My 11 month old got this toy for Christmas, but it's a hit with the older kids (2 1/2) in my daycare as well. They all know how to turn it on, and even after two months of play it's still a favorite and go-to toy first thing in the morning. Just because they love it so much is the reason I gave it 4 stars. I do have some things that make me dislike it a bit though! It's kind of loud. I think a lot of kid/baby toys are loud these days though. There arent' very many songs either, and I wish there were more variety. I wish it could hold more balls. It seems like we're chasing after them the majority of the time instead of watching them pop up. Sometimes the balls don't actually pop out of the tube all the way, which then kind of causes a log-jam and stops the fun temporarily. One or two of the kids has also been known to try to stick other stuff into it, successfully of course. We've never had any major issues with things getting stuck though. All that said, it's easy to use and the kids still have a lot of fun with it.

JeanBetween85

Fort Wayne, IN

The Hasbro Playskool Explore and Grow Busy Ball Popper has music that is loud enough to enjoy, but not to loud that you can still concentrate on other things.  Our ten month old daughter has already figured out how to push the big button to start the toy up.  She also knows when to push the button again to keep the balls moving.  The popper comes with five balls, which are plenty if they stay in the trays and keep cycling through.  Our daughter also has to be chewing on one, and most times one or two more fly out of the tray.  I am constantly retrieving the remaining two or three balls and returning them to the tray to keep the action going.  At ten months old our daughter does not fully understand how to watch the balls slide down the tray and circle back thru the toy.  I do believe in the next couple of months she will enjoy that part.  Currently she loves tipping the toy over so the balls pop out at her and the air blows on her face.  I like that the balls are soft enough that she can do this and the air that blows is soft enough that it does not take her breath away.

faulktonmommy

Faulkton, SD

We purchased the Busy Ball Popper for our active one year old little girl ( I recommend this toy for 1-3 years in age). We have a number of Playskool brand toys that we are very happy with so we were quite surprised that although it is a good idea for a toy, it isn't of the highest quality. The multicolored toy immediately caught her attention and she clapped with excitement as we showed her how to push the button to start the fun and upbeat music and the motor that blows out air to move the balls. The balls are supposed to shoot up a tunnel and out the top of a funnel-then spiral down the track and repeat their coarse over again until the music stops. Our little girl loved watching the balls and occasionally taking one or two out to play with. She soon got the hang of the easy game and could work the toy all on her own. Unfortunately, after we had the toy for a couple days, I noticed that when we pushed the button to start the air, the balls would move in the opposite direction than what they were supposed to or not move at all! Occasionally a full song would play and the balls didn't move anywhere. I had to push the balls down into the tunnel to get them started again-sometimes more than once-before they got on the right track. Also, the balls dent easily. In short, it is a simple and fun toy that quickly attracts and is easy to use, but don't plan on it lasting a long time! And definitely wait till it is on clearance- it's not worth paying full price for it.

baumank

Saint Anthony, ID

Playskool has made an awesome toy with the explore and grow busy ball popper!  We got it for our 1 year old for Christmas and he loves it!  We have 6 children total, and even my 7 and 9 year olds were surrounding it and catching the balls.  It's very simple to use, all you have to do is push down on the handle to get it to start up.  Sometimes you have to cover the top for a second to get the balls moving in there, but normally they come up on their own.  There's a fan that makes a little noise and it plays music.  The fan pushes the balls up through the tunnel and out the top.  Then the child can push them back down through and the process continues.  The only frusterating thing is finding all the balls!  As far as I know you can't buy replacement balls and they seem to be the only balls that would fit into the thing.  So we will have to keep super good tabs on our balls!  I'd recommend it if you have a busy 1 year old!

kidzclothes

Shermans Dale, PA

I bought my daughter the Hasbro Playskool Ball Popper to distract her in the hour before her daddy gets home.  It's been about 5 months now and it still works every time!  She is just fascinated be watching the balls pop out.  Doesn't matter how cranky she is, it is the one toy I can count on to hold her attention.  The very first time we played with it, she couldn't take her eyes off it and ended up getting motion sick.  and she gets so excited to hear the loud, upbeat music.  I'd like to turn it down, but I can't really argue with what works.  The only other negative is that she is not yet old enough to fetch the balls herself when they get popped out, so I end up having to hunt them down in order for her to keep playing.  Her newest thing is to pull the ball popper over and hit the button herself, which sends the balls flying out at her.  I would highly recommend this toy!  We both have so much fun playing with it.

meash4

Chino, CA

I have a lot of friends that recommended this product for our little guy, who just turned one, and we got it as a Christmas present.  It didn't take him long for my son figure out how to get the balls popping (pressing a little smiley button) which was nice.  He seems to enjoy the wind coming up and he will sometimes press the balls that are coming up.  However, I think it could be better constructed, because almost every time he turns it on the balls fly out and need to be put back in the toy to continue working.  It's annoying to have to pick them up every time the thing is turned on.  Also, the balls are not big enough to be swallowed but I have seen my son try to stick the whole ball in his mouth.  It's fairly loud, I don't think you can turn it down.  I think the other Playskool busy ball-tivity center looks like it might be a little better.  The balls spin around and may not pop out like they do in this one.  I give it four stars because it still seems fun for my son.  I would not buy again though.

MamaO854

Louisville, KY

We received this as a christmas gift for my six month old and he is amazed at the balls popping up out with just one push of the button.  My two year old is equally thrilled with the air blowing out of the toy and puts her long hair on toy of it to see it blow around...like a supermodel at a photo shoot!  She does also put the balls into the toy and loves watching them pop up and hit her in the face while her hair is blowing.  The explore and grow busy ball popper is very durable and the balls keep my little ones entertained for quite a while each time they sit to play with it.  I would definitely recommend it for babies and toddlers 6 months and up.  As long as your baby is sitting up or enjoying tummy time, they can easily hold the balls, which are the perfect size, for their little hands.  The music is less annoying than most other toys and the ball popper is durable even with my little destructive one playing with it.

csmom79

San Tan Valley, AZ

The Hasbro Busy Ball Popper is a fun toy that my daughter enjoys. She received it for a Christmas gift and immediately took to playing with it. The toy is simple to use as there is only one large button to push to engage the ball popping. Once you push the button, air forces the balls the start cycling through the toy and pop up through the the exit at the top of the toy. Sometimes the ball continues this cycle on its own by falling back down into the funnel. Other times, the ball falls to the floor and the child can chase the ball and bring it back to the toy to continue playing. The ball popper is aesthetically appealing and appropriate for crawlers and young walkers. The only negative is that the ball popper is extremely loud, and there is not volume control. It is either screaming music or off. We would use this toy more often if it had a volume control switch like most toys with sound do. I was very surprised when we could not find a switch to turn the volume down. 

mamalogic

Pelham, AL