Review: My Pal Scout

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My Pal Scout is a medium-sized green cuddly dog who talks and sings. He has buttons on each of his paws, which will do different things. They have pictures, which helps the child (and you) to identify which paw does what. He has a USB connection, so that you can customise him. He needs some setting up and we would suggest getting it ready without your child and then just having them there to answer the questions, otherwise they may get a bit frustrated.

There's quite a good choice of things to customise, on top of the obvious name – food, animal, colour. If you've never had a toy that says your child's name, you'll be amazed at how much this pleases them. Rosemary's eyes really did light up when she heard Scout (or Paoly, which is his nickname) say her name. And she laughs when he sings the song about how a dog should be pink (because it's using her favourite animal – dog – and favourite colour – pink). One of the paws plays bedtime music – two minutes of bedtime music if you press it once, five minutes if you press it again and ten minutes if you press it a third time. This is wonderful. Rosemary really uses it to help her go to sleep. I have heard it in the middle of the night even – she has woken up and is getting herself back to sleep instead of shouting out 'Mummy! I need you!'

It's a shame there's not more customisability available, such as putting your own songs on, or maybe recording a parent's voice (though I suppose that might actually be a bit confusing). It's difficult getting the pack (that contains the batteries and USB connection) back inside, but you only have to do that once, so it's not a big issue.

My Pal Scout is a fantastic toy and your child will almost certainly adore it. The added benefit of helping with bedtime is enough to spend £20 on itself, if you have a difficult sleeper. It will be a long time before your child tires of the toy who talks and sings to and about him or her. I would definitely recommend it and would be happy to spend £20 on such a toy.