The Toniebox is a soft but robust audio player designed for children from 12 months and up. Little ones simply place one of the Tonie characters on top of the box to listen to stories and songs.
There are hundreds of Tonies to choose from, including plush toys; soft, squeezable silicone toys; and hand-painted, tactile, magnetic figures – each loaded with customised stories and/or songs that play when the Tonie is placed on the Toniebox.
How do Tonies work?
Each Tonie character has a small chip safely embedded in it which tells the Toniebox which story to play. There are also Creative Tonies, which you can use to record up to 90 minutes of your own songs, stories and messages using a smartphone and the free Tonies app for iOS or Android. You can also add free and paid-for content from the app on to Creative Tonies.
Why are Tonies accessible for children with vision impairment?
The Tonies toy system puts children in control of their listening. There are no screens or even buttons! Squeeze the ears on top of the Toniebox to change the volume (the big ear makes it louder, the small ear makes it quieter); tap the box to skip a chapter or song; and tilt the box to fast-forward or rewind.
The Tonies are visually and tactually distinctive so that children can find the story or songs they want to listen to independently – whether that's The Gruffalo, by the UK's bestselling children's author Julia Donaldson, or A Bear Called Paddington by beloved author Michael Bond – and simply place it on top of the Toniebox to activate the audio.
Ideas for using Creative Tonies with blind and partially sighted children
Parents, family members and carers can record stories, messages and songs on to a Creative Tonie – this could be family favourites, stories being used in school, or a braille and print book, for example Bertie the Very Blind Bat, or The Lonely Tiger, so that children can follow the braille with the audio whenever they want to.
Tips for getting the most out of Tonies
1) There are plenty of official and unofficial storage solutions available for expanding Tonie collections. You may want to consider adapting a doll's house or wooden display case by tapping in small, flat-headed iron tacks (making sure the tack doesn't poke through the wood!) as base plates for the magnetic Tonie figures. You could also use a braille labeller and add adhesive braille tape with the Tonie's name on to aid braille literacy and help children find a particular figure more quickly.
If you opt for a carry case (either specifically designed or a repurposed craft bag, for example), you can add braille to heavyweight cartridge paper using a slate or Perkins brailler – or by sticking adhesive braille tape to the paper, and tuck the paper into the appropriate pocket of the bag.
2) To make setting up your Toniebox as straightforward as possible, follow the Tonies checklist:
Power up: Connect your Toniebox 2 to the included USB-C charging cable to switch it on.
Check your wi-fi: Make sure your Toniebox 2 is within range of the wi-fi network you’d like to connect to, and have your wi-fi password ready.
Download the app: Install the free tonies® App on your iPhone or Android smartphone, and create your Tonie-Account.
Follow the instructions: You’re good to go! Simply follow the in-app guidance to finish setting up your Toniebox 2.
If you do get stuck, Tonies Support has lots of information to get you up and listening.
3) Adding extra stories to your Tonies. As well as recording stories and songs for a Creative Tonie, you can add paid-for content from the Tonie Library – choose from bedtime stories, Peppa Pig stories, and for older readers, CS Lewis's Narnia books. Buy online or in the Shop on the tonies® App. Not all content will work on all Tonies – make sure you check compatibility before buying. (For example, you will need one of the Peppa Pig Tonies for Peppa stories, but The Music Album from The Lalalinos will play on Creative Tonies and LalaLinos Tonies.)
You can also find a library of free content in the tonies® App.
You can also upload files from your phone to the tonies® App. These formats are suitable for the Creative Tonie: AAC, AIFF, FLAC, MP3, M4A, M4B, OGA, OGG, OPUS, WAV, WMA. The file name must not exceed 128 characters.
Please note that due to copy protection the Toniebox cannot play audiobooks purchased via the iTunes store or streaming content from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Prime Music, Audible, Deezer and Google Play Music.
This short video explains how to add content to your Creative Tonie in all these ways.
