Yoto Player Children’s Audio Player Review

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I think like a lot of parents out there, I am keen to keep my children’s screen time down. It’s a challenge when life is busy and particularly for my youngest at the moment who is often very tired after school now he’s in reception, it’s about finding ways for him to relax and get a bit of downtime without always watching or playing on screens. So, it was great timing that we were asked to review Yoto Player. Yoto player is an audio player for children aged 3-12+ years. Which is a great tool for downtime without screen time.

How Does Yoto Player Work?

Yoto player is a rechargeable audio device for children. It’s portable and robust, perfect for little hands. There are two versions of the Yoto player, the Yoto player and the Yoto mini. For the purpose of this review, we are using the Yoto Player. The main unit itself comes with a magnetic charging plate, you place the device on it to charge, you can leave it on there to play, but the device can also be carried around and listened to when charged up.

The big win is that it has no ads, and no screens although it does have a digital clock and display on the front that changes depending on what it is playing. As well as playing stories and music it also plays white noise and has a night light to help with sleep.

To set up your Yoto player, you place it on the charging dock and connect it via an app on your phone. For full transparency, there was a bit of backwards and forwards on this and I had to restart our router, but as soon as I did that it all connected fine. As soon as everything was connected though the player was good to go.

The audio part works by slotting cards into the top and the cards contain the stories or music for your child to listen to. There is a huge collection of stories for all age ranges available to buy on the website. It really isn’t just stories, there are fact files from the Discovery Channel, jokes, languages and songs. Something to appeal to all different tastes and interests. There are also cards from big well known names – Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Frozen, Marvel, Tom Fletcher, The Rainbow Fairies. There is honestly so much choice.

As you can see above there are also lots of different accessories that you can get to go with your Yoto player. For the purpose of this review we have been gifted an adventure jacket (in green) to make it easier for Bo to carry around and a set of earphones. Both of these are really practical and easy to use. The case as it had a handle made it easier for Bo to carry around and the earphones are great when the rest of the house might need a break!

What’s the Difference Between a Yoto Player and a Yoto Mini?

Yoto also make a Yoto mini player which is a smaller version of the device (I actually have one to giveaway, see below). It works exactly the same as the main player, it’s just smaller and more portable. The mini player doesn’t come with a magnetic charging plate and is instead charged via USB-C and it doesn’t include a night light, but does have a longer battery life (20 versus 10 hours). So I think it all really depends on what you want to use the device for. Bo’s is going to be kept on a shelf in his bedroom for bed and quiet time, so the Yoto player was great for us.

Yoto Player Review

So what are my thoughts? The Yoto player has been a big hit with my son, he loves stories and while I do read to him every day, I can’t read to him all the time, because well, life. It’s been a nice quiet time activity for him to sit down and down. He was delighted that there were stories that he loves already – Julia Donaldson as well as the much-loved Paw Patrol! It’s very easy for him to use all by himself (he’s 4) without any adult supervision.

I am going to go and purchase a cardholder myself as the cards do tend to get a bit scattered and I want to keep them organised and in one place, but Yoto does sell them, so that’s not a problem.

This would absolutely make a lovely gift for any child 3+ it’s a lovely way to encourage a love of stories and give them an easy activity to do that does not include a screen. If you have a child that struggles to sleep, you could also put a story on to help them to drop off or play them some white noise. To make the cards more affordable, Yoto also offer a subscription when you can purchase a certain amount of cards a month at a discounted fee. The icons and clock on the front of the device and fun and we’re a big fan of the night light too as Bodhi is afraid of the dark.

Giveaway – Win a Yoto Mini

I have a giveaway for you just in time for Christmas. I have one Yoto mini to giveaway to one lucky winner. To be in with a chance of winning, simply enter your details below.

*Terms and conditions: Entries are open to UK residents. The competition closes on the 9th December 2022. Winners will be announced on social media and contacted via email. If the winner does not respond to the email in two weeks, a new winner will be randomly chosen. Host reserves the right to substitute the prize for a suitable alternative in case of problems with supply. No cash alternative available. One winner will win a Yoto Mini player which will be posted to them first class.