Disclosure:  I received a product sample to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

You’ve probably seen children in a store or on television who speak a foreign language.  It’s fascinating to me that these small babies can  fluently speak two, three, even four languages at such young ages, while I struggle to retain the little bit of Spanish I once knew.  It’s a well-documented fact that children have a unique window of opportunity for language development.  If there is a special child in your life, why not consider giving the gift of language to that child?  There are many ways to offer such a gift.  I have tried learning Japanese through books and on tape.  It’s just not the same, possibly because my old brain is starting to harden up.  My children, however, soak up the information like a sponge.  A few months ago we reviewed the Little Pim Japanese videos and my children still remember many of the words they learned on those videos.  In fact, when my coworkers rode with me in the van on the way to lunch one day, they teased me by getting in the back seat like they were my kids.  So I reciprocated by turning on the Little Pim Japanese videos.  They actually watched the videos and mimicked some of the words.  Now, if that isn’t testimony to these videos, I don’t know what is! 

Recently we had the chance to view the English/ESL videos as well.  I was interested in these videos from an educator’s standpoint.  Because there are sometimes children in my classroom who don’t know even the basics of the English language, it was helpful to me to see what vocabulary would be taught to a non-native English speaker.  In my non-expert opinion, this might also be useful for children who have developmental delays.   Children who have issues with language acquisition can benefit from experiencing language in all different ways.  My children were a bit too old for these videos and tired of them quickly.  However, the cartoons are in short intervals so it’s easy to show one quickly then stop it as needed.  Also, this gift set includes a plush panda bear which is perfect for reinforcing the ideas that your child learns while watching the videos.  If at all possible, you should watch the videos with your child.  Not only will you learn the words, but you’ll be able to interact with your child while sharing the experience.  What a treat!

This would be a wonderful gift set for new parents.  Think of the opportunity to give that little person a headstart on language development.  It would also be a thoughtful gift for any children who live abroad and need to practice their English speaking skills.

One more thing — Little Pim is working on a holiday ebook!  It’s supposed to be released in December 2013.  You can check out the kickstarter campaign through October 31.  The rewards start with very small donations and work their way up.  But truly the reward is helping this small company blossom into something great!