Review on Midland X-TALKER 22 Channel FRS Walkie Talkie for Kids - Two-Way Radio, 38 Privacy Codes, NOAA Weather Alert (Multi-Color, Set of 4 Radios) by Derek Davie

Santa gave my family a set of these. First I let the kids choose their favorite colors, and then my mom and I get out the leftovers. That's the first thrill. My 8 year old daughter loves the hidden weather radio function. When no one is in the mood for trifles, she turns on the weather radio and feels very important. My friend and her daughter are very clumsy, so their daughters have taken quite a beating on hard floors and sidewalks and they still walk like champions. The battery clips can be easily removed to reveal the battery compartment. Incidentally, this is another nice feature of these radios: they use FOUR AAAs, not three like most of their competitors. Maybe I just have OCD but I worry about having to use 3 batteries and then leaving one alone and unusable. I suspect the solution to this problem is to buy batteries in packs of 12, but I'd rather just pop in an extra battery and convert it into extra run time while using the smaller battery packs evenly. The fine print on the range really needs to be read before you buy them. They're good for miles as long as one person is high up and has an unimpeded path to the other person. Or even across a large field or lake. In the forest it is not so far and in an area with buildings between users plan a maximum of 1 block. This limitation applies not only to FMRS radios, but to all portable radios. Great power doesn't matter. You either need to put the antenna up high or have an unobstructed path. The rest is marketing. The only way around this is to do ham radio on shortwave where radio waves bounce off the ionosphere and you never know who will hear your transmission. (I am a general class radio amateur)