SweetPea3 2 GB MP3 Player for Kids (Violet)

I bought this to replace a rollup keyboard that my 4 year old daughter kept playing the 'demo' songs on when she went to bed.It was easy to set the volume at an appropriate level, and very simple to add songs to.All I had to do was plug in the USB cable and drag the MP3 files to the directories to create playlists.Giving it 4 stars because if you want a song to be in multiple playlists, you have to load the same song into multiple directories.Now my daughter has 4 playlists.A customization allows me to change the playlists using a press and hold key combination so it is pretty easy, but she hasn't been able to figure it out yet.The customizations let you choose what can be changed quickly by holding the center button for a few seconds.The more advanced menu can be entered by pressing the left and right arrow keys for a bit.It would be nice to be able to customize it when the device is plugged in to the computer, but the menu system wasn't too difficult for me.My daughter uses this every night and sometimes on trips.While it is a bit pricey, I've found it to be worth every penny so far.It feels solid and durable, though my daughter isn't very rough with it.Batteries last for quite a while, only have had to replace them once since I bought it (4 months).The auto-off timer is also customizable and I've been able to set it without any complaints from the little one.Speaker sound is good, and kids aren't that discerning so overall it has been a great product.***** update Sep 2013I thought I'd write an update after having used this device for over a year.The device is still working great, and I've had no problem updating the songs as my daughter gets tired of the ones on it.She's still to young to understand how to change the playlists (she can't ready yet), but it won't be long.A battery lasts at least a month, but I'm not tracking diligently since it is a single AA battery and it lasts so long.

Both of our daughters (1 and 3) love music, so we wanted to find a way they could enjoy it without needing us to put on and change CDs for them, and without giving them access to a radio that would expose them to a ton of objectionable content that is not appropriate for young children.As we searched for a solution, we ran into a number of problems. It is NOT easy to find a music player that (1) doesn't include an FM radio, (2) is built durable enough to survive children, (3) is small enough to be easily carried by a child, (4) is simple enough to be easily operated by a child, (5) does not require headphones, since we have two children who will share it and want to listen to it together, and (6) has features that prevent it from becoming a nuisance to parents, such as a limited volume level, an automatic shut-off, a long battery life, etc.The SweetPea3 2GB MP3 Player for Kids solves all of these issues perfectly! At first, we were hesitant about the $70 cost, but in retrospect, this is WORTH EVERY PENNY! We love it, and so do our kids! Here's why...1. Plays MP3s instead of CDs -- no piles of CDs to keep organized, need changing, or get scratched and need replacing2. Small, light, and very portable -- even a 1-year-old can carry this easily3. Durable -- there's no doubt this will survive a lot of casual falls and bangs against furniture, etc.; partly because it's ruggedly designed, and partly because it's so lightweight4. Built-in Speaker -- multiple children can listen without need for headphones5. Headphone Jack -- headphones can be plugged in if everyone else wants peace and quiet6. Simple to Operate -- only three buttons: previous track, play/pause, and next track (all other features are hidden). The middle button plays/pauses, but also doubles as the on/off. To shut it off, you just pause it and after a minute, it shuts down. To turn it on again, push play and it starts up and then resumes playing. Very easy! Our three-year-old had it figured out in a day, and our one-year old had it figured out in about three days. The designer is to be commended for keeping it so simple, yet functional.7. Hidden Controls -- the volume and controls to change the playlist of songs are hidden, so parents don't have to worry about kids turning the volume higher than desired, and can change the playlist once they're sick of hearing a certain list of songs played for the HUNDREDTH time. (Specific buttons need to be depressed for an extended period to activate a hidden menu of options, or to quickly adjust the volume or playlist--a very clever feature that is worth every penny we paid for this over cheaper, less thoughtfully-designed alternatives.)8. Automatic Shut-Off -- can be set to automatically shut out after 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 minutes so children can fall asleep listening to it (or simply walk away from it and forget to turn it off) without draining the battery. We created a playlist just for lullabies so our 3-year-old can listen to it when she goes to sleep.9. Single AA Battery -- one AA battery reportedly runs it for up to 50 hours! I'm not sure, but we're already about 20 hours in on the first (included) battery and it's still going strong! Finally, a kid toy that doesn't eat several batteries a week!10. Simple to Load Content -- plug it into your computer and it shows up like a USB drive. Then drag songs into any one of the ten (numbered) MYSONG folders. Each folder shows up in the device as a separate playlist, 1 through 10. Disconnect the device, set it to a playlist, and push play! We filled two folders with recorded stories so that our daughters can also hear classic fairy tales and fables read to them if they wish. (It plays WMA files as well, so any CD you "rip" using Windows Media Player can be dragged and dropped onto this device to play just fine.) Since we control ALL of the content the device can play, there's no concern about them accessing objectionable content, unlike a radio.Yes, I know many parents feel it "isn't a big deal" for kids to listen to the radio because even if popular music features a superabundance of surprisingly graphic sexual themes, the kids "are too young to understand the 'obscure' lyrics anyway" and are "just enjoying the music." First, I'm not so sure the lyrics are "obscure" anymore. Second, studies have shown fairly conclusively that such exposure does, in fact, load the child's brain with all kinds of unhealthy views (about sexuality, misogyny, melodrama, the "coolness" of despair and apathy, etc.) that may seem to wash over them initially, but do NOT leave the child unaffected later. Instead, by the time kids are capable of understanding the content of those lyrics (and thus, capable of having mature discussions about the subject with their parents), they have already memorized tens of thousands of eloquent phrases that glamorize dubious morals--and their brain tends to "think with" those phrases and images, rather than resisting them. Thus, by the time they become able to discuss sex and values in depth, you (the parent) are already coming very late to the game because now you need to try to "deprogram" (explain, rebut, or correct) all those negative perceptions already ingrained in their minds with the force of habit and the appeal of poetry.Feel free to disagree, of course, but I'm convinced it's a very credible concern for very young children. This device solves that problem nicely. And when my children have school friends and are better able to understand lyrics later (which won't take long--probably when they're 5 years old), I realize it will be futile to try to shelter them. I just want to be able to guide them at that point without their heads already being filled with dubious viewpoints they've committed to memory beforehand.All in all, I HIGHLY recommend this product, especially for young children who enjoy music (and what young child doesn't?) and for parents who want to avoid the risks of needlessly exposing them to inappropriate content they cannot control (such as on the radio).

I planned on getting this for my daughter to use for her audio books that we could download from the library. While I liked the idea of the ruggedness and the IDEA of listening to the speaker without headphones, it was so much of a disaster that we returned it. The sound was not very good at all. But more frustrating is the volume controls are "hidden" meaning the parent has to press two buttons simultaneously and it is a TOTAL pain. I had many issues downloading files onto this thing. So much so that I gave up. And to top it off, it was not compatible with our library's audio files. So, it's gone and I do not regret it. Another thing: it was HUGE. I mean, I get the whole kid friendly idea, but this thing was just too big!