Mattel Password Journal 2011

My daughter had a traditional diary with lock and key, but her brother got into it. She bought a Password Journal to keep her thoughts extra private and has been using it ever since. It's terrific. We haven't had any problems whatsoever.VOICE RECOGNITIONThe voice recognition can be set to low (not so sensitive) to high (password must be said exactly the same way each time). It can also be turned off. We tested it; and it while it will unlock for me on the low setting, it will only unlock for her on the high setting. Her brother has been thwarted in his attempts to make it open.The journal can be opened and the password reset, if it's forgotten or doesn't work. Insert a pin into a tiny hole on the front of the journal. Just don't show the brother how it's done!INVISIBLE INKThere is an invisible ink pen and a black light for an added layer of security. The light does turn off after a few minutes and she keeps having to turn it back on. That doesn't bother her, though. I'm happy we won't need to worry about her leaving it on and draining the battery.The light can also be switched to a regular light that does not reveal the invisible messages.REPLACEABLE NOTEBOOKThe journal comes with a removable 25-page, unlined, 4"x6" spiral-bound notepad. I like the fact that it is replaceable. Otherwise, the whole toy might end up unused when the notebook is filled.SECRET COMPARTMENTThe secret compartment that can only be accessed with the Password Journal open. It can be used to hide secret messages, jewelry or other small items.FINAL THOUGHTSVoice recognition was my biggest concern with this product. I was afraid it wouldn't work or be very frustrating to use. Not at all. My fears were unfounded.My daughter writes in the Password Journal every day with enthusiasm. Anything that would encourage that has my stamp of approval.******************UPDATE: My daughter brought her Password Journal to afterschool care and was very happy to report than none of the kids could get it to open, despite knowing her password. She was the only one who could open it when the sensitivity was set to high.

I got this for my daughter because she had been asking for it. I was skeptical, but I went ahead and got it for her. I am happy to say that it works. She loves it and is so excited that it only answers to her voice. The siren that goes off when 2 failed attempts is a bonus to her. I would be sure to have the kids record their password in a quiet area. My daughter recorded her password with the TV in the background and it caused issues with opening it. Once we re-recorded it in a quiet room, it works much better. The same applies for opening it. The background news will skew the ability for it to open. Great gift!

I purchased this as a Christmas present for my oldest daughter (she was nine years old at the time). As soon as she opened it, she loved it! Her little sister even wanted one (she had to wait til later to get one). :( It was a bit tricky setting the password and then resetting it after her younger sister tried to mess with it and figured out her password. I was not impressed with the small and odd (non-standard) sized note pad inside. My daughter quickly went through all the pages and then was creative and made her own pad opt of cut pieces of paper taped together. She enjoyed it, but I would have given five stars if it had more paper in a standard sized note pad. <><

My 7 year old loves this journal! I read many reviews before purchasing, and even got some feedback from other parents who all said the same thing: this journal is junk and it doesn't work properly. I took a chance and bought it anyway, because my daughter really wanted one. We opened it fully expecting to have lots of problems but a week later it works great for us. Yes, it is sensitive. You have to repeat the password exactly as you set it. We found the key to this is to use a word or words that are easily recognizable. I tried opening it using the password in my own voice and an alarm siren went off! But in my daughter's voice it opens every single time....as long as she says the words the same way.I also like that you can replace the notepad with a new one when the paper runs out.I do get that a lot of people have had no success with this item but again, for us it has worked great.

My 8 year old couldn't wait to get this toy and she had a lot of fun with it at first. However, we quickly had problems with it recognizing her password. When you go to reset it, it doesn't always work and even with following the instructions it can be confusing with the different levels of security. (Does a 8 year old really need THREE levels of security?) Also, her younger brother was able to mimic the password and get into it - not that there was anything of true value inside.Finally, the "magic" secret markers inside dry up quickly which leaves you with not much to do with it since it really doesn't hold very much inside. The British accent of the toy is a little annoying too - did they think they were trying to make it like a girly version of 007?

seemed a neat toy. Daughter loved it, then liked it, then was done with it. The password feature is pretty fickle. The word has to be said *EXACTLY* in the same tone, and kids are pretty bad about remembering exactly how they say something and then keeping the frustration out of their voice when it doesnt work. I can get it to work for me every time, but it seems to have issues with high pitched voices. One thing the instructions doesnt mention is the reset button on the front of the journal which lets you unlock it if you cant get the password workingAlso the light for the invisible ink doesnt shine on the whole page, so stuff written in the corners is impossible to see