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Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Bop Along Buddies Review

Bub loves to jump and bounce. Like really loves to jump. She takes every opportunity she can to jump, including {much to my disapproval} constantly jumping on the couch and beds, jumping on the spot and most recently jumping on our tiny little floor trampoline. I'm pretty sure her love of jumping is intertwined with her sensory issues. She finds the repetitive nature soothing, and anything that helps her to chill out is ok by me. I just wish she'd stop doing it on the couch.

She gives me a slight heart attack each day when she jumps on the couch so I've been searching for alternative places for her to jump. Living in a townhouse we don't have enough room to get a proper trampoline for the courtyard, so I've had to think outside the box. I've finally found a really cool alternative though. I recently discovered Bop Along Buddies online and they're the perfect toy for my crazy on the go toddler, and they can be used inside as well which is great for our townhouse.

Bop Along Buddies Happy the Horse kids inflatable bouncer review

Bop Along Buddies are inflatable animal shaped bouncers, perfect for little kids who love to jump and bounce. They're designed to teach balance, co-ordination and to help develop core strength. They're also a great therapeutic toy for children with sensory issues and special needs children with autism and cerebral palsy. Bop along buddies are a great tool to help kids explore movement and improve muscle tone, posture, balance and core strength all whilst having loads of fun. They're also great for imaginative play {cowboy races anyone?}.

Bop along buddies are made from child friendly {Phthalate free} PVC that exceeds current Australian standards. Each bop along buddy comes with its own hand pump included so you have everything you need to put it together and start playing straight away. It does take a couple of minutes to pump up though so I'd suggest pumping it up before showing the kids {because dealing with impatient kids is never fun}.

There are 13 different bop along buddies to chose from, including the standard range and XL range. The standard sized animals are suitable for kids from 1-5 {and can be used with adult assistance for children under 1} and the XL range are designed for kids aged 5+. We got happy the horse, but I'm seriously considering getting an XL one just so bub and I can have animal races {not even joking}.


I chose Happy the Horse for bub because she loves farm animals. I also chose Happy because I knew the saddle would help bub know exactly where to sit while using him, which it does. I thought I'd need to show her how to get on him and bounce, but she proved me wrong by getting straight on him and bopping around. Although apparently his name is just "horsey" and she was "jumpin" not bouncing. Jeez mum get it right.

Happy, sorry horsey, is 54cm long and 42cm high {with the seat sitting approximately 24cm off the ground}. He holds a total weight of 120kg, but its recommended no more than 70kg for regular use. Of course once I read 70kg was the limit my first thought was hell yes I can play on him too. And I totally did {would you really expect anything less}. Although I have to say it probably wasn't the most elegant thing to watch {sorry neighbours}. Just imagine me with my knees up around my ears trying to bounce on a horse that comes up to about the middle of my shin. Like I said not pretty, but still oh so much fun.

Bub's just a little bit in love with him. Well that may be a huge understatement since she has to say hello and jump on him every time she walks past him. Plus the other night she walked up to him cuddled his chin and said "awwww horsey I love you". Less than 24hrs after meeting him she declared her love for him. I think that's a new record for her. But I totally understand why, look how much fun she has on him.



Bop along buddies are safe to use inside and out on lots of different surfaces {just make sure there's nothing around that can puncture the PVC}. Bub's used Happy on concrete, grass, timber decking and the tiles inside without any dramas. The only thing she hasn't mastered yet is actually racing him rather than bopping up and down on the spot, but I'm sure she'll work it out over time.

Bop along buddies happy the horse on grass

Bop along buddies are great toys that encourage kids to exercise and have loads of fun, all while developing motor skills. They're basically a high tech version of the jumping balls that were around when I was a kid, just with loads more personality. I don't know about you, but I definitely think an animal bouncer would've been much more fun than the bouncey balls I got around on. At $44.95 I think they're a great investment given they can be used up until 5 years old, plus they're great quality. I know we'll definitely get years of use out of ours. 

Disclosure - I was gifted Happy the Horse for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed are my own based on my experience with the product. I did not receive payment for this review.

Would you like to comment?

  1. I love the cow but my miss 3 adores the dragon because he is pink, which is her favourite colour this week!

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    1. Haha, this week! Gotta love how quickly toddlers change their minds.

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  2. looks like your daughter is thoroughly enjoying her bop along horsey!
    I'd love to win the dog for my daughter. :-) she's almost 2.

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    1. Yep she definitely loves him. Best toy ever in our house right now :)

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  3. I like the green fella! He looks like he'd breathe fire when you bounced on him hehe

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    1. Definitely! I bet kids would have heaps of imaginary fun with him.

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  4. My kids have the red horse at their kindy, I didnt realise they came in other animals!

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    1. Yep so many different animals. There's more on the site too.

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  5. I like the cow my little one loves cows as soon as she saw it she moo'd lol

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  6. Digga the Dog is the one I adore
    A perfect gift my niece, aged four
    She'd race and bop for hours on end
    I'm sure Digga would be a perfect friend!

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  7. Digga the Dog - because he's wearing the same wide eyed exhausted expression I have after a day of trying to keep up with my 2 preschool boys! Would love to bounce some of that energy out of them:)

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  8. Brutus. He doesn't look like a brute at all. So cute.

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  9. These look great fun for keeping the kids fit

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    1. They definitely keep them fit. Bub jumps on it for ages.

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  10. I would LOVE the Darcy Dragon for my son! They are so cute and he is so active!

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  11. It's a tough choice between Brutus Bull & Darcy Dinosaur. My boys are crazy about dinos, but my youngests first animal noise was moooo & he's cuckoo for cows & bulls.

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    1. My daughter's first animal noise was moooo as well :)

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  12. I love the look of al of them but I know that my daughter would love Darcey the dragon. She's gotten into dragons and dinosaurs recently.

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    1. Dragons are cool! I think we have a dinosaur phase starting here too, she always wants the dinosaur to attack the princesses in the castle lately.

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  13. I love Milly the cow because it is just crazy to say my kid is in the other room bouncing on a cow. Too cute!

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  14. My favourite has to be Pickles the Pig because Miss nearly 2 loves to say "piggeeeee" and because she is pink. But.. for the purposes of this competition I would choose Dixie the Dragon (again because she is pink) for Miss nearly 2 and then purchase an XL Pickles for me :)

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  15. Mr 2 year old says - "I love Darcy simply because he has a pink tongue & it looks great on his green body "

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  16. How cute are those little horses!!!! Love the colour too. My girls LOVE jumping on the couch. It is totally wrecked. I tell them we won't be getting a new one. When they break that, everyone is sitting on the floor!

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    1. Our couch is wrecked too, between the jumping and the million times she spilt her bottle on it, its pretty much dead. I like the idea of mattresses on the floor as a couch, maybe I'll do that here {or at least threaten it}.

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  17. My son would love Darcy the Dragon - loves green and dragons too
    Would bop along and pretend to fly - he would love it through and through

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  18. Love Digga the dog, my son would LOVE that!

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  19. Both my kiddies LOVE Sunshine the horse, not only does it brightens the room, it certainly brings sunshine smiles onto my kids faces!
    tan_ying_ying@hotmail.com

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    1. I love sunshine too. That'd be my pick so I can have animal races with bub :)

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  20. Brutus the Bull, like how his horns act as handles to cling on to (Ern)

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    1. I reckon he'd be one of the easiest ones for kids to ride because they can use the horns or the ears to hold on to.

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  21. Fergus the Bull XL. One, he's red. Two, love the startled look in his eyes along with that smile. Third, reminds me of a little devil with that tail of his.
    - Di.

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    1. Haha his little tail does look like a devil tail! I didn't even notice that before.

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  22. Haha that is the coolest thing ever! We;re having our first bub in February and I can't wait for stuff like this!

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    1. Congratulations Lucy! I'm so excited for you. There's so much cool stuff to look forward to!

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  23. Milly. We love our cows in this household!

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  24. Milly the Milk Cow is magnificently the one in my daughter’s eyes and makes me magically marvel momentarily making many major matters meaningfully muddled. Meaning my muted mummy moments are merrily maximised.

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    1. Wow Lu I'm trying to think of something clever with m words to reply but my brain isn't working lol

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  25. Digga is so cute. I know the girls would love him

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  26. I'd love Digga because then my kids might stop trying to ride our dog LOL.

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  27. My boys have Darcy in red and the LOVE him!! One of the best purchases I've made! Great review Toni :)

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    1. They're so cool aren't they. I can see we'll be getting years of use out of ours.

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  28. Brutus! We have a 9 month old mastiff also called Brutus so that was my choice made straight away!

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  29. Oh this is gorgeous and absolutely just want we need to with a serial "bouncer". Jumping on the bed/ couch in our apartment in winter isn't really ideal! I love your blog as I always find new and exciting things! This will be a great one for Xmas!

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    1. Yep they're awesome, and I totally feel your pain with a serial bouncer. Mine is like the energiser bunny, always on the go.

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  30. Happy. I'm sure he'd be a very happy red horse with Mr Ashley in the saddle bopping along 100 miles an hour, Ashley loves his "neighs" and I'm sure he'd have many hours fun & enjoyment on "Happy" rather than Dads armchair!

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    1. Haha I'm sure Happy would be more comfortable then daddy's armchair too.

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  31. Brutus the bull, love the horns and amazing colour.

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  32. Happy the Horse! My kids love my old, real-life horse that still lives at Nan and Pop's farm and wish they could learn to ride like I did as a kid, so Happy would be the next best thing for our tiny yard :)
    (Stacey Shailer)

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    1. He's great for small houses. Closest thing to having a real horse :)

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  33. Dixie is the winning dragon from my girls!!!! =) just like the dragon in the never ending story lol

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    1. I've never though she looked like Falcor before but now that you mention it I can totally see it.

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  34. Happy, he looks the most like a "moose" which is what my 3 year old announced she wants for her birthday! A Moose, where am I supposed to find a moose??

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  35. Digga the dog, for my nephew, oh yes!
    a great therapeutic and sensory toy, the best.
    balance, co-ordination and core strength ability
    Digga will be so much fun, he will have so much agility!

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  36. Milly the cow is awesome. This is the one my son said he would like. Because she is beautiful :D

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  37. We love Dixie because My grand daughter loves Pink

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  38. Darcy the dinosaur is awesome!! My son is in love with everything dinosaurs.

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    1. There seem to be a lot of dinosaur obsessed boys out there :)

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  39. Sunshine the horse is a beauty, My daughters favourite colour.

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  40. I love Brutus the Bull, that's another way of saying grabbing the Bull by the horns!, this looks awesome!!

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  41. Millie as my son is always asking for a pet Cow arballantyne@dodo.com.au

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  42. My daughter would love Dixie she loves the colour pink

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  43. Digga the dog is so cute, kids will love it our Chi might get a little jealous though lol

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  44. Darby because my son used to have one but he popped it with a pin I would love one for my daughter

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    1. Oh no! I've been very careful to not let ours near any sharp objects because I'm worried it'll get a hole. I'd be in big trouble if he ever deflated.

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  45. Darcy my son loves green and I love the name Darcy

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  46. Happy the Horse, the kids are going to be the happiest kids on the block while bouncing around on Happy!

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  47. Digga the dog! My little boy has just started crawling and loves our dog so much, but every time he makes it to the dog, she runs away! He would love a dog of his own wo doesn't run away :)

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  48. Dixie!! Is it wrong that I'm bummed they don't come in adult sizes??

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    1. No, I'm totally bummed too. Although the XL ones do look like they'd be ok for adults ;) At least for the occasional use.

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  49. Digga the dog is the one for us,
    Like a real pet, but without the fuss.
    Mr 4 sure loves his name,
    "D for Digga, D for dog-it's the same".
    He'd take pride of place in the family room,
    Bouncy and fun-zoom, zoom, zoom!

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  50. Happy the horse, or horsa as my 2yo old calls him. Why? Well red is her favourite colour; horse is her favourite animal and Happy is her nickname :) Perfect!

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  51. Replies
    1. So many people love the eyes on Digga :) We must all relate to the shocked look haha.

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  52. Dixie cause of the pink colour girls love the colour pink

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  53. I love Digga the dog. My dd loves bouncing and loves dogs

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