My son recieved this when he was 10 months old on his first Christmas and it was a huge hit with him. He is now two years old and still plays with his Busy Ball Choo Choo. As a parent the toy can be rather annoying as it is loud and does not have a volume switch. But, there is an on/off switch. It has two different adjustments. The adjustment knobs are large enough for children to adjust themselves. The first one you can switch to make the train move forward or stay in place. The second switch you can make the balls come out the back of the train or they can rotate inside the train. On the bottom of the train there is a tiny wheel you can adjust to make the train go in a certain direction, ie. straight line or circles. The balls are different colors so you can also teach your little one colors by playing with, for example can you spot the yellow ball? Just a suggestion. My son has been playing with the Busy Ball Choo Choo for 15 months now and its still looks brand new and works like a charm. He absolutely loves playing with choo choo! So as a stay at home mom I highly suggest the Busy Ball Choo Choo and a bottle of aspirin :)

sondralee

Russellville, AR

We got this train as a gift and it has been a favored toy. The main issue I have this this toy is the same one I have with all ball toys. Each toy that comes with balls comes with it's own balls and they have to fit just right. If you have another toy with balls and they are slightly bigger they end up getting stuck in this toy. This toy provides kids of many ages entertainment for quite a while. Even with it switched off or the batteries dead they enjoy pushing it around for quite a while. It has a place for balls to go in and out so of course it doesn't take long for kids to stick other things in it as well. My two boys tend to prefer to put cars in just as much as the balls. It has been a fun game for them to try and catch the balls as they come out as well. It didn't take long for them to be able to do it. I wish there was a way to get extra balls that would fit it easily. But over all it is a favored toy.

NannyBest

Kearney, NE

My oldest son received this as a gift for his first birthday. He really didn't play with it much. He much preferred the **Busy Ball Popper. **My younger son, however, started playing with this when he was about 9 months old, and he seems to really enjoy it! The **Busy Ball Choo Choo** is a colorful, durable plastic train. It comes with three lightweight plastic balls that are interchangeable with the other **Busy Ball** toys. There are four settings of play with the train. It can move, stand still, pop the balls out the back, or cycle them repeatedly through the choo choo. The settings are adjusted from green and yellow switches on the side. The green one is a lot harder to move. Younger kids definitely can't change the settings by themselves. A yellow button on top activates the fun songs. There is no volume control, unfortuanately, but this toy ranks pretty low on the annoying toys list. This is a decent little toy that helps young motor skills develop by putting the balls in the train. It's durable and I haven't had to change batteries yet!

ladybug727

Newark, DE

Last year for Christmas my mom bought the Playskool Busy Ball Choo Choo for my youngest son. Ever since my son received it, he has loved this toy. It's still one of his favorites.  The Playskool Busy Ball Choo Choo comes with a large red train and three balls. It has four settings in all to choose from.  The train can be stationary or set to move and you choose either to have the balls recycled through the train or to come out of the back. It requires 3 C batteries and is recommended for children ages 9-24 months. Once you choose your settings, load the balls in. There's a bright yellow button on the top of the train and once you're ready for the fun press it. The train will start making locomotive noises and playing cute music. Depending on your setting you may watch the balls spiral their way down back into the train or watch as the train pops them out of the back, all while the train sits still or chugs along. There is no volume control switch which would be nice but the toy isn't that aggravating. Luckily on the bottom, there is an on/off switch. The train works best on a hard floor and it does move on the carpet but rather slowly.And it would be nice if it came with more balls but the good thing is that balls that come with the [Playskool Busy Ball Popper][1] can work with this and vice versa.  My son still enjoys playing with this toy. I think your little one would have a ball with the Playskool Busy Ball Choo Choo. I definitely recommend it! [1]: http://www.viewpoints.com/Playskool-Busy-Ball-Popper-review-1f8a0

MRSverret

Way down south, LA

The Playskool Busy Ball Choo Choo Train was one of my twins' favorite toys when the were about 9 months old.  They played with the train every day and caught on very quickly to what they needed to do- pick the balls up, put them in and watch them go!  I love that it has settings to make the balls continually rotate through the train, or for the balls to come out of the back of the train.  I also love that you can set it to move or stay still, so that when the kids want to just sit and watch it, they can, without it rolling away!  Once your kids start crawling, they'll have fun chasing after it and the little balls!  It's bright and colorful, with balls of varying colors, which can easily be used for teaching colors, counting, etc. and it plays music, as well, which makes it more interesting to the little ones.   I love toys that my kids play with for more than a few minutes before losing interest, and this was definitely one of those toys! It's a great buy!  

artofsaving

San Antonio, TX

My daughter got this toy last Christmas and until recently when she turned 2, she played with it constantly. It works best on hardwood floors or linoleum. It will go on carpet just not very well. Its fun, easy to play with, has an easy to use on/off switch and has several modes of play! It is easy to just wipe down when it gets dirty at all. It is good for motor skills and children at the crawling stage since they can pop the balls in the train and then when the balls roll out the back they can follow the train and put the balls back into the train!  This toy is VERY interactive and I was impressed with it! The price isn't bad either. The volume is not too loud or anything so it didn't bother me that there was no volume switch. Overall, this is a very good toy and I gave it 4 stars for being above average. I would definitely recommend this to a friend! In fact, the one we bought my daughter may get passed on to a friend! 

ciles

Knoxville, TN

I bought this for my daughter, Sunshine, for her first birthday. I was a little skeptic at first since it was a very reasonable price. I also didn't know how long three balls were going to keep her occupied. Let's just say that this is the ONLY toy she wanted to play with after opening her presents that year! She loved watching the three balls go around the rim of the train, back into the whole, through the tunnel, and back up again. While on, the train sings songs and makes train sounds. There are two settings, one can make the train sit still while you play with it, and the other will allow the train to move forward when being played with. You can also set the balls to either stay in the train, or pop out the end of the train. She is now 27 months old, and everytime she finds one of the balls in her room, she knows exactly which toy it needs to go back to. She never seems to get tred of watching the balls, even now! This toy is great for children one year to two years. They will have a great time with such a simple toy.

Frecklelily

Fort White, FL

My daughter got the busy ball choo choo train as a gift and absolutely loved it.  This train has a few different settings you can put it on, stationary, straight, in a circle, balls staying inside the train or popping out the back.  We adjusted the settings based on her age and preference at the time.  When she was real young she just liked to either watch the balls within the train or to take them out and put them back in catching them before they could drop again.  As she got older we allowed the balls to come out the back so she could go crawl after them and place them back in again.  We next went to making the train move, she would chase the train around to catch the balls and then drop them back in.  This toy provided our daughter with hours of entertainment and was worth every penny.  The choo choo train does require 3 size C batteries but the battery life is pretty good.  There is also a volume control button.  This toy was passed down to my younger daughter  who has also enjoyed playing with it.  This toy has stood up to the abuse of my two children and still runs like the day we got it.  I would recommend this to anybody with a small child.

kristynann

West Suffield, CT

My daughter received this toy as a replacement (along with the Busy Ball Popper) from Playskool for another toy that was defective but discontinued. Playskool customer service was great! My daughter loved the music from the Busy Ball Choo Choo, and loved watching the balls go around, and trying to catch them when they came out of the top. Our cat also loved this toy and enjoyed sticking his head into the chimney, which just added further amusement! It is simple enough to use that said cat could even turn it on, so for our daughter it was a piece of cake. The batteries in this toy seemed to last quite a while as well, I don't recall replacing them often. I think in the year she played with it we only replaced them once as a matter of fact! Only complaints are that it does not move well (or at all) on carpeted floors and that it is not made from a safe plastic. It works fine on hardwood or linoleum/tile floors. Also, it is quite loud and does not have alternate volume settings.

TariM

Wrightstown, NJ

I got the Busy Basics Busy Ball Choo Choo for my son for Christmas because I was so impressed with Hasbro's Busy Ball Popper and thought that this toy would be fun for my little guy, who was almost 9 months old at the time (the recommended age is 9 months).  There are two levers to push, one determines if the train moves or stays stationary, and the other determines if the balls circulate through the train repeatedly or fall out the back once they have gone through.  The train is too weak to really move on carpet, so we usually have it stationary.  The train is loud, and after the child is done playing with it, the train makes noise repeatedly after so much time has passed, which I suppose is to get the child's attention again, but it's just obnoxious.  My son does occasionally enjoy pushing the button and taking the balls in and out, but this is not nearly as fun as the busy ball popper, and I was pretty disappointed in this product.

violinjure

Norman, OK