15 Yoto Hints and Tips to make the most of your Yoto Player
AD/Yoto player previously gifted for review. This Yoto Hints and Tips post contains affiliate links
It’s no secret that we are MASSIVE fans of Yoto in this house. Having first been introduced to this screen free audio player for kids around 12 months ago, it’s fair to say it’s totally overhauled our morning and bedtime routines, allowing my children to switch off and relax before bed, focus on their homework or simply be less distracted when getting ready for school.
If you’re new to the world of Yoto, you may be wondering if you are using the Yoto player to its full potential. Fear not, having amassed a large collection of Yoto cards and really putting the player through its paces, here are our tried and tested Yoto hints and tips to get you started.
The Best Yoto Hints and Tips
1. Set up the Nightlight and Ok to wake clock
One of our favourite features of the full-sized Yoto player is the Nightlight and Ok to wake clock – something which sets it apart from the Tonies Toniebox. If you’re still deciding between Yoto vs Tonie, the nightlight is definitely something to bear in mind.
Setting up the nightlight is really straightforward using the Yoto app. In the settings, you can select from a choice of seven different colours (including white), as well as specify a different colour for morning and night. By specifying what time ‘day mode’ starts, you can effectively set up an ‘ok to wake clock’ where your child can visually see from the colour of their night light whether it’s ok to wake up. Alternatively, if they have the Yoto turned on to the side with the pixel clock visible, a sun or a moon will appear next to the time.
The brightness of the screen and the nightlight can also be adjusted in the Yoto app.
2. Use soundscapes for creative play with younger children
If your children love creative play, playing with their doll’s house or even creating dens and using their imagination, they will love the Soundscapes in the Yoto app. These are effectively themed background music tracks with sound effects that can really help bring their play to life and whisk them off to a new make believe world. You can find Soundscapes including Pirate World. Construction Site and Enchanted Forest in the ‘Discover’ section of the Yoto app (Click on My Library, Drop down ‘More’ arrow in top right corner, and then Discover)
3. Embrace the power of Yoto Make your Own cards
The Yoto cards library is very extensive, with new Yoto Cards being added all the time, however, do not underestimate the power of the Yoto Make Your Own Cards. Whether it’s audio from your local library via BorrowBox, mp3 audio from Amazon or even grandparents recording a goodnight story or reading your child’s favourite book out loud. Make Your Own Cards have no limits and can be recorded over and updated in the Yoto app in minutes. Our post below is full of Yoto Hints and Tips for MYO Cards including step by step instructions.
4. Manage the player via the app
Whilst the Yoto Player is great for allowing your child to create their own entertainment, the ability to control via the Yoto App on your phone is also a great advantage. From turning on a mindfulness meditation or switching on some calming background music or Yoto cards to help your child sleep, can all be done from your own bedroom without disturbing them, including turning on, swapping tracks or pausing the audio as required.
5. Listen to the Free Yoto Daily
My girls absolutely LOVE the Yoto Daily podcast and Jake makes a regular appearance as part of our morning routine. These child friendly podcasts are great to listen to whilst your child has their breakfast, with different themes each day including fun games, facts and even ‘draw alongs’ which my two absolutely love. These are completely free to access (just need a wifi connection) via the podcasts section on the Yoto app.
6. Use your Yoto Player as a Bluetooth speaker
Did you know you can also use your Yoto player as a Bluetooth speaker? To do this you must first turn on Bluetooth pairing in the settings section of your player on the Yoto app. Once enabled, press the left hand button on your Yoto Player and hold down for three seconds – a grey Bluetooth symbol will appear.
You can then pair your phone or other device with your Yoto in the device settings, at which point the following will appear on your Yoto. Please note, the tracks will be controlled via your phone in paired mode and not using the Yoto buttons.
7. Get a good nights sleep with Yoto Sleep Radio
Did you know Yoto also has a FREE Sleep radio, along with loads of other child-friendly radio stations that can be accessed either via your app or on your Yoto players? The Yoto Sleep radio is our favourite – ideal as part of a calm bedtime routine. The songs are mostly classical music, lullabies and sleep sounds, but they’re also nice for adults to listen to too!
8. Download cards before travel to work without WiFi
One of the biggest pros when comparing the Yoto Player and Yoto Mini is the portability. The Yoto Mini is a smaller version of the original, making a lightweight carry along version ideal for travel. If you’re taking your Yoto Mini on a long car journey or flight, it’s important to ensure the content is fully downloaded to your device before you go, otherwise they won’t work when disconnected from Wifi. To do this, when you have a new card, leave it in the player for a little while (you’ll notice the download cloud appear when you first insert it). You dont have to play the whole thing, just give it time to download the content. You can check how many of the cards in your library are downloaded on the Yoto app.
9. Buy child friendly Yoto Card Storage
Yoto cards are fairly small and lightweight, which is great for portability, but does mean they can be lost or misplaced quite easily. There are lots of useful Yoto card storage options to choose from including the Yoto card case or Yoto Mini Travel Case – the latter of which has plenty of space for storing your Yoto headphones too. We love our original Yoto card cases, which unlike some of the cheaper alternatives, have easily accessible slots with diagonal slats, which makes adding and removing them quick and easy, even for young children.
10. Let your child choose the cards
Give your child full flexibility over the content they listen to. Being able to flick through the ring binder of the Yoto Card Case is a great way for them to visually pick out the card they want to listen to and slot it into the player themselves. You may fid that they initially reach for the same cards a lot and that’s ok!
11. Use the Card Store Snippets section to listen to previews
If you’re looking to expand your Yoto card library but don’t know where to start, the Discover section of the app has a Card Store Snippets section, allowing you to preview a full track of the card before committing to purchasing. This is a great way to ‘try before you buy’.
12. Check the duration of cards to ensure value for money
Not all Yoto cards are created equal when it comes to value for money, so keep a close eye on the card duration in the specifications section of the card on the Yoto store. Some cards such as the Disney Junior Novels are HOURS long, working out excellent value for money when. you consider your child may listen to a chapter or two each evening. Other cards last less than half an hour, which whilst great for young children with shorter attention spans, means they will become familiar with the contents far more quickly.
13. Keep an eye on the Discovery section
The Discovery section of the Yoto app is updated regularly – so don’t forget to check back, It also contains some other useful features such as the Tooth brush timer and tidy up timers, counting down to encourage motivation or continued behaviours for a specified amount of time.
14. Join Yoto Club
The Yoto Club is an affordable and convenient subscription service that allows you to expand your Yoto collection quickly. Costing £9.99 per month (with annual purchases also available) you get two credits a month to spend on specific Yoto Club cards in the Yoto store, as well as getting 10% off all other purchases (including players and accessories). Is Yoto club worth it? Click on our link below to learn more.
15. Join our Facebook Group for more Yoto Hints and Tips
Last but not least, join our Facebook Group if you’re in the UK. The Yoto Fans UK group is full of Yoto hints and tips to make the most of your player, as well as being a helpful community to buy and sell unwanted Yoto cards and accessories.
16. Even MORE Yoto Hints and Tips
For more Yoto Hints and Tips, check out our related posts below or search Yoto in the search bar. If you have any questions about Yoto, or any other Yoto hints and tips you want to share, please share in the comments below or drop me a message! x
