Reviewing Toys

Bea recieved a little Elmo Mini-Plush in the mail today! Just the right size, not too big, not too small. The Tickle Me Elmos that are so popular are a bit too big for her and also I think they can be slightly overwhelming for a little baby (7 months), considering the toy is as big as her.

Sesame Street Workshop is a non-profit educational organization, so buying their toys helps fund their programs, which is always a good thing. Sesame Street was one of the few shows that I was allowed to watch when I was a kid and I’m going to have to start searching YouTube so Bea can watch them in Europe.

Sesame Street Workshop, Gund, Elmo

Just came across Absolutely Bananas, a mommy blog that you should all be linking to. She has a great post (from March…) about top 5 toys you should never waste your money one. Please read it! So funnny. Actually I don’t agree with the train set on her list, but it’s child-specific and in the words of Lewis Black, we are all unique snow flakes. What’s on your list of top worst toys?

Another present that my mom brought (picked up at the airport). She thinks these are a bit tacky but I love them. Fair enough, considering how much they cose (around $50) I’d expect to have the Mona Lisa painted on them but instead they have badly sketches little pictures that aren’t all that educational. But Bea loves them and I think they will last a long time in terms of entertainment factor.

I still can’t get over the price. Yes, the UK is more expensive, I know, I know. But Hamley’s is also a bit of a rip-off toy store. It’s great to take your kids there because it’s got a billion floors and you can spend hours playing with toys without actually having to buy anything but as far as economising, it’s the last place you want to go.

toy blocks, wooden blocks, alphabet blocks, baby blogs, educational toys

The Herald Tribune has a good series of articles covering the increase in product recalls, specifically children’s toys.

When I announced on my other baby blog that I was going to be blogging here about toys, someone left me the following comment:

Althought I know babies are amused and kept distracted by lots of the new toys, I’m not sure they NEED them. I think this field is just one more example of consumerism gone mad. Babies and young children are often just as happy with pots and pans and bright colored magazines. We should think carefully before sinking lots of money into many of these things that will serve for a few short weeks.

And yes I agree with them, which is why I wanted to write this post about time. Now, for most new parents time is the most valuable commodity. There is never enough time to brush your hair, put in that last load of laundry, call your best friend on her birthday, finish washing the dishes, make that delicious and healthy dinner for the whole family, help volunteer at the local [insert charity of choice] and about a million other things. You constanly feel like you never get a second to yourself and if you do its used up doing the latter chores, not for something really relaxing such as taking a long bath (to wash off the layers of baby spit up) or just READ a book. Remember that? Remember non-parenting related reading material?

We often buy/make toys that we think will occupy our kids for long enough to get a few seconds to ourselves. Of course then you meet a parent whose child has just gone off to college and then remind you that you’re going to blink your eyes before you know it that tiny baby will be moving into dorms and you better cherish every moment with them now. And you get that horrible parent-guilt for wanting a few minutes to yourself, even though you know that if you got some time to yourself one in a while, just to center your crazy core, you would be a better parent. It’s a great catch-22.

We should remember that TIME is often the best toy. Kids (up to probably the age of 13 and then you might as well not even exist) often can be entertained by hanging out with you, helping you with chores (as long as you make it into a game!) or doing ‘grown up’ things. Especially for babies. How many times have you read in baby books that the most best toy a child will respond to is your own face.

family, time, parenting, toys

My mom arrived from the USA two days ago, along with a suitcase full of goodies for Bea. The best one of all was the activity walker that I couldn’t find anywhere. So far she’s spent a fair amount of time in it and she loves it. It gives her some indendence and makes her feel like she’s deciding what she wants to chew on, yank on and drool all over.

Baby walkers get alot of bad press, with good cause. Out of the plethora of baby toys, walkers have the highest injury rate. BUT not because of the walker itself but because of lack of supervision. Parents often don’t realize how quickly babies can get around in walkers. You baby-proof your house, usually for crawling (covering plugs, making sure there’s no wires to chew on etc…), but when they get into crawlers, babies suddenly have access to a whole new level of ‘toys’ to get their hands on. Bea has already been pulling the diaper bag off the changing table because she could reach the strap.

Main injuries are from falling down the stairs, burning themsleves, tipping over and eating unedible items. Of course, these can all be avoided if you are as vigilant as when they are crawling on the floor.

Saftey tips:

- Make sure the walker is on a smooth surface to avoid tipping over.
- Check that all items that are in their reach are baby-safe to avoid injury and burns (i.e. don’t do something incredibly stupid such as leaving the iron cord in reach!).
- Close all doors and gates that access stairs (even one step can send them crashing!).
- Make sure they don’t have access to a water source.
- ALWAYS, ALWAYS supervise them when being used!!!

Do walkers help with learning how to walk?

NO! This is one of the misconceptions that parents often have about walkers. Read this Q&A by Dr Greene to find out why walkers don’t help babies learn how to walk and can sometimes delay walking.

So why the hell should you still buy one?

Because they are fun and if used safely, kids can have a blast in them. Remember that not every single toy needs to be about pushing those development milestones and all toys should be used in moderation, meaning don’t stick your kid in a walker for three hours a day and then leave the room!

baby walker, activity walker, development, development milestones, infant development, Dr Greene

Do I even need to introduce these toys? I think most of us can remember a time when we tried to make our own paper dolls and clothes for them and ended up wasting alot of paper, getting very frustrated and throwing it all away. Or was that just me?

I still love the more tradiational dolls that wear lace dresses like Polly Prat.

Legacy Pride has a whole range of traditional dolls, for a price.

However, since these are supposed to be for your children, they might find these modern celebrity dolls more entertaining. At StarDoll you can make your own paper Desperate Housewives, with a change of clothes, or make your own little Brad Pitt (remember it’s for your KIDS to play with!). It’s a bit odd but I would rather they be playing with these than whining to buy the latest Britney doll for more money that it’s worth.

paper dolls

I can’t stop. I’m addicted now. I’m worried that I’m promoting the killing of innocent trees. Please, please use recycled paper.

Paper Toys is fun, yet slightly odd site that has tons of models that can be printed out and glued together to make, gee, let’s see. Bill Gate’s House (?) amongst other things.

If paper toys is something you can imagine getting hooked on start reading Paper Forest, a weird and wonderful art blog about paper toys. Non Dairy Diary also has a paper toys category worth reading.

Following my origami post, I went searching for more paper toys and came across Marilyn Scott Water’s site, The Toy Maker, and fell in love. The site is great for a number of reasons:

1) Her goal is “to help grownups and kids spend time together”. So she gets a star in my book.
2) All her designs are free to download.
3) Her designs work for a range of age groups.
4) The diversity of her designs is great. She has Time Out Cards, Father’s Day Badges, Otter Paper Dolls with extra clothes and more.

She also has a blog on Live Journal.

I remember around 4th grade all my friends and I turned into origami nuts. I think it started on a class trip to an art museum….Anyway, I was hooked and became an origami wizard. That being said over 15 years later, all I can remember how to do is make a swan. When Bea is older I do plan on getting reaquainted with the magic of paper folding and get her hooked.

Origami is great for kids because there is always more to learn. You can start off teaching them simple folds and eventaully, as they get older, move on to more and more complex designs. Eventually they can start following instructions themselves, and you can have five minutes to yourself to check you email and blog about how great your kids are at origami.

It’s also great for the budget. While beautiful origami paper can be very expensive, you can always use old newspapers, wrapping paper or just plain printer paper that won’t break the bank.

Here are some beginner folds that you can teach the little ones:

Easy Origami Boat

Easy Cup

Good Origami Sites:

Origami
Origami Club

Also, if you’re one of those people that does have money to burn, or fold in this case, check out Money Origami.