Search Results for: blog playing with toys

DIY Toddler Toys from Everyday Objects

Toddlers have an abundance of curiosity, a short attention span (when compared to adults), and an innate ability to uninhibitedly express themselves whenever the need strikes. One might say that toddlers excel at living in the moment. The good news is that this means you can make some DIY toddler toys out of everyday household objects that will attract and amuse your toddler. Obviously, parents will need to monitor their toddlers as they play with these “DIY” toys (just as they would if the toddler was playing with regular toys). Many parents have noticed this little “quirk” that toddlers have. … Continue reading →

Cleaning Or Playing, Decisions, Decisions

No one wants to live in an overwhelmingly messy house. For me, it’s stressful if the house is a mess. It’s also stressful to always be nagging my daughter about picking up after herself. I did feel it was my job to teach her to clean up after herself, I just never enjoyed that particular battle. When Hailey was small I had to accept that my house was going to have that lived in look. There are just not enough hours in the day to do everything. One lesson I learned early in my single parenthood was to pick my … Continue reading →

Playing Games with Sore Losers

I’ve mentioned before that we like playing educational games as part of our homeschool routine. My thirteen-year-old son loves to make everything he does into a game, and he learns best when there are elements of fun. Most days, it’s tough to get him to participate in school, so I add games into the mix to keep him connected. However, I have two other sons who struggle with the whole winning/losing concept, and while you can modify games to eliminate winners and losers, I’m not sure you really should. In life, there are those who achieve more success than others. … Continue reading →

Are Your Toys Safe?

We all want our children to be safe this year. We teach them to look both ways before crossing the street, we insist on them wearing a coat and gloves when they are out playing in the snow, but did you know that some of their toys could be a danger this year too? Most of us don’t think twice about checking consumer advocate reports when we are out doing our Christmas shopping. If it’s on the shelf it must be safe right? Wrong. This year’s consumer advocate report released a few weeks ago, stated that over a dozen toys … Continue reading →

Playing With Food

(Want fries with that?) Santa brought this McDonald’s Drive-Thru playset to my daughter a couple of Christmases ago. So now, whenever I get a hankering for Ronald’s fries, all I have to do is belly up to the plastic window and yell for the short order cook. Or, in my case, the short cook. The interactive toy has yielded hours of fun for our family, and while my daughter is still nearly a decade away from officially working under the real Golden Arches, the kid can flip a burger and swirl a McFlurry better some of Mickey D’s paid employees. … Continue reading →

Playing with Toys

I stepped out of my comfort zone today. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’ve been seeing a therapist to work through some of my issues regarding my divorce and the men in my life. I fought against it for months, but finally gave in because I knew I needed the help to get past these fears. We usually go into a room, talk about my hopes, my dreams, my fears, talk about some solutions, and then I’m on my way until the next week. So when she told me we’d be meeting in the play room today I … Continue reading →

Playing with Fire

Actually, dirt. Make that fecal matter. And not with it, IN it. Your kids are rolling around in germ-infested, dung-covered areas of filth each and every time you allow them to frolic in fast-food playlands. Or so says a take-charge mom of four slash doctor with a specialty in child development. Erin Carr-Jordan did what most parents refuse to do: she broke out of her bubble of blissful ignorance and exposed the real dirt that lies within the often-sticky, always smelly, bastions of filth that are fast-food kiddie playlands. After seeing clumps of hair, rotting food, ink and what looked … Continue reading →

Melissa and Doug Toys

I was first introduced to the Melissa and Doug toys by a friend who managed a bookstore where they were carried. As a homeschooler, I’m always on the lookout for educational games, and she knew just what I was looking for. As I walked onto the aisle where they were kept, angels began to sing. Well, of course not literally, but there certainly was much internal rejoicing. My only regret was that I didn’t have a few thousand dollars with nothing to do – I would have purchased one of everything in the store. Why do I like this product … Continue reading →

Toys Can Be Family Treasures

Throughout the generations, there are some things that have remained constant. One of these things is that children enjoy playing with toys. Sure, the toys have changed over the years, but wherever there is a child there are likely to be at least a few toys around. Despite the fact that toys are often well-worn and well-loved by the time a child outgrows them, they are often handed down for younger siblings or cousins to enjoy. Sometimes, parents even keep a few of their children’s toys around the house so that when grandchildren come along, they can enjoy them too. … Continue reading →

Toys That Startle

If a toy moves, it’s an instant hit with my son. If it makes noise, however, he has to warm up to it. If it does both, well, there’s no telling how he’ll react. This year he got a tricycle and he loved it immediately. Right away, he wanted to get on it and ride it around the living room. We were smart to give it to him last or he wouldn’t have been interested in the rest of his gifts. He also got a Cozy Coupe and it was the same story; he played with it right away and … Continue reading →