Every time one of those as seen on TV ads air with something targeted for kids all of my kids say " mommy mommy I want that!" When I say everything I mean everything. Any way my kids saw the Glow Pets commercial and of course that became number 1 on his birthday wish list. So I wanted to make that happen for him. I was able to find a selection of the Glow Pets at our local Walmart in their as seen on TV section so we bought him the puppy one he wanted which was the blue and green puppy. We took it home and wrapped it. The next day we had his birthday party and we had given him the other gifts we had bought along with gifts the guests brought. When it came time to open the last gift which was his glow pet he opened it up and screamed with excitement, so we knew we picked the right gift. So immediately he wanted to try it out so we pulled open the belly of the pillow and pulled out the battery pack and screwed off the back and put them in. Went into his bedroom and shut the lights off after making sure the battery pack was set to on. We then tried to turn the lights that are in it on to make it glow and it turned on. He was so excited that it was working and that he had his glow pet puppy. After a while he had wanted to go and play with his other gifts. So I pushed the button that should have shut it off only it did not turn off. I squeezed the paw again and still would not shut off. Then I started to smell what smelled like melting plastic coming from the button switch that is in the paw of the puppy pillow. I brought it closer to my nose to confirm that was where the smell was coming from and noticed that it was extremely hot. I quickly pulled open the belly and the battery pack and took out the screw opened it and pulled the batteries out. It was pretty obvious this was not safe to have a child sleep with. I had hoped that maybe this one just had some type of malfunction and we had purchased it at our local Walmart so we decided to try and exchange it. My son did not quite understand what was going on but we assured him we would get him a new one. We brought it in and was able to grab the last puppy Glow Pet they had and brought it home. I put the batteries in flipped the switch on the battery pack put it in and squeezed the button in the paw. The lights flashed on but then immediately shut off. So I tried squeezing the paw again to turn it on and the lights seemed to turn on while my fingers were pushing the button but as soon as I let it go it would shut off. I went and told my husband that it looks like this one is not going to work either. So he opened it up to try and figure it out and tried putting the switch from the ON position to the TIMER position then he pushed the button on the paw and it turned on and stayed on. These pillows have a timer option so that after you child has fallen asleep they will shut off so its not on all night long. Any way my son was happy that it was working and I figured well we would probably rather it be on the TIMER option any way so it would work out. Later that night he was excited to sleep with his new glow pillow and even wanted his bedroom door shut, this is not something he normally does as he is only 5 and feels safer with the light coming in His Room from the kitchen. So we obliged and he fell asleep right away. I went to check on him about an hour and a half or so after I had tucked him in and the Glow Pet was still on. I thought huh it was supposed to shut off after 20 minutes for safety reasons. I opened it and checked the battery pack and it was definitely set to timer. I pinched the paw to shut it off and it would not shut off. I was pretty irritated at this point so I shut it off but turning the battery pack to off. So the next day I tried to figure out what was going on and it turns out this one was also defective, that is unless they have that issue. I would not recommend buying one of them no matter how much your child might want one. They are just not safe and a pain.
I remember wanting everything I saw on TV as a kid, too. From what I read, that sounds dangerous. Was there ever a recall on them? That is not a safe toy for a kid, especially if they are sleeping with it. I'm glad you went and checked on it after you put your son to bed. Who knows if something bad could have happened. I can see why a lot of kids would want those. They are a night light and a toy pet in one. Too bad that there are so many defective ones.
They do want everything they see on those as seen on tv ads. I mean everything. My son wants a go go pillow and he does not even have a tablet he also wants a chillow and they aren't even toys. I payed 30 dollars for that glow pet and when the button on the first one would not shut off and started to smell like burning plastic and got extremely hot I really did not want to give him one at all. Even a replacement but he had his little heart set on getting a glow pet for his birthday. When he opened it he jumped up and down with excitement. We got the biggest reaction with that one present out of all of his presents he got on his birthday. So against my better judgement I decided on exchanging it rather than just returning it. Then when the second one seemed to work I was content. My son was so excited about sleeping with his new glow pet. I am just glad I decided to go check on him and his pillow because that thing just does not work properly. The safety timer that is supposed to shut it off clearly was not going to work which means its no longer safe. I know the batteries combined voltage is not very high but it does not take much to catch stuffing on fire. I would not suggest any one get one of those. The regular pillow pets are cute and they have no electronic devices inside of them so they are safe. My son now just uses his glow pet as a regular pillow pet. No batteries allowed.
ugh, my kids want those stupid things too, every time the commercial comes on they are begging for it. i'm so glad to read your review because i was just about to give up and buy them each one, now i will save my money for something that won't try to kill them in their sleep!
We constantly have people asking us for Glow Pets (I work in a toy store, fyi) and we keep having to tell people that we don't have them, and naturally they get huffy at us. The reason we don't sell them is exactly for the reasons you said! A lot of parents have been griping about the stupid things, and they really should've been recalled a while ago.
It is a good thing I wasn't born in this generation so my somewhat crappy childhood was probably for the best. I didn't watch a lot of TV so I don't think I wanted much from it and it seems like these days toys in general aren't safe for kids. The closest thing I remember was Sky Dancers but they instantly recalled that.
I'm so sorry that your son's birthday present was such a flop. My nieces each have one of these and they've not had those kinds of problems with their pets.
Wow @ 1st post. Technology has come a long since those sea monkeys from the 1970s. I vaguely remember that commercial and figured that a sleeping child's well-being would be compromised...nothing that anyone should have to experience in their lifetime. Hopefully, you can get in on a class action lawsuit. You may not get rich but hopefully it will cease these types of products being sold to the public.
They fixed those problems. I have one and it's working just fine, the paw, the light, the battery pack, and the time works just fine.
I am an adult but I do admit I considered buying one because the caterpillar one looks so cute and fluffy. Your experience though makes me not want to buy one. It sounds like an electrocution and fire hazard. Your story reminds me of Samsung galaxy Note 7. One more thing, since this pillow is electronic, we cannot wash them when they get dirty and smelly.
Interesting review, I guess these toys were made in China? Because only China can make products that are of awful quality that did not seem to have passed quality control. Well they have lowered their price to $19.99 now, and I hope these toys have now undergone stringent quality tests before selling them to the public.
Yeah this just has the sound of something that should probably be avoided. I am guessing that there is not much use for them, and so that alone would count me out.
I was quite intrigued by them, since i have been seeing a lot of advertisements of them lately, but based on your experience, i'm quite hesitant and i'll probably be better off.
As a kid I always wanted every toy I saw on TV but my daughter is different, she doesn't ask for mostly anything but of course I do buy her toys. Thank you for your review which will prevent kids from getting hurt. Those things are so intriguing and cute that I wanted to get my daughter one but of course safety is first. I can't believe they didn't put much effort on naking them safe especially since they are so popular.
It's a good thing that parents check their children to make sure things are alright at bedtime. It's sad when you try to make your child happy with a toy and it's very dangerously defective. So glad to know that the defective toy is now fixed too. It's very scary when it's a child's toy that's defective. Scary period when anything is defective. Walmart has good prices too for most things even food to save money.
