Joanne

Disclosure- I was sent this product in return for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are our own.

During this time of lock down, continually finding things to do with the children that is both fun and educational becomes harder and harder; particularly with the younger ones. Emily does not sit still for a minute – she even fidgets while she sleeps, so finding things to continually engage and entertain her in a single day is a challenge.

Coding is a fun way to engage children’s logical brain. You set a challenge and they have to solve them. However, doing this with a cute little rabbit that you control through coding is even better!

What are coding critters?

Coding CrittersTM Bopper and her two bunny pals, Hip and Hop are here to help introduce your little ones into the world of coding. There is a story book that you can follow that makes the introduction to coding both interactive and fun to read through, plus there is a swing, slide and set that you can set up, either for fun or as obstacles for your little one to negotiate around as Bopper searches for the elusive carrot.

Whats in the box?

Inside the box is an instruction booklet (this one is for you as there are very little pictures), a reading book (instruction booklet for the little one), Bopper ( you will need x3 AAA batteries which are not included), her tree house swing, slide, little bunny, coding direction cards and a magnetic carrot.

Inside the Pair-a-pets adventure pack is two bunnies called Fluffy & Buffy, food, food bowl, coding cards and a 20-page coding storybook.

How to play?

To start with, read through the instruction booklet first as the adult. This will help you understand how to use the function keys on the back of Bopper’s back. Once you have done that, sit down with your little one and read through the story of Bopper’s day. Use this to set up the carrot and ask them to programme your Bopper to act out the story in the book.

It took Emily a couple of goes but with questions, asking her to put down the coding cards and play out the story she was coding Bopper quite quickly. Once we went through the story, she was allowed to play as she wanted. Making Bopper push the swing, playing with the slides and Bopper’s pals was a lot of fun.

What did we think?

We have had a few coding toys in the past – see Botley post – which was great for Lydia and Leo, but Emily would struggle with them, although she did still enjoy having a go. Bopper breaks down the instructions in an interactive and fun way. The story gave her something to read and the interaction with the friend in connection with Bopper is quite unique and certainly added a playful element to the coding (something other coding robots dont have).

It is easy to use and fun to play with. We had a bit of an issue with the swing in the tree, as it wouldn’t sit properly, but David was able to sort it out so that it could be used without any real issue. Overall Coding Critters Bopper is fun to play with and the coding is straight forward. Engaging Bopper’s play mode made Emily laugh and adds another dimension to the toy. We really enjoyed this and recommend it to anyone who has little ones that enjoy toys and an interest in coding.

Read our Botley review here  You can buy Bopper here.