After the story box : what to choose for a child who is growing up?
Updated September 2026
Short answer: there is no single "next step". The right choice depends on what your child is looking for now.
As long as they mainly want to listen to stories, a classic story box (Lunii, Merlin, Yoto, Tonies) is still the best purchase, even at 8. The catalogue format only becomes a problem when they start wanting to choose, ask their own questions and get real answers: adding more stories is no longer enough. At that point, three families of solutions hold up: podcasts and audiobooks (more grown-up listening, but still passive), reading and magazines (excellent, but nothing spoken out loud), and interactive audio devices the child can talk with. A smartphone is not the "next step": it is a different subject, with different consequences.
What really changes between 6 and 13
A child's audio needs follow a fairly regular progression. Spotting where yours stands avoids buying too early, or too late.
3-7 years
The child is carried along. One story, one narrator, a beginning and an end. The catalogue quality is everything.
6-8 years
They want to decide: which story, which hero, what happens next. Branching story boxes answer this need very well.
8-10 years
They want the device to react to what they say, not only to a button. Looping the same audio becomes boring.
9-12 years
They ask questions nobody planned for: why, how, what if. This is where a fixed catalogue stops.
11-15 years
They want to revise, recite, practise speaking, prepare a presentation, without a parent sitting next to them.
Signs the story box has done its job
Two or three of these signs are usually enough to confirm the need has changed.
They have been replaying the same three stories for months.
They ask you questions the box cannot answer.
The device stays on the shelf for weeks at a time.
They start asking for a tablet or a phone "like their friends".
They use audio for something other than stories: radio, podcasts, revision.
The available options, and their limits
No solution works for every age. Here is who each one really fits, and where it starts to fall short.
Who it is right for
Where it falls short
Classic story box (Lunii, Merlin, Yoto, Tonies)
A child aged 3 to 8 who mainly wants to listen, and perhaps choose how a story continues.
Closed catalogue: once everything has been heard, you buy more content. No answer to a personal question.
Podcasts and audiobooks
A curious child aged 8 and up, comfortable with longer, more grown-up formats.
Passive listening, no interaction. And access almost always runs through a screen (the parent's phone, an app).
Reading, magazines, workbooks
Every age: this is complementary, never a competitor.
Nothing is practised out loud: no recitation, no spoken language practice, no explaining a lesson.
Interactive audio device (including Compagnon)
A child aged 8 to 15 who wants to ask their own questions, be quizzed, practise speaking, with no screen.
Oversized for a 4-6 year old who mostly wants a bedtime story. A connection is needed for the conversation part.
Smartphone or tablet
Answers a need for communication and social life, not a need for listening.
Changes the subject entirely: screens, notifications, unfiltered content. It is not the logical sequel to a story box.
Three concrete situations
Age 7, she still loves her stories
No reason to change device. Add content, add audiobooks, keep the story box. The question will come back in a year or two.
Age 9, he says his box is "for babies"
The need has shifted to interaction: he wants to ask why, to argue, to pick a topic himself. This is the turning point where a conversational device makes sense.
Age 12, he is asking for a phone
The real question is no longer which story box. It is: what does he actually need (music, revision, contact with friends) and what can be met without a screen? An intermediate step often prevents a smartphone too early.
Where Compagnon fits
Compagnon is a knowledge box: the child speaks, it answers, with no screen at all. It keeps what worked with the story box (audio, independence, parental control) and adds what was missing: conversation. In practice, a child aged 8 to 15 can ask for an explanation, be quizzed on a lesson, recite a text, practise speaking English, or explore a subject they care about. Content adapts to their age, school year and what they already know, and the parent stays in control of how it is used. If your child is under 7 and mostly wants to listen to stories, a classic story box remains a better fit. We would rather say so.
Discover the knowledge box
Going further
At 10, is a story box still a good fit?
What changes at that age, and the honest options for older kids.
Lunii alternatives: the comparison
Lunii, FLAM, Merlin, Yoto, Tonies, Compagnon: who fits which child.
Which story box is the best?
How we read the market, by age and by use.
First phone: at what age, and what comes before?
What a smartphone really replaces, and what can wait.
Educational memo
At what age do children give up their story box?
Most often between 7 and 9, but it is not a rule. The trigger is not age: it is the moment a child wants to interact and ask their own questions rather than listen to a pre-written story.
Should we sell the story box?
Not necessarily. Many families keep it for a younger sibling, or leave it for bedtime for several more months. Both uses can coexist.
Aren't podcasts enough?
They are excellent for listening, but the child stays a spectator: no way to ask for a clarification, be quizzed, or practise speaking. That is exactly what changes around 9-10.
Isn't a smartphone the logical next step?
A smartphone answers a social need, not a listening or learning need. Many parents are in fact looking for an intermediate step, to avoid opening the whole internet at 10.
From what age is Compagnon relevant?
It is designed for ages 8 to 15. Before 8, a child who mainly wants stories is often better served by a classic story box.