What is a Toniebox? A Parent’s Guide to Screen-Free Storytelling

Screen-free fun that encourages storytelling and imagination, Tonies are a toy that are perfect for bedtime stories, singalongs, and audio games. But how do they work and why are they so popular?

Here, we take a look at why everyone is talking about Tonies, who they are for, and their fabulous features and benefits.

What is a Toniebox?

Essentially, a Toniebox is an audio player. What sets it apart from others though is how it can be used.  Using a Toniebox as a speaker, Tonies figures then sit on top and tell stories or play audio-based games, being able to be swapped over for others.

A fantastic way to engage in story time or to provide independent play away from screens, there’s more to a Toniebox than first meets the eye. Sing-along with your favourite film characters or have a much-loved story character read the book they star in, to you. Intuitive and easy to use for little hands, change the volume with a touch of the ears, or tap the side to skip a song or story.

Alternatively, invest in a Tonieplay controller, and play audio games through the Toniebox. Follow along to the instructions and interact with the box each round with games to be played solo or with friends.

What are Tonies?

Tonies are the talking toys that tell stories, sing songs and play games. Screen free and a great way to interact with characters from your favourite franchises, these figurines sit on a Toniebox and play audio, often with authentic character voices.

Taking on many forms, Tonie Characters are figurines of characters, usually from popular media such as film or TV, be it Disney characters who sing the songs or quote lines from your favourites films, Pokémon who tell stories of give fun facts about where they’re from, or storybook characters like, Paddington Bear, who will read to you.

Tonies Cuddle are the same principle as the classic characters but are soft toy versions. Still able to play narrator led stories and songs, these characters double as squishable soft toys so playtime can meet snuggle time.

Record Your Own Tonies

Then there’s Creative Tonies. These are Tonies where you can record up to 90 minutes of personalised content (or use the Tonies app to download free content onto) so you can read bedtime stories, pass on family knowledge or help young learners with languages and other skills.

We’ve got a whole blog about 5 Ways to Use a Creative Tonie, to help inspire you.

How do Tonies Work?

Each Tonie contains a clever little chip which the Tonie box can read when you place it on top. Communicating magnetically, the Toniebox can scan each new figure and downloads the unique audio for them via Wi-Fi so that the box can instantly recognise that figure when placed on top of the box again.

The audio is stored on a server until you scan a new Tonie when it is then downloaded to the box.

How to use a TonieBox

To play the audio for each figure simply place the figure on top of the box and then remove them when you want it to stop.

To turn the volume up, pinch the large ear on top of the box, and to lower it pinch the smaller one. Skip tracks by tapping the side of the box and fast forward by tipping it to the right, with rewind being a tip to the left.

What Age would You Recommend a Toniebox?

Designed to adapt to a child’s growth, the current generation of Toniebox is recommended for 12 months and beyond. With different content on different forms of Tonie, you can adapt to your child’s needs easily.

My First Tonies or Sleepy Friends are great initial options for ages 1 to 3 years, as they feature lullabies, first words, and gentle songs to soothe them to sleep. Ages 3 to 5 years will appreciate more preschool content, and this is where the classic Character Tonies come into their own with recognisable songs and short stories. For ages 6 to 9, and even beyond, Book Tonies offer full length stories and Pocket Tonies have fun and informative trivia and facts for curious minds to learn with.

Do Tonies Work without Internet?

Yes, once you’ve completed the initial setup. You will need a Wi-Fi connection to set up the box and download new characters to it but once this is done, each Tonie can be played offline.

A Toniebox 2 should be able to cache about 400 characters, so there’s plenty of storage for your collection, but if you do need more space, you’ll have to redownload older ones when you wish to use them again.

Discover our full range of Tonies toys and accessories today and explore storytelling and song through these audio characters.

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