Cleverly designed to reduce screen time and develop imagination through musical play and audio stimulation, the beloved Toniebox is making its way through millions of homes across the world. Innovative and engaging, children can use the simplistic audio system independently to listen to their favourite songs and bedtime stories thanks to Tonie Boxes wide range of popular, collectable characters that help to immerse them in a world of classic tales.
Whether you’re looking for an audio alternative to reduce screen time as your little one’s play, or you’re simply looking for a creative way to help make bedtime a breeze, the Tonie Box offers endless tales, stories and musical melodies to encourage imaginative play. Perfect paired with a collection of compatible Tonies Headphones, the Tonie Box can also be taken along on sleepovers, road trips and more, so your little one can listen to their favourite stories and music as you travel from A to B, keeping them occupied and entertained for the whole journey.
Before we share our favourite Tonie Boxes, below we answer our frequently asked questions about Tonie Boxes to help share guidance on whether or not a Tonie Box would be suitable for your child.
Are Tonie Boxes worth it?
Tonie Boxes provide an engaging, unique approach to storytelling by enabling each Tonies Character to be placed on top of the audio system, which will then read out a story. Countless efforts have been put into creating these realistic figures, with children able to choose from popular tv and storybook characters, all beautifully hand-painted to provide an impressive finish.
Featuring high quality sound capabilities, Tonie Boxes are the ideal addition to playtime to help encourage musical play and audio stimulation. Children and parents are also able to choose from a collection of Creative Tonies, which include an additional feature that allows loved ones to record themselves reading a story, a loving message or singing a song and upload it to the box through the Toniecloud or app, so babies and children can listen to familiar soothing voices, even when loved ones are not at home.
How do I get my Tonie to work?
Featuring hassle-free setup instructions, it’s easy to bring your Tonie Box to life. Simply ensure you have a wifi connection and an account on the Toniebox website to get started. Or, if you’re an android or smartphone user, parents can download the ‘mytonies’ app to register your Toniebox. Setting it up is an easy, straightforward process that shouldn’t take longer than around 10-15 minutes.
Tonie Boxes are also really easy to use. Once set up, place a character on the Toniebox and if the LED light turns green, it’s ready to go, but if it’s blue, you’ll need to wait for the story to load. To pause, remove the Tonie character from the box and place it back on to continue playing the music or story. Finally, your Toniebox can be tilted in opposite directions depending on whether you wish to fast-forward or rewind the audio playing. And, when your Toniebox needs charging, place it on the base of the charging station.
What age are Tonie Boxes for?
Tonie Boxes are suitable for children aged three and above, as it will encourage them to play independently, placing the storybook character on and off the box. Completely child-friendly, children can move their Toniebox to adjust the controls, as well as pinch the ears on the box to control the volume of the audio.
Can you upload audible books to tonies?
Tonies support a range of file formats, but do not support the streaming service, Audible. However, with our range of Tonie Characters on the Direct4Baby website, there are countless popular children’s audio books and stories that are bound to be a hit with the younger ones.
Tonies Audio Character - Room on the Broom - £14.99
From Room on the Broom by the much-loved children’s author, Julia Donaldson, to the bestselling Snowman and The Snowdog and more, discover the beloved audio collection of timeless children's books. If parents choose to download the app, the TonieBox app gives you the freedom to browse through hundreds of free books in the form of downloadable content, as well as the ability to upload your own ‘creative tonie’ story.
How do you engage children in music activities?
Getting children engaged in musical sensory activities can sometimes be a challenge, but this is made much easier by incorporating a fun, audio-led activity into their daily routine. With help from a Tonie Box, there are endless opportunities to stimulate audio play. For example, children have the freedom to choose from a number of popular, realistic figures, involving them in audio play from the get-go. And, with no screens involved, children are able to use their own imagination for whichever song or story that they choose to listen to, relying on audio simulation to lead the way.
Whether you encourage your little one to clap in-time to the music, or pat your lap while bouncing them on your knee, these subtle movements will create a pattern for your child to copy, which engages them with the activity in-hand, allowing them to maintain focus. Once they are older, children will be able to sing along to the music, which will encourage them to sing and memorise words of both their favourite songs or classic stories and will strengthen the bond between the two of you.
Tonies Audio Box
Musical play
Tonie Box Starter Set - £69.95
Allow your child to choose their favourite colour from our exciting collection of Tonie Boxes at Direct4Baby. Featuring a Tonie Box, Creative Tonie character, charging station and instruction manual, our Tonies Box Starter Sets have everything your child needs to immerse themselves in a world of engaging audiobooks and musical adventures. With the ability to play their favourite songs, your little ones will be dancing around the house in no time, creating memorable moments that are guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Creative Tonies, which have space for 90 minutes of recordings, are also included in our Tonies Box Starter Sets available at Direct4Baby. Once you’ve recorded your audio using the Creative Tonie feature, simply upload the recording to the ‘Toniecloud’ on the computer, or via the app, and use the function that allows you to drag and drop files directly to your audio box. Simply refresh the box once the file has uploaded and it should start to play your recording.
Can my baby enjoy a Tonie Box storytime?
Although the typical age for Tonie Boxes is three to seven, children younger than three can use the Toniebox when supervised by an adult. Content in the Toniebox library can be filtered by age, which will allow you to find the most appropriate songs and stories, perfect for those memorable baby storytimes.
Steiff Cuddly Friends - Hoppie Rabbit - Tonies - £29.99
From Steiff Cuddly Friends that come with a cuddly toy rabbit for your baby to cuddle while you both listen to the calming audio, to the Tonies Audio Character Nap Time collection featuring white noise and nature sounds, there’s a number of characters to engage your little one or to help them drift off on an evening.
Shop Tonie Boxes at Direct4Baby
From listening to a calming children’s classic before bedtime, to dancing to an engaging soundtrack during the day, Tonie Boxes are great for engaging young children in musical activities and encouraging musical play from a young age. From Tonie Box starter kits to colourful character figures, shop our full range of tonieboxes, characters and suitable headphones online at Direct4Baby.