I really love this quote from the great Irish writer George Bernard Shaw. When talking about children and education, he said "What we want to see is the child in pursuit of knowledge, not knowledge in pursuit of the child". A simple idea, but just how do you motivate your child these days?

Beginning early enough and developing good habits can be of tremendous value here.

When your child is too big to be sleeping most of the time, but only happy when awake if you are around, then doing even simple chores like cooking or ironing can be very difficult.

Using the Leapfrog fridge phonics system is a really excellent way to amuse your young child, while you get on with breakfast, lunch or dinner.

The main thing you need to have is a metal surface close enough to the ground, so that the child can access the machine and change the letters herself. The machine will stick to any metal surface, but the fridge or freezer is probably one of the safest, as doors can be dangerous with a small child behind them.

You need to spend a little time showing the child how the toy works, but believe me, they catch on very quickly and are soon changing letters freely.

Do watch where they store the letters they have used, as we found some under the fridge! They are small enough to slide underneath a free standing fridge or freezer.

The unit attaches to the fridge magnetically and the individual letters attach to the toy in the same way. However, the magnets strength is less on the letters.

When a letter is placed in the correct position and the button is pushed, a child’s voice can be heard repeating the name and the sound of the letter.

Now this is where you need to learn a little patience, as your child will love repeating the same letter and the constant B, B, B, B says buh etc. could well drive you crazy.

Another word of warning, to non-American parents. The accent on this and all other leapfrog toys is distinctly American, so do not be surprised if your child starts to sound that way too.

To be honest, I think the benefits of the Leapfrog Fridge Phonics games clearly outweigh the pronunciation concerns, as children will have to learn to live with English spoken in different accents all their life anyway.

The unit also plays singing games with the letters, as each letter talks, sings, teaches letter names, letter sounds and learning-songs.

Grab yourself some time to get leaprog fridge phonics today and treat your little one to this great toy for the pre-schooler. They are not expensive and can last for years.