For the last few months we have been rigourously testing a Leap Frog Peek A Shoe Octopus for Toys R Us. Testing in the way that only twin toddlers can!

We are a big fan of Leap Frog toys in the Edspire household and the Octopus does not disappoint as Esther and William love it, though I have to say it is my least favourite of the Leap Frog toys we have reviewed.

Peek A Shoe Octopus is not as sturdy as other Leap Frog toys. It topples over easily and the shoes are very easy for a baby to pull off. William can often be found removing the shoes and trying to post them into the Octopus through it’s hat. He also likes to post cars and other toys through the opening designed for the special balls and it is very hard to get those toys out.

When my terror twin is being supervised however he plays beautifully with the Peek A Shoe Octopus. He puts the balls into the special opening in the Octopus’ hat or through it’s arm and then searches for them under the diferent numbered and coloured shoes.

When we first started playing with this toy we did it without the music and sounds on and just talked about what we were doing. In these early interactions William and Esther both learned to say ‘All gone!’ as the balls disappeared. It was the first time that they had put two words together and was really very cute.

All Gone!

The Octopus is always out in our lounge and is played with by both babies every day. They love posting the balls and exclaiming ‘All gone!’ They also love to give themselves a round of applause when they find the balls again underneath the shoes.

One concern that David and I both have with this toy is that the 8th tentacle of the Octopus is not immediately obvious nor used for anything in particular so could lead to miss conceptions about the number of tentacles an Octopus has. But this does not take away from the fact that Peek A Shoe Octopus is a fun toddler toy.

We do now use the Leap Frog toy with the music and sounds on. Esther loves to press the music button and dance to the songs.

The Octopus has a numbers mode which introduces counting and number recognition or a colours mode that helps with colour names and identification.

This is a toy that will grow with your child and can be used to teach numbers, colours and cause and effect. It will also help to develop fine motor skills.

The Peek A Shoe Octopus is a bright, colourful and fun educational toy. A favourite with the twin toyologists but not one of the better Leap Frog toys according to Mum and Dad.

If you would like to try the Leap Frog Octopus for yourself it is available from Toys R Us for £24.99.