Tis the season to go to a lot of tech events, where I try to suss out products that may be useful to you in your creator life.
So it was a huge surprise, when at the last tech event, I saw something off my beaten track.

Now I was also out there and on-line this weekend with you all getting media cards, ssd drives, and a new camera body(more on that to come).
And this was something that is also on sale this weekend. Not camera or video based, but…..

As a parent, or relative, you always think about the amount of time a child spend in front of a screen.
Inevitable, but, you still want to entertain them.
I ran across this product call Tonies, that is unique, expandable, and best part: no screens
Ok, OK, what the heck is it?

Check this vid:

Basically, it is a box, with a speaker. What else?
You can place a character from their collection on top of the box, and it will read a story.
And they have a ton of choices~
The child just has to tilt either side to move forward or repeat the story and adjust the volume.
You can also custom record a story.
Maybe when you have a date night with your spouse, you have read a story to your child, and it plays through the box.
OR it’s a relative, and you want to share the special connection of reading to them
Super easy to set up

By the way, parents can set limits on volumes via the app.
It does also have a headphone jack.

Oh, it has a rechargeable battery that will last about 7 hours fully charged
It’s lightweight, heavily padded, so easy for a child to carry

I was so impressed by this product, and the concept of no screens entertainment, I had to share.

One thing you should note that there is an age warning as the figures may not be right for a toddler.
They do have an age requirement of 3+ because of that, unless under adult supervision.

So this one is for the kids, Like I said, tis the season.

Back to gear in the next post, including a review of 2 cameras, and why I picked only one!