squeezing it some more to get the battery back in alignment. Pretty annoying, but it hasn't diminished the appeal for the toddler!

Awesome product. Great sound. Durable. Long battery life (i think 2 double aa's)There is a delay/pause when you push buttons. My 2 year old found this frustrating (and so did I!) at first but she got used to it quickly. She loves this thing. It helps keep her content at nap time, when she doesn't want to nap. She loves singing and music more than anything, and this product nurtures that interest. I only wish they would make it so it has a little remote device that I could push and it would sound off. It gets lost a lot and that would be helpful for finding it. Plug it into your computer, go to "my computer" double click on the device (it shows as removable something or other on mine,) there you will see the playlists. Double click on those to access the actual songs on each playlist. Here you can delete, copy and/or paste music. Here you also drag and drop highlighted songs directly from your itunes. Just minimize the itunes and my computer windows so that you can physically drag the highlighted songs from itunes to the playlist.

We bought the SweetPea3 for our 20 month old daughter. 4 months later, I came back to share some of our notes with you. - The player is VERY sturdy - great for young kids who are tough on electronics. - The 3 button system works well for younger children. - It is easy to load and it's nice that it comes with preloaded tracks. - The parental controls for volume and other settings work well overall although you have to cycle through every command every time you want to change any setting. - My 22month old daughter did manage to access the parental controls by accident though (pressing and holding the two outer buttons.) - The device is VERY SLOW to respond. You hit "next song" and have to wait a couple of seconds before it plays. This may not sound like much, for a short attention span toddler - it's horrible. She'll hit a button and because she doesn't hear anything quickly she hits it again and again - which bogs down the system leading to even longer delays and frustration. - The slow responsiveness is also present when you're trying to manage the settings. It takes 3-5 mins to adjust the volume or change the song grouping. When you have a young child eagerly awaiting the music - that's a tough wait. - The battery life is abhorrent. The device seems to drain batteries whether it's running or not. It runs on a single AA battery - which lasts less than a month for us - and that's with LIGHT usage. We'll run the device maybe 30 mins for 4-6 days then not use it for a week or two. We come back to the player needing a new battery. I have no idea how the system is configured for battery power - but this player is a black hole for batteries. All in all - I would not buy this player again. The key benefit is its durability but I find the usability issues and the battery issues with the player do not make the durability worth the while. I am more likely to buy an iPod and a super shock resistent case for it (yes, for my toddler.)