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Baby Tad

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Baby Tad is a toy made by LeapFrog.

The 1999 model features Tad wearing a yellow jumpsuit with green frogs on it with a bib, and the 2001 version came in two forms: one with a yellow-orange jumpsuit and a bib, but instead of frogs, the jumpsuit has musical notes on it, as well as a version wearing a yellow shirt underneath orange overalls. The versions with the shirt and overalls, as well as the Learning Baby Tad wearing a blue shirt, have much friendlier faces than the ones with the bib. The 2001 and 2007 models have a bedtime mode, but not the 1999 and 2000 ones. There are also versions that speak in Spanish, French, and German. All versions of Baby Tad require 3 AA batteries, except for the 2000 version, which requires 2 AA batteries.

1999 Version[]

The 1999 version has six shapes on the bib: a yellow star, a purple triangle, a red heart, an orange diamond, a blue square, and a green circle. Each shape can flash when the shape game is played and if the right button is pressed, Tad says "Yeah!" followed by the shape’s name and color, and then a song. The songs the shapes play are:

  • Purple triangle - Mary Had a Little Lamb/Violette bicyclette (French)/Hänschen klein (German)
  • Red heart - Ring Around the Rosie/À la clair fountaine (French)/Backe backe Kuchen (German)
  • Blue square - The Itsy Bitsy Spider/Au clair de la lune (French)/Häschen in der Grube (German)
  • Green circle - Pat a Cake, Pat a Cake/Frére Jacques (French)/Wer will fleißige Handwerker seh'n (German)

You can also press the music note on Baby Tad's hand to hear the songs instead of pressing the shapes. There are also lips on Tad's cheek that the child can press to hear him say, "I love you". The red heart will also flash when this button is pressed.

Pressing the ON/OFF hand turns Baby Tad on or off. If there is no input for several seconds, Tad will make two attempts to get the child’s attention, saying "Peek-a-boo, I see you" and "Pick up Baby Tad".

Without input after 15 seconds, Baby Tad turns off automatically and says "Bye-bye!" He can be turned on again by pressing any shape, the lips, or either of his hands.

2000 Version[]

The 2000 version is an extremely rare version that seems like some sort of prototype for the 2001 version. This model, titled "Learning Friend Baby Tad", is much smaller than any of the other versions, and is hardly a plush toy, being more of a handheld one. While it looks more like the 1999 version (except for the face, which is now made of plastic and doesn’t have the kiss mark), it functions more like the 2001 version. It's notable for a variety of reasons, perhaps the largest one being the first time that some of the voice clips in the 2001 version were used, although at a slightly lower pitch. It also features voice clips that weren't in the 2001 version. It contains the following voice clips:

  • "Hi! I'm Baby Tad!"
  • "Let's play!"
  • "(Color) (Shape)"
  • "Yay!"
  • "Press Any Shape"
  • "Can you find the...?"
  • "You found the...!"
  • "Bye Bye!"

It keeps the 1999 appearance mostly intact; the biggest change is a much happier and cartoonish face. All buttons are now on the bib, and the blue square and green circle have switched places. Below the shapes are 3 buttons: "On/Off", "!" and "?". It functions much like an extremely simplified version of the 2001 version. Since the songs (daytime and nighttime) have been omitted, the only interactive aspect of the toy are the shapes, which do not light up. When you turn him on, he plays a short jingle and then says "Hi! I'm Baby Tad!", and when you turn him off he says "Bye Bye". The shapes work similarly to the 2001 version, although he still says "(color) (shape)" like the 1999 version, and then plays a jingle. The shape jingles have near identical tunes to the 2001 version. The "?" button starts a game exclusive to this version, where Tad asks either "Can you find the (shape)?" or "Can you find the (color) shape?". If you press the correct shape, he says "Yay! You found the (what he asked you to find)!" and then plays a shortened instrumental version of one of the following songs:

  • Yellow Star - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
  • Purple Triangle - Mary Had a Little Lamb
  • Red Heart - Ring Around the Rosie
  • Orange Diamond - If You're Happy and You Know It
  • Blue Square - The Itsy Bitsy Spider
  • Green Circle - Oh Where, Oh Where, Has My Little Dog Gone?

2001 Version[]

The 2001 version, which is the most well-known version, features new songs. It has a more modern look to it, a less creepy face (likely adapted from the 2000 version), and the shapes have happy faces on them. On Tad’s bib are the same six shapes (with the blue square and green circle’s places back to the 1999 model's layout). Unlike the 1999 version, the shapes light up in an order, which goes: yellow star, green circle, orange diamond, red heart, purple triangle, blue square, then it repeats. The songs this version plays are:

  • Yellow star - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/Ah, dirai-je maman (French)/Alle meine Entchen (German)
  • Purple triangle - The Itsy Bitsy Spider/Violette bicyclette (French)/Hänschen klein (German)
  • Red heart - If You're Happy and You Know It/À la clair fountaine (French)/Backe backe Kuchen (German)
  • Orange diamond - Hickory Dickory Dock/Si tu aimes le soleil (French)/Es tanzt ein Bi-Ba-Butzemann (German)
  • Blue square - Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?/One, Two, Three, Four, Five (UK English)/Au clair de la lune (French)/Häschen in der Grube (German)
  • Green circle - Baa Baa Black Sheep/Frére Jacques (French)/Wer will fleißige Handwerker seh'n (German)

The songs can also be played by squeezing the sun on the right hand. After each song, a shape will flash. When pressed, Tad will say "Yay! That's the (color shape)!" and then sing the song dedicated to it. If an unlit shape is pressed when Baby Tad is on, he will say "That's the (color shape)!" followed by a short ditty. If a shape is pressed when Baby Tad is off, Tad turns on and says "That's the (color shape)!"

Baby Tad now has a lullaby feature that can play up to 6 minutes of continuous classical music. Press the moon on the left hand to activate the timer. Before the lullabies begin, Tad will say, "One (or however many minutes you chose) minute(s) till night-night". To add additional minutes, press the hand again and one additional minute of music will be added until the timer reaches six. If the hand is pressed after that, the timer will reset. The lights also flash while playing the lullabies, in a random order for each song. The lullaby at the start may be different but the order they play in is always the same. The lullabies, in order, are:

  • Serenade No. 13 in G Major, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," K525, II. Romanze: Andante by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (58 seconds long) (This is the same piece from the Learning Drum but in a different movement)
  • Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), Op. 15, No. 7, "Träumerei" by Robert Schumann (1 minute, 19 seconds long)
  • Five Songs, Op. 49, No. 4, Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, Gute Nacht, "Brahms' Lullaby," by Johannes Brahms (1 minute, 1 second long) (This is the most well known piece out of them all)
  • Wiegenlied: "Schlafe, schlafe, holder süßer Knabe", D498, Op. 98, No. 2 by Franz Schubert (52 seconds long)
  • Adieu to the Piano, WoO Anh. 15 by Ludwig van Beethoven (57 seconds long)
  • Liebesträume, (Dreams of Love), S541, No. 3, by Franz Liszt (59 seconds long)

After the lullabies end and the sleep timer counts down to 0, Baby Tad turns himself off silently. To set more minutes, squeeze the left hand again. To cancel the sleep timer before it counts down to 0, press Baby Tad’s foot to turn him off or press the other hand to switch him over to daytime mode.

Pressing Baby Tad’s foot turns him ON or OFF. When turned on (either pressing the "On/Off" button on his foot or the "Daytime" on his left hand), Tad says "Hi! I'm Baby Tad! Let's sing!", and the shapes flash to his syllables in an order which goes: blue square (hi!), red heart (I'm), orange diamond (flashes twice, baby), purple triangle (Tad), green circle (Let's), yellow star (sing). When turned off, he will say “Bye-bye!” Baby Tad has an automatic shut-off feature. After a brief period of inactivity, Tad prompts the child for a response. If the child doesn't respond by pressing a button, Tad continues to prompt the child by saying "Let’s snuggle," "Peek-a-boo, I see you," or "(giggles) Let’s play." If there is still no activity, Baby Tad automatically turns off and says "Bye-bye!" Pressing any button will then restart the toy.

2007 Version[]

The 2007 version was titled "Learning Baby Tad", and is much different than the previous versions as there is more variety and activities in what Baby Tad does. Instead of shapes and colors, Baby Tad now teaches kids the alphabet, body parts, counting and songs. He still has the option of bedtime music, however, this was changed to either 5 minutes or 10 minutes of classical music before he powers down. This Baby Tad has a blue shirt with a smiling sun which lights up and flashes to the beat of music and moon which can be used to toggle between daytime mode and nighttime mode. He also has the alphabet on the bottom of his shirt.

Tad also has body part names on the different parts of his body, like HAND on his hand and FOOT on his foot. There is also a CLAP button on his other hand and a DANCE button on his other foot. Pressing his belly button makes him sing the alphabet song. The songs he plays in daytime mode include:

  • Shining Down (to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
  • Happy Hands
  • Wave Your Hand
  • If You’re Happy and You Know It
  • The Itsy Bitsy Spider
  • Happy Feet
  • The Alphabet Song
  • Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
  • You Can Find Your Foot
  • Salsa (Instrumental)
  • Twist (Instrumental)

Tad can be programmed for up to 10 minutes of classical bedtime music. To switch him to nighttime mode, press the moon on his shirt, he will say "Night time. Squeeze my hand to hear some music!" then press either one of his hands once for five minutes of music, or press his hand a second time to increase the time to ten minutes. Just like the 2001 version he says "5/10 minutes till night-night" Each timer is preceded with the song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with female vocals, and then the classical music timer starts. After 5-10 minutes of music, Baby Tad turns off. Instead of the sun flashing to the lullabies, it stays lit until the timer ends. Pressing the moon again switches back to daytime mode. The songs that are played in nighttime mode include:

  • Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Sung by a woman's voice (always played before timer starts)
  • Liebesträum, (Dreams of Love), in A-flat Major, S541, No. 3 by Franz Liszt (59 seconds long)
  • Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G Major, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music)," K525, 2nd Movement by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Träumerei (Dreaming): from Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) for piano, Op. 15, No. 7 by Robert Schumann
  • Là ci darem la mano by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Fünf Lieder (Five Songs), Op. 49, IV. Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, Gute Nacht, "Brahms' Lullaby" by Johannes Brahms
  • Wiegenlied: "Schlafe, schlafe, holder süßer Knabe", D498, Op. 98, No. 2 in E-Flat Major by Franz Schubert
  • Adieu to the Piano, WoO Anh. 15 in F Major by Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2 in E-flat Major by Frederic Chopin
  • Bagatelle No. 25 in A Minor, Für Elise, WoO 59 by Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Weber's Waltz by Von Weber

Despite the vast amount of lullabies in the Night Time mode, the same lullaby may be played more than once in a 10-minute timer. Not all of the classical music pieces are lullabies. The lullabies may also play for up to 11-12 minutes, despite being set for 10.

Baby Tad also has an ON/OFF switch on his back, instead of an ON/OFF button on the foot. When turned on, Tad says "Hi! I’m Tad". If there's no input for several seconds in the daytime mode, Tad giggles. Without input after about 20 seconds, Tad says "Bye-bye" and turns off automatically to preserve battery life. After Baby Tad has automatically shut-off, he can be turned on again by pressing any of his 6 buttons.

Trivia[]

  • All versions of Baby Tad use the Leap-font musical soundbanks.
    • The 2007 version is sample-based.
  • There are some very rare versions of the 2001 version where the shapes have angry faces (citation needed?)
  • There's a similar toy to Baby Tad called Little Leap that taught kids the alphabet with a letter pad similar to Baby Tad's bib. Little Leap had a 1998 model (meaning it predated Baby Tad) and a similar redesign to Baby Tad's 2001 redesign in early 2001. Little Leap is based off of Tad's brother Leap, and Tad's sister Lily also got a toy around the 2001 Baby Tad era called Lovable Lily.
  • The speaker in the 2001 version is a 50mm paper cone speaker rated for 16 ohms and 0.25 watts.
  • Test/Debug mode: Press the daytime song button and the on/off button at the same time then press the nighttime song button 'till it begins to recite all of the sound fonts.
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