Loveable puppy “Scout” to teach and interact with children.

If your child’s pleas for a pet are driving you barking mad then LeapFrog’s new interactive, loveable learning toy is guaranteed to keep both parents and children out of the doghouse! Children can now own their very own puppy thanks to LeapFrog toys which will even know your child’s name and some of their favourite things! My Pal Scout is one of four new learning toys from LeapFrog’s progressive line of products offering children from six months to three years personalised play and on-the-go learning. The new Scout-themed toys are all on the LeapFrog Learning Path, a free and industry first online resource that gives parents insights into what skills their child explores during play.

The plush puppy friends are like nothing currently available - with breakthrough technology which will call your child by name, remember their favourite foods, songs and other personalised elements, bringing interaction and learning to a new level. Priced at £19.99, the green My Pal Scout and purple My Pal Violet are suitable for children over six months and can be personalised by parents via a USB connection – allowing sophisticated, customised play.

Parents can also create a tailored playlist from an online database of songs and lullabies to suit their child’s personal preference. Each puppy comes with five songs pre-loaded but 30 downloadable tunes are also available so parents can keep content fresh.

David Lubliner, Marketing Manager for LeapFrog Toys, said: “Kids will love to play along with Scout in our new line of learning toys. True to our heritage, we deliver the engaging play experience parents expect from LeapFrog, while introducing a broad range of early learning skills and sophisticated interaction”.

As part of the Scout range, LeapFrog launches the AlphaPet Explorer – a portable learning toy with four modes to let kids play at their own level. Toddlers will have fun exploring the phonics games and hearing fun songs alongside Scout the puppy, as they build preschool skills such as letter recognition and fine motor coordination.

With LeapFrog’s Text & Learn, a learning PDA, busy three-year-olds will love to “play” like their parents do. The games focus on early letter sense and basic computer skills, allowing kids to role play things such as exchange text messages with Scout and check Scout’s weekly planner. Other learning activities include letter matching, shape identification and QWERTY keyboard navigation.

Other programmes to assist preschoolers with early writing assistance include new Scribble & Write, a handheld tablet that gives step-by-step guidance as children easily trace right over lit-up figures on the LED screen, practising drawing simple shapes and pictures. This fun learning game helps reinforce letter recognition and pencil control skills.