Posted By Laura in Childrens, Gift Inspo, In the Home, Review, Technology for baffled parents, Travel | 1 comment

My boys have all had MP3 players for a year or two now. They love them – and we love that they love them. But we were initially concerned about spending a lot of money on something they’d no doubt lose or break inside 3 weeks, so we bought the cheapest we could find (£7 max). When they worked, they were ace, but all too frequently they freeze or crash, or batteries need replacing, or the music needs updating as they don’t hold much and the play list gets a little boring.

The boys all have separate and distinct tastes in music, and long journeys can become fraught with music-choosing-stress. So when we announced we were taking the family on a road trip to France, I can honestly say I yelped in glee when SanDisk got in touch to ask if we’d like to review the Sansa Clip+ on the way. Oh my yes, we most certainly would.

The picture at the top is ‘actual size’ – I was a bit concerned when they arrived, convinced these matchbox-sized packets of loveliness would be lost instantly. But not so.

In fact, they love them. And have never lost them. Or broken them. Or done anything other than use them. Constantly.

We have the 2GB versions (though the 4GB is practically the same price, so I would suggest you go for that), and it’s big enough for an entire audio book. You can record – No.1 son records fave radio shows thorugh the FM player, younger sons record themselves being… themselves. Of course.

CLICK to listen to Boy Discovering His New MP3 Player – And Even Better He Can Record Himself.

They can download podcasts, create playlists, make audio plays of their own, the blue LED screen means they’re able to listen to it in bed with the lights off (when Tough Mama allows, naturally), the sound quality is excellent, and the menu system is intuitive (well, it must be, because the manuals are still in pristine unread condition in the drawer in my office).

Jolly was 7 when he got his, and handled it just as well as his older brothers. Pink is now 4, and despite not being able to read, she still manages to figure out where her favourite songs are when one happens to be left lying around for her to nab.

You can buy the 4Gb version of the SanDisk Sansa Clip here. I would suggest if you have a child over the age of 6, these are a GREAT choice of MP3 player for them.