Child Not Using Their Yoto, Toniebox or Voxblock? A Practical Guide to Helping Kids Build Audio Player Habits

Audio Player Love Isn’t Always Instant

If you’ve thoughtfully chosen an audio player: Yoto Player, Yoto Mini, Toniebox, or Voxblock as a gift and your child doesn’t immediately take to it… it can feel disappointing. These devices promise screen-free calm, independence, and imagination – so when it sits untouched, you might wonder if you bought the wrong thing.

Here’s the honest truth: many children don’t automatically know what to do with an audio player and how to listen to audio content.

Just like babies don’t instinctively know how to turn the pages of a book (often preferring to munch on them), children frequently need modelling, shared moments, and rhythms that help the audio player become part of their world.

The good news? With gentle introduction and consistency, audio players often become a child’s most-used item and a source of comfort, creativity, and routine.

Let’s explore how to help that happen in a way that feels natural, playful, and pressure-free. This post will give you lots of tips and ideas. You can navigate the post using the quick links below to go to specific topics.

If you’d like some help to consider which audio player may be best suited for your family then have a go at my quiz or join the Facebook group and ask any questions you have. I’ll pop links at the end of this post to discount codes and spotted deals for Yoto, Yoto Mini, Tonieboxes and Voxblock.

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Start with Shared Experiences

Children learn through connection first. Before expecting independent play, try building habits together:

• Snuggle and listen: Have rest time on the sofa or in a cosy corner with a blanket. Put on a short story card, Tonie, or Voxblock and listen alongside your child.
• Model curiosity: Wonder aloud: “I wonder what happens next?” or “Shall we find a calming story?”
• Let them press the buttons: Encouraging them to put in the Yoto card, click the block on the Voxblock, or place the Tonie on the Toniebox builds ownership.

This is the stage equivalent to turning pages together with a baby – it builds familiarity and joy.

Gently Integrate the Audio Player Into Daily Rhythms

Children usually respond best when something becomes part of their day-to-day rhythm (routine), not a standalone novelty. A practicable pattern to their day that helps them feel safe and secure.

Here are some practical ways to weave Yoto Players, Yoto Minis, Tonieboxes, and Voxblocks into your family’s rhythm:

Morning Kickstart

• A “get-ready soundtrack”: upbeat music or a short morning playlist to start the day.
• A Yoto Mini on the breakfast table for a daily fact card, Yoto Daily Podcast session or weather check.
• A Tonie with familiar music or known story to help little ones transition from sleepy to awake.

Car Journeys

• Short stories or educational cards for school runs or trips out.
• Long adventures with chapter books – perfect for Voxblocks and Yoto Cards with longer content.
• For easily-car-sick children, audio can be a brilliant replacement for screen distraction.

Playtime Moments

• Small world play: Characters from stories often naturally join toy setups. Children might replay the story or make up their own.
• Sensory play: Running calming music or gentle stories during sand, water, or dough play can enrich the atmosphere.
• Dance parties: Use music Tonies or Yoto cards for five-minute wiggle breaks.

To see more around small world and sensory play set ups with audio players check out this post.

Quiet Time / Reset Time

Many parents introduce audio players specifically for relaxation/ quite time/ downtime:

• Create a cosy den and cuddle up with a soft blanket and a calming playlist. Start off doing this together and if your aim is for this time to be independent then you can gradually transition towards this. Maybe start with just leaving for a minute or two in the middle to – nip to the loo! Gradually, extend the time you are not actively sat with them. Maybe you might stay in the same room and do jobs in that room or sit and read your own book.
• Engaging with a child after they have been listening to audio content can be very beneficial. A time of connection after time apart is so important. Here’s some ideas of questions you could ask depending upon the age of your child/ren:
  • What part of the story have you got up to?
  • Who is your favourite character and why?
  • Which character do you think is most like you?
  • Where is the story set?
  • If you could change the setting of the story where would you change it to and why?
• Use meditation or mindfulness cards to turn a tricky/ meltdown moment into a reset moment. You could introduce a social story – when I feel overwhelmed I will go to my cosy space and listen to (a particular story or song). Having the same one each time is helpful in these situations.

Bedtime Routine

• Use a consistent “wind-down” track or story every night so it becomes a sleep cue. Some children like to have different stories. For us, we found that our daughter can’t have ‘new’ stories before bed – it has to be something she knows. Basically, it’s too exciting and it keeps her awake if it’s a new story!
• Yoto sleep timers and Toniebox bedtime content can help signal “now it’s time to rest.”
• Story progression builds listening stamina over time – don’t rush it. Audio player content can grow with your child. Yoto content is currently the most varied and you are also able to add large amounts of own content and podcasts.

Independent Play (Later – Not Right Away!)

You’re looking to help your child build positive associations with listening to audio content, independence naturally grows:

• Keep a small but rotating selection accessible.
• Present 3–5 options: too much choice can overwhelm. For some children you may need to start with a choice of two. We have often gone with a familiar titles with a new title.
• Encourage them to choose their story or music for the next activity block. Choosing in advance is very helpful. We’ve found this particularly helpful at bedtime. You can find more on bedtime audiobook choosing in this article.

Make the Audio Player Feel Like Theirs

Ownership makes a massive difference. A few ways to help:

• Let your child organise their Yoto cards/Tonies/blocks, even if it’s not perfect. This has certainly been a hard one for me! I can be a bit of a control freak. You can find out more about our Yoto storage here. DIY card stands, Tonie shelves, or Voxblock boxes can make the experience tactile and inviting.
• Think carefully on what colour to choose for your Tonieboxes, what colour adventure jacket for your Yoto or bumper for your Voxblock.
• Build a little audio nook with cushions, a basket of stories, and soft lighting.
• Decorate the area with artwork inspired by their stories.

Use Audio for Purposeful Skill Building

These devices aren’t just entertainment – they support:

• Developing a life long love of stories
• Listening skills (amazing for phonics and literacy)
• Attention span development
• Emotional regulation
• Imaginative thinking
• Screen-free boredom tolerance

In essence, it’s worth putting in the effort to help develop a love of listening to audiobooks! You are giving your children the gift of skills that will not only support them in childhood but develop into essential strategies to support mental health and wellbeing as they grow from children, to teens, to adults.

Try Different Types of Content – Not Every Child Likes Storybooks Right Away

Some children need a different entry point:

• Silly songs
• Ambient sounds (rainforest, ocean, white noise)
• Short facts
• Riddles and jokes
• Mindfulness tracks
• Adventure stories with sound effects
• Music Tonies or playlists
• Familiar characters from TV or books
• Record your own content
• Interactive content

It’s absolutely fine if story chapters aren’t their starting point. For us, our daughter loved stories but wasn’t interested in non-fiction. Now she loves non-fiction during the day; she still adores her stories at night.

More Ideas to Spark Interest

Here are additional ways to build connection:

• “Audio + Activity” pairing – listen to a story while colouring a related picture, making crafts or doing a puzzle. The audio is just in the background.
• Move-like-the-character games during energetic stories. Pause the story and all slither like a snake or roar like a bear!
• Audio invitations to play:
  • Set out farm animals + a farm story.
  • Dinosaurs + a dino fact card.
  • Soft toys + a bedtime tale.
• Make-your-own content for Yoto or Tonie Creative figures – record yourself reading a favourite story, make up your own stories. Get friends and family to send messages and share stories.
• Introduce it during a new environment, such as a picnic or camping trip – novelty can reset interest.

And the Big Message…

Don’t expect to hand over a Yoto Player, Yoto Mini, Toniebox, or Voxblock and walk away hoping for instant independent play.

Most children need:

• modelling
• shared enjoyment – especially at the beginning of their audio player adventure
• time
• predictable rhythms
• the right content match

Audio players become beloved when they become part of a child’s life – part of family rituals – not a one-off gadget.

If you’re patient and playful, and you experiment with how and when you use it, the habit grows naturally.

Give it time. Try new things. Follow your child’s pace.
Their “click” moment will come – and it’s usually worth the wait. If you’ve tried everything and audio content really isn’t something your child enjoys then it’s worth noting that the players and cards/ Tonies/ blocks hold really good resale value.

Where to Buy Yoto Players and Yoto discount codes

I frequently (several times a week) update offers – click on the button below to head to the dedicated page. You will also find year-round discount codes.

Last Chance Yoto Section – Yoto Discounted Card Deals

If the page defaults to the full library then click on the top right ‘clearance’ block.

Where to Buy Voxblock Players and Voxblock discount codes

Discount Code: BUSYBUSY for 20% off one purchase – limited to one transaction per customer