I thought my 14-month-old son's favorite Baby Einstein DVD (the one with the farm animals) was the only thing that could hold his attention for longer than a minute. But we tried out the Comfy Easy PC System the other day, and for 10 solid minutes (a record!), he focused on the animated characters on the screen. More than that; he interacted with them using the system's keyboard. The buttons are big and colorful and easy to press, and each one brings up an animated character, such as a pink elephant, a talking piano, a sun and moon.

The First Steps CD, one of three for kids aged 1 to 3 (there are also discs for 3- to 5-year-olds), focuses on, among other things, teaching colors, shapes, body parts, time of day, and musical instruments. I found some of the animation and music to be a little amateur; they reminded me of Saturday morning cartoons from the '70s. And some of the content seemed bizarre--like the brightly colored mushrooms (?), pieces of candy and wrapped gifts that dance randomly across the screen to psychedelic music, and the little gnomes that blow up balloons before they themselves explode in a comical way.

But overall, the content seems appropriate for toddlers. My son burst into giggles when the smiling sun said, "It's daytime." "Suh! Suh!" he said, pointing at the screen. Anything that makes him that happy, and keeps him that occupied, is a worthwhile toy to me. The Comfy Easy PC System retails for $79.99.