Great Stuff For Kids

Never Give Up On The Things You Believe

2011-04-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

Never give up on the things you believe, whether you want to fly into space or find a cure for disease. For belief in yourself is where it all begins, when you're alone in the dark or running on mountaintops with the swiftest of winds.

If you believe that you can, there will be no room for doubt, whether running the greatest marathon or eating a tub of sauerkraut. Your goals will be your own, no one else will compare, the race will be yours to win against the tortoise or the hare.

For belief is the gift you give to your heart, made of magic and inspiration it's where all wonderful things start. Mix it with sweetness and baseball and dream of the key and all will come running to share what you see.

The greatest of places and most wondrous of things all began so simply without a care in the breeze. The biggest of trucks and the grandest of cheese would never be with us without this decree. So reach for the skies and the deepest of seas and remember to never give up on the things you believe.

The Greatest Pony Ride Ever

2011-04-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

There don't seem to be many things that fascinate kids more than animals. Just watching them run around with boundless energy or simply lounging in the sun are an equal amount of fun. The first time I took my daughter to the zoo it was like entering a magical kingdom and she couldn't get enough.

The monkeys were a big hit. She could not get enough of them. There was a whole lot of laughter going on and that was coming from all the kids watching, and a few of the monkeys. My little girl loved the way the mother monkeys would swing around on the trees while their babies would hang on around their bellies. It was kind of mesmerizing.

However, nothing could prepare us for the sheer joy that was about to engulf our little girl. About half way through our visit we found the pony ride. She couldn't run over to get in line fast enough. All we heard for the next five minutes was how she wanted to get on the white one and how the white one was the prettiest. We tried to emphasize that it was more important to be the nicest. I don't think she heard us.

Around and around she went. "This is the greatest pony ride ever!" she called out. She took three more turns. Afterwards she begged us to get her a pony. I told her she could start with a little one, that came in a box. If it was still in one piece after a year, we'd talk about it.

When you're talking great stuff for kids, don't forget about the pony rides.

He Skates, He Shoots, He Scores!!

2011-04-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

Remember as a kid how incredible it felt putting on your skates at the beginning of the season. The excitement you felt in your belly, anticipating those first few steps out onto the ice. You could feel the chill in the air, maybe see your breath rise up against the sky.

You pulled the laces tight. Real tight. Sometimes so tight your fingers hurt or the circulation cut off in your feet. It didn't matter though, it was all worth it. Those first couple steps out onto the ice. That was the best because suddenly you were flying without having to leave the ground. That is some great stuff for kids. If you have the chance, make sure the kids try some skating. They tend to be quite fearless and often, they love it. Great way for the kids to have a great time together as well, away from all those hand held devices.

Who knows, your kid might be the next Gretzky or Kwon or Spicoli. See you out there.

Cotton Candy Smells Like Great Memories

2011-04-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

It never fails that every time I smell cotton candy it takes me back to when I was a kid doing somethng absolutely amazing. It almost always involved a roller coaster or waterfall at some amusement park. It is clearly one of the most amazing kid landmarks on the journey of life.

I'll admit cotton candy isn't the greatest for the teeth. That shouldn't be too difficult to deal with. It is great stuff for your kids because I guarantee it makes for an amazing time, a memory not soon forgotten and you don't even have to bite the stuff since just putting your tongue on it makes it melt in your mouth. Literally! How great is that?!!

Regular affection with newborns leads to healthy development

2011-04-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

Here is some great stuff for kids. Especially babies!

It has been categorically demonstrated time and time again that by physically caring for a newborn baby, in particular holding a baby's head, that physical contact helps promote healthy brain development in the newborn.

So, next time that baby is crying, don't be afraid to pick them up, hug them and sing them songs. You are not only caring for the needs of your child, you could be contributing to the development of a future rocket scientist or brain surgeon!

Who wouldn't want one of those in the family.

"Hey Mrs. Jones, can Billy come out and play?"

"I'm sorry Tommy, Billy is doing his homework right now... on the moon."

Walking On Clouds Can Be Done Everyday

2011-04-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

Walking on clouds can be done everyday! During the months of April, September and May! If you hold your head high and smile wide and strong, there is nothing you can't do, nothing can go wrong.

Walking on clouds lifts you above everything below, you move faster and stronger and have meaning as you go. Your legs are like wings, sharing the skies with the birds, the most remarkable things are up there, unlike anything you've heard.

But to walk on the clouds you must go outside, you have to run and jump and play and slide. Be brave and embrace the days as they come, it all awaits you, you're the only one.

For walking on clouds is a gift you see, for the joyous, the friendly and the climbers of trees. It's the great stuff you find in the air everyday, that you pass onto others as you do, share and say.

Home Alone During The Holidays With The Kids

2008-12-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

Recently I mentioned the classic film A Christmas Story as a must see with the kids this holiday season. Last night I stumbled upon another classic that probably should not be missed.

If your kids haven't seen it yet, find Home Alone and throw it on. We were watching without remembering much about it because we hadn't seen it in years, as it turns out my little girl loved it. She couldn't stop laughing. Especially when the crooks are going through the house and running into all of the kid's traps, she was on the floor.

As it turns out, Home Alone is one of those holiday films that my little girl can't get enough of. She has already requested a copy so she can watch it another hundred times. Of course we are good parents and wouldn't allow her to watch more than seventy two times a day. There has to be some time put aside to brush her teeth.

I couldn't imagine leaving any kid Home Alone for the holidays although I'm sure there are some parents who have considered it. I've always been curious to hear stories of parents who forgot a kid somewhere. I'm not talking about anything terrible. Even if it was for just ten minutes, and everything turned out OK, there is something hysterical about that to me. If you forget the kid at home that's not all that bad, especially if there is plenty of food in the house.

If you have a story like that, I'd be interested to hear about it. Don't worry, you don't have to use your real name, I'm just looking for the story. Just think of this as a chance to get the story off your chest and then you are forgiven. That's right. Just like that.

In the meantime, go out and grab a copy of Home Alone if the kids haven't seen it yet. Joe Pesci is amazing in it and it really has stood up well over time. It's still a hoot and I'm sure you'll have a blast watching it with the kids.

It's a Major Award!

2008-12-01T18:27:00.001-08:00

My thanks go out today to my friend Babyrocasmama from mylastshredsofsanity.blogspot.com for giving me this great honour. I will indeed cherish it. It's always nice to know you are not necessarily talking to yourself. I now pay it forward to:

1. Elizabeth Channel at threechannels.com

2. Mrs. Stevenson at riastevenson.com aka live, love laugh

3. Tiffney at mysouthernhippiemarriedmomoffourlife.blogspot.com

4. Midwest Mom at midwestmoms.blogspot.com

5. Mama Duck at sandiegomamaduck.blogspot.com

Enjoy all and happy holiday seasons to you all!!

A Christmas Story Was Made For The Kids And Everyone Else

2008-11-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year. As the Holiday season creeps up on to us, the greatest holiday season movie of all time prepares to be shown again and again. A Christmas Story may very well be the best holiday film ever made. Released in 1983, A Christmas Story reveals everything it is to be a kid or a family during the festive season and makes it hilarious all at the same time.

If you've seen this movie before you know exactly what I am talking about. If you haven't seen it yet, by Joseph, make time for you and your kids or even somebody else's kids who you have permission to be with, to go and see it. In fact, you probably won't have to go far to catch it. If you have access to television, and I understand if you are in prison that could be tricky, but if you are free and have access to a television, I can assure you the wait will not be long. Anytime now A Christmas Story will begin to be shown on countless channels at every hour of the day and night.

In a lot of ways this movie is like your favorite dessert. You can't wait to get some of it. It is hilarious. It is fun. Most importantly, it is great for the whole family. Sure, I know a few of you are saying what about It's A Beautiful Life. Sure, that film is classic too. Jimmy Stewart is a legend. The film is both touching and heart warming and you must be some kind of ogre not to like it. Fine, I will give you all that. However, it isn't like A Christmas Story for so many reasons that I just don't have the time to go through them all.

Let's face it, if you watch A Christmas Story for the first time and don't like it, just walk straight out of your home and check yourself into an insane asylum. Trust me, you got problems. Something has to be seriously broken for you not to love this flick.

I guarantee you if you grab your friends and the kids and huddle around to enjoy this film, A Christmas Story will change the way you look at desk lamps. It will make you want to wash the kids mouths out with soap regardless of what they say. And you know how badly you want to stick your tongue on that freezing metal pole during the winter. I say go for it!

If you haven't seen A Christmas Story yet, you'll love it. If you have, I'll see you guys at the mall. Don't get too close though kids, you'll poke your eyes out!!

Rush Hour Fun Kids Game

2008-11-29T08:24:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and didn't get injured while shopping yesterday. I chose to avoid the madness. Just didn't feel like standing in lines for hours.

My little girl did manage to receive a great little game that has begun to occupy her for tons of time. I have to say I'm thrilled about it. There is no computer screen to stare at for hours and it actually makes her think. I'm a big supporter or that.

The game is called Rush Hour and it is made by Thinkfun. It is basically a puzzle type game where she assembles a series of cars, trucks and buses on a little grid. Inside the grid is an ice cream truck that has to move out of the traffic jam. She is limited in the ways and directions she is able to move the other vehicles and just has to figure out a series of moves to solve the puzzle and free the truck. Sound simple enough? It comes with forty levels and I would be the first to admit it is fun. No TV. No computer. Just the game and her brain. Good fun.

This one comes with a high level recommendation and you should definitely check it out. It comes in two levels of difficulty. One for ages 6-8 and one for 8 and up. 8 and up... that's us parents! Don't pretend like you don't like to play these things.

I am being beckoned to... have fun.

Kid Rock Stars Great For Sleep

2008-11-28T12:19:00.000-08:00

Forget the sugar crashes and baby Bach tapes, I figured it out. Just when you thought all hope was lost for getting your kids off to sleep or even just having them relax with no end in site to some hyper fit, the solution arises.

I discovered that by putting on something like Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers on TV, my little one will either rock out until she is ready to fall over exhausted or she will get bored out of her mind watching them. The final result seems entirely dependent upon her mood. Sometimes she feels like watching and other times she could care less. Regardless of the mood, at some point after them being on, she feels like going to sleep. What a discovery!

This is better than finding out how good milk goes after chocolate chip cookies. We all know how good milk is after chocolate chip cookies. Most people don't know that milk was discovered after chocolate chip cookies, specifically for drinking after that tasty treat. Pilgrims were sitting around wondering what to do after consuming vast amounts of cookie dough for a country festival when one of their kids was found messing around under a cow. A little further investigation and some pasteurization and boom... the rest is history.

In any event, cookies and milk may be great but if you need the kids to pass out trust me, put on one of these teeny bopper groups for a little bit and soon after, they will be sound asleep. I know it sounds like it would go in the other direction but give it a few songs and watch what happens... exhaustion or complete boredom followed by the big snooze. It is truly magical. I always found these kid bands super dull but I never thought they would have such a tremendous effect on my kid.

Hey look, if it doesn't work for yours, go for the cookies and milk immediately thereafter. There is some great stuff released in milk, I think it's called melatonin, that helps your kid konk out. You know as well as I do those kid bands should serve some useful purpose since their not making real music. Might as well use them to help your kid fall asleep.

Good luck I hope you find the same magical results as I.

Report Card Time: Let's Celebrate

2008-11-27T07:48:00.000-08:00

It's that glorious time of year when the little ones come home with all the news about how school has been going. That right, it's report card time. Moms and dads get to find out if anything has actually been going on over at that school the kids go to every day.

Now my little girl is only five so of course I was expecting to see things on her report card that looked like "plays well with others" or " good control of fine motor skills." What I ended up seeing almost knocked me over.

My little munchkin had things on her report card that read like " she exhibits excellent comprehension of syntax and regularly forms both simple and complex sentence structure exercises within daily problem solving matrices." I'm sorry, can I get an interpreter please? Does this mean she is qualified to work at the United Nations building?

There were more and more comments written under every subject category. It took us half an hour to get through the report card because every comment section was like an encyclopedia. I can't believe how much these teachers write today. I'm guessing it has something to do with the school board. What was amazing was that after writing these huge progress reports after each and every subject, there was a separate comment area for the teacher to give and overall evaluation. That's right, more comments.

After getting through all the grades and all the comments it would appear as though our kid is brilliant. I know all parents say that about their kids, but based on the feedback she received, over the next year or so our little girl will probably be remodeling the space shuttle. She may have already found a vaccination for the common cold. It is possible that I am reading a little too much into the report. Needless to say, she done real good.

Truth be told, she wasn't even all that interested. She just really enjoys going to school. She is at that age when it is all still a lot of fun and she happens to have an incredible teacher who knows how to make it enjoyable. She really doesn't see it as work yet. I am in no rush for the days when it will be a challenge to get her to do homework and wonder if she will let us see report cards. Hopefully she will always enjoy it.

Now I was just trying to come up with a really good reward for her for doing so well in school. I'm open for suggestions. I was thinking I might really be generous and let her wash my car.

Kids Toys For Sale May Not Be Great Deal During Holiday Season

2008-11-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

That fateful moment has definitely fallen upon us. We either get out there and start shopping for the kids holiday gifts or we sit the kids down and explain to them that Santa Clause doesn't really exist. Sometimes it's a tough decision. Then again, if you are a procrastinator when it comes to holiday shopping you still have tons of time.

Nobody truly enjoys that moment when you are going through the racks of kids toys and games at the store and realize it may just be cheaper to move someplace they don't celebrate the holidays. I hear that Lebanon is beautiful this time of year. Perhaps you take a long hard look at the price tag for the newest Disney action figure and you begin to think, maybe my son isn't really my kid. After all, I was on a lot of drugs when they handed him to me.

Truth be told, we love our kids and wouldn't give them up for anything. Definitely not at retail prices anyways. What you should be aware about during the holiday season however, is that while you are hunting for goodies for the kids, these retailers are hunting for you.

A great story that comes out every year around this time is the warning about the liquidation sale. This applies to your kids' stores as well. Remember, when a store is having a "going out of business" sale or implies that they are liquidating, it is not really about that kids toy store anymore. This type of sale generally means that liquidators have taken over. That means a new group of individuals are competing for your dollar.

When the liquidators come in, it means that you have to take a close look at prices. Don't be afraid to ask around the toy store. You will probably be surprised to hear sales people tell you that the prices of those Power Rangers were actually lower before the sale. That is because it is a different toy seller trying to maximize on the buyout.

During the holiday season it is also a great time to shop around. If you were really good, you looked around ahead of the holiday season to get a feel for the pricing on those toys that your kids really wanted. This is the best strategy generally because you will know right away when you walk in to that store with "sale" signs up all over the place, whether it is a genuine sale.

The holiday season is when most retailers expect to make the bulk of their annual sales so you will see lots of deals being offered. Make sure that before you grab that doll house or super hero you are not being taken on a holiday hustle.

Don't be afraid to shop around. Due to the increased appearance of these so called blowout sales, other retailers like to compete accordingly. That means you will probably find better pricing elsewhere especially if it was liquidation pricing you were looking at. Some of these liquidators actually discount the prices of goods as well. They are not all bad. However, often the discount is not very significant. You probably will still find better prices elsewhere with a little shopping around as retailers fight to stay competitive during this crucial time of year.

Best of luck finding those genuine kids toys for sale and remember, before you decide to run away to live a life of anonymity this holiday season, take a little time to shop around. You may be pleasantly surprised. If not, there are always great prices on flights to Guam this time of year.

Puppet Shows Are Great For All Kids

2008-11-25T16:38:00.000-08:00

We were sitting around when out of the blue, my little girl asked if I would put on a puppet show for her. I asked her where she got the idea from and she gave me the classic "I don't know." Without hesitation I jumped into action.

I put together a makeshift curtain and stage and before long the show was about to begin. She really has a great time with it. Barely before I had a chance to start in, she was asking the characters questions and wanted to get in on it. She couldn't stop laughing. It was great.

The lead characters of the puppet show were three individuals that you may or may not be very familiar with. One was a dolphin from Marine Land. This was an actual puppet, according to my daughter it was a girl dolphin who was just happy to have escaped captivity and was more than happy to live out her days in a puppet show.

The next character was a big wrinkly dog who bared a striking resemblance to a neighbourhood crime watch mascot. He was saying anything about it and he may have been my little girl's favorite of the three. Finally, there was a classic favorite, Zoey, from Sesame Street. Zoey always was hysterical and when I take control, you might even think she has been throwing a couple back. I know you are going to say she is still a little young to be drinking but if you had to spend every waking hour with Elmo, you would drink too.

Oh yeah. I said it. Elmo drives us crazy. It's OK if a couple other characters take the limelight once and a while. Let's face it, that guy is not the brightest in the world. He doesn't age so he doesn't get much smarter. All he is ever doing is shaking and giggling and if he were a relative of yours, you would have put him away in a "place" to be kept a long time ago. So, needless to say, we prefer Zoey. She is a much greater pleasure to be around.

The puppet show was a huge success. I highly recommend it the next time you are searching for something to entertain the kids with when you don't have much time or prep. It is definitely one of the lost arts. Don't give me any of that, "I'm a grown up. I'm beyond puppet shows." Let's face it. Even as adults, we can't get away from puppet shows. If we could, there wouldn't be any ventriloquists. We know how many of those guys there are around and all they really are, are grown up puppet shows. You know you especially like it when they make the dummy say naughty things. Don't lie! You love it! The ventriloquist is just a grown up puppet show.

Try throwing a puppet show together for the kids sometime without the language, you'll all have a great time. After the kids go to sleep, break out the dummies. Who knows? You might make a new friend.

Power Rangers and Kids Still a Strange Mix

2008-11-24T07:43:00.000-08:00

This weekend I was spending some quality time with my little girl when we decided to take a break and watch a little TV. As we were flipping through the channels we came across the Power Rangers show.

I don't get this show at all. It is a bunch of kids that also have the power to transform into these fighting characters who take on the most bizarre villains I have ever seen. It's ridiculous. These bad guys can barely move because their costumes are made of some industrial rubber adhesive that can't be comfortable. I don't know too many bad guys who would dress up like Godzilla to rob a bank or something.

How is it nobody else ever comes after these weirdos? The kids have to call out their character names to transform. I remember similar heroes when we were kids, they were called the Wonder Twins. They were ridiculous too. They were a brother and sister team that always walked around wearing sky blue coloured pyjamas. When the bad guys were around one would say "form of a bucket" and then the other one would say "shape of water" and then I would wonder what would happen next because they would turn into a bucket full of water but they would need a third brother or sister to throw it. No worries. The bucket would of course just float through the air and the water could be thrown accordingly. Ridiculous and hilarious.

I guess the big difference is how violent these shows are now. I know violence in kids programs has always been around in one form or another. The road runner and coyote show are a great example. However, these Power Rangers are always fighting, it's always fighting with the fear of death attached. My little girl loves it. Fortunately, I'm able to influence her to watch other stuff when I'm around because she doesn't really care right now.

I guess I'm old fashioned at heart and would rather see her enjoying the Mickey Mouse Club Show or H&R Puff n Stuff (remember that one). It doesn't bother me as much to think she is watching something hilarious instead of something so violent.

Crayola Color Wonder Markers

2008-11-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

First I would like to say thank you for the well wishes I received regarding my little girl. You should know she is feeling much better now and back at school having a blast.

I was away for a little while and came across another pretty amazing product for kids. These are the Crayola Color Wonder Markers. The Crayola Color Wonder Markers are great because first of all, they encourage the kids to be creative. You really can't go wrong with that. Anything that brings out the artistic side of our kids is something I will always cheer about.

The real amazing thing about these markers is that they are not like other markers. When you think of markers you probably think of a particular kind of mess. Also, depending upon how imaginative your kids are, I'm sure you have seen their tremendous works of art in places other than their coloring books.

Well here it is. The great thing about the Crayola Color Wonder Markers is that they will only draw on the special accompanying paper. That's right. So if your kids like to color outside the lines and onto the table, no worries. The Crayola Color Wonder Markers will not leave lines or trace on the table. If your kids are running around with the markers and accidentally rub against your walls, you don't have to worry about finding marks on the walls. The Crayola Color Wonder Markers only work on the special paper that comes with the kit and that in itself is genius.

Sure, you have to give up on finding the next priceless work of art on your living room wall when you get home but hey, them kids got to learn to channel their gifts with a little discipline. The Crayola Color wonder Markers make for a great gift and will cut down on your clean up time significantly. I grabbed some for my little girl and she loves them.

Warm Whiskers Great For Kids...And Parents Too

2008-11-17T09:58:00.000-08:00

There is a great gift idea that I came across recently that the kids will love and parents can use after the kids have gone to sleep.

If you haven't heard of them before, Warm Whiskers has a line of stuffed "toys" that also serve another useful purpose. Unlike many stuffed toys, the Warm Whiskers line is filled with Lavender or Buckwheat. This scores points in the natural column as far as manufacturing is concerned. Also good to know if you are little concerned about the plastics ingredients in some toys today. Check my earlier toy post about plastics to get more details.

Warm Whiskers have a variety of characters that the kids can choose from like cats and dogs and they seem to be well made. They are actually being marketed as aromatherapy pillows and neck wraps and when you see them, you'll know what I mean. They are clearly shaped somewhat differently than most plush toys. However, if you bring one home or receive one as a gift, don't think the kids won't want to play with them because they will.

Here's the kicker. The plush animals can be heated in the microwave and they applied to the neck and back to help relieve aches and pains. That's right. You're going to be fighting with your kids for this one. That's why I recommend waiting until the kids go to sleep to use it. You will probably also want to wait until the kids are sound asleep before you put it in the microwave. You wouldn't want your little ones seeing that and thinking you are trying to whack the new puppy.

If Warm Whiskers are already making a home with you let me know what you think of them.

Airborne Will Keep You Healthy During this Cough and Cold Season

2008-11-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

The good news is my little girl is starting to feel much better. She has not slowed down one bit. It would appear that she is going to be one of those people who will deny that they are feeling sick and walk right through it. That is great except I wish it would translate to the nights when she likes to wake us up.

For the most part the cough is almost gone. Thanks to all the great suggestions I received, it looks like chicken soup and lots of liquids have won out as the best treatments for our little girl. She is even back in school with all the other little cold monsters, building up her immune system.

There is something that we discovered during this season that seems to be working. There is a great product that was designed by a grade school teacher called Airborne. It is an all natural tablet that dissolves in liquid that you take before you head out to somewhere you may get exposed to germs etc. Basically, that means everywhere.

The wife and I have been downing the drinks periodically and for the first time in several years, we have not picked up our little girl's colds. I am glad I can share this information with you while at the same time I feel like I may be jinxing us. Hopefully I will not be writing to you next week with a 104 fever cursing ever discussing this.

If you are looking for a great defense against the flu this season and prefer to try and stay natural, try out Airborne. It seems to be working great. It is also highly recommended for long airplane trips and other situations where you are locked into being around a large group of strangers for extended periods of time. If you are one of those people who just don't get sick, well good for you. Maybe you should be selling off parts of your DNA or perhaps you are completely in denial. In any event, different things work for different people and this seems to be working for us. Apparently there was a little controversy about it in the past regarding a claim that it cures the common cold but you would have to be a little dense to buy into that. I don't really care as long as it does the trick for me and so far so good.

Try out Airborne. If a grade school teacher came up with it, you know it has to be pretty good stuff to withstand the kinds of things she had been exposed to. You'll probably hear about it being used by NASA soon.

Kids Healthy Snacks Shaped Like Letters

2008-11-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

One of the wonderful moms who recently started visiting the blog mentioned that the graphic I use makes her want to bite the letters. I agree that if you were a kid who enjoyed all kinds of tasty treats, those letters can suck you in. I made the graphic like that on purpose.

This weekend we went to a birthday party and the layout was incredible. What is most significant to this post however, was that the dessert table was full of tasty treats that were in the form of letters. They had spelled out a number of birthday wishes using fresh fruit and cookies and gummy treats.

Now I know I titled this post healthy snacks. I stand by it in that the fruit selections were delicious and healthy. They used apple slices, pineapple, watermelon and mandarin wedges. There were bowls of honey and yogurt for dipping. I would say, that is relatively healthy.

Now as for the cookies and gummy treats... you have to give me some slack. I had to give them top marks for creativity and those treats were amazing. Cookies and gummy treats may not be healthy in the traditional sense but follow the following argument.

When you arrive at a birthday party with thirty or forty screaming kids, it may put you into a particular mood. That mood may cause you to act in a manner that will help preserve your own sanity. With that many kids running around you also enter into a self-preservation mode. In so doing, your body expends a significant amount of energy and gets worn down.

Upon entering into the worn down state your body seeks replenishing. The consumption of delicious cookies and gummy treats can make you smile. The smile in turn make you feel better about life in general. When you feel better about life, that is healthy. Therefore, cookies and gummy treats may be just as healthy as fresh fruits.

I rest my case.

Kids' Cough and Cold Season is Upon Us

2008-11-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

It is without a doubt the season that all parents dread. I live out east so we have regular winters and my little girl has been hit with a brutal cough. This thing sneaks up out of nowhere and sounds like she is storing a bull frog in her chest.

There is no way a little girl like ours should be carrying around a cough or cold like this one but what can we do. During a recent trip to her class for parent teacher interviews we saw that at least five other kids in her class have the same thing.

With this kind of cough ramp id in her class I am amazed that any of those kids ever get better. I swear they should have quarantine for some of them, let them get better, then they all come together again. You know, just like that movie with Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo. I think it was called Outbreak. Good move, nasty virus.

What amazes me the most is how their teacher never seems to get sick. She has had the same one for the past two years and this woman is the picture of health. It doesn't matter if the kids are all sitting there coughing up the newest strains of super flu, she doesn't flinch. I think it's the nose picking that drives her the craziest.

Anyway, we are not big fans of cough syrups for kids. We have usually followed the advice of our pediatrician in that department and he doesn't really believe in them. What we do give her when she seems to have multiple cough and cold symptoms is Pedia Care for kids. The stuff is easy for her to swallow and it seems to work in giving her some temporary relief.

If your kids are hitting the cough and cold season and need to try something, I would recommend the Pedia Care but more importantly lots of rest and liquids. You moms know what works the best.

Movie Review: Madagascar 2... The Kids Will Love It!

2008-11-14T06:26:00.000-08:00

I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that we were thinking about going to see Madagascar 2. It just so happens that is exactly what we did. Madagascar 2 was great. I couldn't think of a better thing to do with my little girl on a dreary rainy day.

Madagascar 2 is terrific for so many reasons. The cast is back and that makes it worth the trip all by itself. To see Sasha Baron Cohen and Chris Rock joking together in character is almost as good as seeing the two of them live. It was just a great idea to get this grouping of comedic actors together to do the voices. They all would have had great careers as children's entertainers. Well, maybe not Rock. I think he would have snapped eventually.

The jokes and plots are new but the characters are all just as much fun as in the first one. There are also a couple of new editions that I can't tell you about because you have to see the movie. Go ahead, ask me, I might tell you about them. Nope, I won't.

A great part of this film is something that Pixar captured in another great kids movie, Monsters Inc. That is, characters that might otherwise be scary or engage in scary activity are made to be cute and hilarious so that kids can really enjoy them. If you recall in the first one, the lion kept wanting to eat his friend the zebra. That was just made to look cute and hysterical. My little girl just kept falling over laughing each time it happened. Kudos to the film makers on that one.

Of course the next great thing are all the action figures. My little girl found a few little ones that actually talk when you shake them. I told her that she already had a bunch of them from the first movies. She explained that those were the animals from the first, not the second. Despite the fact they were the same, they were now stars of a second movie so we had to get them AGAIN! Of course I let her have a couple. I'm a sucker.

If you haven't seen Madagascar 2 yet, grab the kids and go check it out. You will have a blast.

Dora The Explorer Available Still A Mystery

2008-11-12T06:39:00.001-08:00

OK, here it is. I don't know too many parents who are not familiar with Dora The Explorer. She has to be part of the most successful kids franchise since Sesame Street. Much like Sesame Street, Dora The Explorer has tons of videos and games available related to the show. There are also countless action figures and dolls that the kids can get related to all the characters on the show.

It is a fun show and great for kids as is demonstrated by the huge following it has. There is something hilarious about it though. I say hilarious because I know if I say something concerns me, people reading this might think I'm serious and I don't want that to ever happen. The day we get to serious about things that are fun for our kids is the day we forget why we had kids in the first place.

Here's the thing. This Dora character is supposedly out there in the woods or the jungle and she is figuring out puzzles and riddles and trying to make good choices to get through her day. She runs around with a talking monkey who wears rain boots. So my question is really, what kind of role model is Dora for our kids? What little kid do you know gets to run around forests and jungles by themselves? She has to go through snake and alligator infested waters half the time, the other times she had to brave the elements just to find food. That's not right.

What kind of parent lets her kid run around on her own like that? That's not safe. That mother should be investigated. Why is nobody concerned about the talking monkey? Why is he wearing boots all the time? Have you ever seen a monkey that wears boots all the time? That's not right. If the monkey could really do all the things he is supposedly doing on the show, including talking, he would have been on Letterman by now.

Let's face it, Dora sets a dangerous example for our kids. I can't have my little one coming to me one day and explaining she wants to go rock climbing by herself with a monkey because she saw Dora do it. When that happens... well... it sure would be a lot quieter around here. In any event you know what I mean.

Just to get even, I went out and got my little girl a Dora The Explorer toilet seat to sit on when she has to go. That's right! That's how I got back at them. I gave them money. I am so lost. Dora got me. Next time you hear from me I will be in the amazon with a talking cow looking for a giant gingerbread diamond.

Leap Frog and Baby Tad are Great for Little Kids

2008-11-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

There was a toy that I had meant to discuss a while back but completely forgot about until recently. I'm glad I remembered.

Leap Frog has an amazing assortment of fun educational toys for kids. One of the most amazing is one that we had for our little girl a little while back and I highly recommend it for all parents. This is a great toy for kids aged anywhere from 0 to 36 months.

The toy is called Baby Tad. There are a few versions available. I believe the one that we had was the Leap Frog Hug and Learn Baby Tad. I'm a grown man and I'll be the first to admit I was a little fascinated by this little guy. I'm not saying I can't be easily fascinated, I'm not spending my weekends designing a more efficient rocket fuel. I'm just saying this toy is great.

Your child is able to activate several functions simply by squeezing different parts of the toy. By squeezing Baby Tad's hand with the sunshine, there are a number of songs that are activated that your child can sing along with. There is also a shape recognition game that they can play.

By squeezing the hand with the moon, Baby Tad plays a selection of classical tunes that will relax your child and either prepare them for a nap or just chill them out. It will automatically turn off after six minutes once activating this function. It will also turn off by itself if nothing on it is used by your child after a certain amount of time has passed.

There are a couple other versions with similar learning games. I think it is great for a variety of ages and is a fun companion to your little ones even if they don't quite understand the functions right away. Trust me, they will get the hang of it.

If you are looking for a great gift idea for your or somebody else's child, the Baby Tad fellas are a great choice.

Madagascar 2 Kids Favorite

2008-11-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

Well tomorrow we are going to be off to see Madagascar 2, Escape Africa. I am looking forward to it. The first Madagascar movie was great. The kids really enjoyed it. It was amazing how it was written in such a way that kids can enjoy parts of it while simultaneously jokes are written in for parents.

The first one and I believe this one feature a tremendous cast. We really like Chris Rock and Sasha Baron Cohen in their roles. Those guys are hilarious in any situation. I am sure it will be quite the adventure.

The last time we went my daughter couldn't stop laughing about David Schwimmer's giraffe character and the penguins. She thought they were hysterical. She really got a kick out of Cohen's little guy as well. The entire film was just filled with incredible comedic moments that blended friendship and trying to eat each other in a way I had not seen before in any movie since Alive. Remember that one? No lions or zebras in that. Just soccer players. Not quite the same idea.

Anyways we are looking forward to it and I am sure there will be some interesting moments to talk about. I'm guessing it will be another example of some great entertainment for the kids. Oh yeah, and us too.

Reading and Spelling Adventures Begin

2008-11-08T07:01:00.000-08:00

My little girl just had her first spelling test this week. She was given a list of words that were going to be on the test about a week in advance and was told to come home and practice. She did great with the practicing and it would appear that she did super amazing on her test. We will find out for sure on Monday.

She remembered most of the words she had to spell and could tell us how to spell them as well. It is pretty exciting watching her learn and develop. I remember when she was a little kid learning how to speak, you're not sure how she is doing it, but she just does and you don't know if it will keep going well, but it just does. The same feeling is there with reading and spelling. She just continues to be amazing. This little person growing right before our eyes.

She really seems to enjoy the process as well and in consideration of this, I have found something that I had kind of forgotten about over the years and wanted to share. When I was a kid there was a great show that I really enjoyed called The Electric Company. Well, as it turns out, the origin of The Electric Company was to be a show that would help kids learn how to read. I wasn't even aware of that as a kid, I just thought it was fun to watch. I guess it really did a good job.

Turns out, The Electric Company has a website and offers DVDs in sets for purchase. I was checking out their web site and watching clips from the show. I could remember them like it was yesterday. Scary how fast time goes. Anyway, the material still stands up and is a great tool for kids learning how to read. I'm looking into grabbing a set for my kid and would highly recommend it for any parents looking for fun ways to teach their kids how to read and write.

Check out The Electric Company and let me know what you think. If you were a kid who watched the show, get ready for the head trip. It is a doozy!!

Kids and Their Candy

2008-11-06T05:17:00.000-08:00

Thankfully I have accepted the fact that my amazing little girl is not a big candy eater. After a hugely successful haul this Halloween, I realize that she was really just amassing a collection for me.

It would seem there are a few types of candy she likes. She enjoys the chewy sour lemon things and occasionally will ask for the chocolate chip cake concoction. What I'm getting at is that I don't know what has happened to our kids.

When we were little, it used to be all about snickers minis, peanut butter cups and who can forget the Reggie Jackson chocolate bar. I think it was just called a Reggie. I'm not sure. The point is, I would come home with two bags full of great chocolaty goodness and go back out for more. My mother had to guard the cupboard where she hid the loot every night, because she knew if I had open access I would empty those bags in one sitting.

Today things are all different. I just caught a blog the other day where a woman took a picture of a bowl of candy their kids didn't want. It was all snickers bars! What is that all about?! Yes, I'm blogging about a blog, what of it?

These kids have to learn what's good again. Don't worry about all that healthy mumbo jumbo or new wave treats. My grandparents are into their nineties and they love the gooey goodness. That's how they've stayed young at heart. They don't know what year it is but they are young at heart.

So throw out those weak treats and get back to the hearty goodness that eating junk is all about. If you parents don't smarted up your kids, next year I'm giving out broccoli.

My Little Girl Loves MyePets

2008-11-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

Every once and a while I will continue to share those trends that grab my little girl. As it turns out, Myepets is one of those trends that holds onto my little girl and won't let go.

Sure, she is like a lot of other kids in that she can be distracted off to do other things. The amazing thing is how she is drawn into this game once she begins. It doesn't really seem to be about anything. I suppose Webkinz is the same thing. Am I missing something? Is there a goal when playing with Myepets. If there is, I haven't found it yet. If any of you have found out where Myepets is supposed to go, please let me know.

I understand that the game is fun for kids. They get to go out and buy the stuffed animal and what little girl doesn't love stuffed animals. By the way, if you have a little girl who doesn't love stuffed animals, you may want to watch her a little closely. It may just be a faze and there is nothing to worry about. However, if she doesn't like them, keep your eyes open.

The stuffed animal comes with the little code to then go online and play with the animal in a virtual world. I get it. They think it's fun taking them to the Myepets vet, feeding them at the Myepets diner and shopping for them at the Myepets market.

Here is the thing. We have REAL pets. She loves animals. However, she doesn't rush to feed them everyday. She hasn't expressed a concern to make sure they have regular checkups at the vet. She definitely hasn't shown a lot of interest in cleaning up after them. I know, she's a kid. She isn't supposed to like that stuff. Then how exactly are these games designed to have do all those things on the computer? It's just a way to suck as parents into believing that anytime now they will be all excited about those pet chores and we won't have to worry about it anymore.

I can't wait for the game where they get to buy a mommy or daddy doll then go online and do things like make money for them and take care of all their bills. That should be a great game.

Harry Potter and High School Musical: Will They Compete?

2008-11-04T06:47:00.000-08:00

I have recently mentioned both Harry Potter and High School Musical in past articles. I do so not only because they are both great fun for my little girl but also because I would love to see High School Musical and Harry Potter compete against one another in the theatres.

If anybody knows if there is a chance of Harry Potter and High School Musical going head to head in theatres let me know. Let would be an epic battle.

Imagine Harry Potter stumbles out into the high school gym. The High School Musical kids look at him like he is lost. You know they want to tease him. They make fun of his strange robe and ask him why he is carrying around a twig.

Harry Potter sizes up the kids in the gym. He notices that they are all dressed for a basketball game but can't seem to ask him a question without dancing around him at the same time. The High School Musical is always going on. Harry Potter tells the kids that the robe is his formal wear from Hogwarts and it is an honour to have even been accepted. He goes further to tell them that it isn't a twig it is a wand.

The High School Musical kids size him up like he is something out of a fairy tale. He has to explain to them that he is. They tell him that they think he is crazy. He explains that he isn't and asks what kind of kids can't communicate in a normal conversation and have to sing all their dialogue. They tell him that his school sounds like an infected pig. He asks them what they think it is infected with but instead of answering they begin line dancing all around.

Harry Potter waves his wand in the air causing light and sparks to fly. The kids immediately line up for fire drill. Harry Potter explains to them that it isn't a fire drill but instead he is working a spell. The High School Musical kids tell him that their school ranks tops in the nation for spelling bees and that he doesn't have a chance. Harry Potter becomes frustrated and storms out of the gym with the parting insult that only dimwits sing when they are supposed to be playing basketball.

Really what I meant was, how well each movie would do in theatres if they came out at the same times. I'm guessing, that isn't going to happen.

Harry Potter 6 The Movie: The Half Blood Prince

2008-11-03T05:45:00.000-08:00

Talk has been swirling around. The other kids in the neighbourhood are already getting restless. As it turns out, Harry Potter is coming back. This will be Harry Potter number 6 for those of you counting. Rumor has it, that Harry Potter's latest adventure, The Half Blood Prince will be hitting theatres in July of 2009.

I don't want to say I'm excited. What kind of parent gets all excited about an upcoming Harry Potter movie. It isn't as if we don't already have all the Harry Potter books, the Harry Potter costumes and the Harry Potter make-up. So what if it happens that Harry Potter just so happens to be the biggest phenomenon to come along since fairy tales and ghost stories were first written. None of us grown ups really care. OK, so we do.

There is no escaping that Harry Potter is incredibly well written and I'm sure The Half Blood Prince will be no different. What is amazing about this series is how well the creators of the films have captured the idea on the screen. I won't say that I have enjoyed all the films equally. In fact, I would probably say the first one was my favorite. Specifically, how they captured the life of the students at Hogwarts. That is a pretty amazing place. I don't think if I had read the book to my little girl before seeing the film that I would have been able to imagine such a great backdrop.

The story behind Harry Potter always amazes me. That fact that the author, J.K. Rowling was on the dole, that's welfare U.K. style, when she was writing it is amazing. Now supposedly she is work hundreds of millions of dollars. I wonder how many professionals decided to take a swing at becoming child fantasy writers after hearing that success story. What is even more amazing to me is how successful she was considering all the other children's fantasy series that are already out there in book stores.

Regardless, my little girl loves the films. She is not thrilled however about Voldemort. She does have a tendency to look away when he comes around and clearly doesn't like the episodes that are a little more dark. That being said, I am sure I would not be successful discouraging her from seeing Harry Potter 6 the movie even if I tried. I have just accepted the fact that Harry Potter movies are a fixture in my kid's childhood and The Half Blood Prince will be no exception.

High School Musical Captured My Kid

2008-11-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

That's it. They have done it. The makers of High School Musical have officially brain washed my little girl. It's High School Musical this, High School Musical that, everything has to do with High School Musical. Of course she is going to see the movie today with her mother. I couldn't go. I haven't received my High School Musical vaccination as of yet. It's enough they have captured the kids, they aren't gonna take me down.

It would seem that every kid in this High School Musical series is all over Disney. They are kind of like the mob. Once you are in, you're in. There's no going back. These kids are going to be with them until High School Musical number 112 or until one of them knocks over a dry cleaners. It is amazing. I think each of the main kids in the movie are also in various television programs. This is clearly the time to be a kid with a little bit of talent.

That's right. I said a little bit of talent. These kids are OK but they aren't the greatest talents on the planet. Together however, it would appear they are about to take over the universe. I can remember when Grease was in the theatres and everybody thought that was going to be the biggest thing. It became huge. That movie is still considered a favorite today and will always be around. Only time will tell if High School Musical has the same effect.

There is something else that is odd about the High School Musical thing. Maybe it's just me. The other day my wife showed me a rag mag article about one of the kids in High School Musical and how she just bought a three million dollar house. See, that's different. I don't remember paparazzi stories about Travolta and Newton John when their film was monster. Then again, I was barely a kid back then. Do our kids really need to hear stories about eighteen year-olds having enough money from High School Musical to buy multi-million dollar homes? When our kids are in their teens they'll think they are losing valuable time while they have to go to school.

Whatever it is, this High School Musical thing is huge. The kids love it and I guess it's better than a lot of other things out there. However, I refuse to believe it is cool to break into a song a dance number when you're supposed to be playing basketball.

Fun Riddles For Kids

2008-11-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

When thinking about what I used to consider fun riddles for kids, I remember stuff like the Billy Goat Gruff. That was always a fun riddle type situation. Fun riddles for kids were available from places like Sesame Street, The Electric Company and H&R Puff n Stuff. That last show was a real fun riddle for kids. The big question with that show was figuring out what the writers were on.

Types of fun riddles for kids

The obvious types of kids riddles used to be a play on words type of scenario. Sometimes it would be and actual question with a very straight forward answer. The play on words would be something like, what did the sock say to the foot? Answer: you’re putting me on! That’s fun and silly for the kids. The straight forward type of kids riddle is more like what a kid might see on Dora the Explorer. The child is asked which path doesn’t have any snakes. The kid looks and sees the blue path is safe and selects the blue path. That may not be considered a fun riddle for kids by older day standards but it is to them.

There were all kinds of classic riddles for kids that seemed to come out of the age of the nursery rhyme. It would be phrased the same kind of way as the nursery rhyme but at the end would have some kind of question. It was classic, sometime slightly draped in old English with a fun riddle for kids at the end. However, it would not seem to be the choice of most kids today.

Fun riddles for kids: The modern age

It would appear as though there are plenty of new choices when it comes to riddles for kids these days. You can still go to a bookstore and find volumes of the classics. You can also pick up copies of more fun joke type riddles. Such as, what type of shoe do you wear when your basement floods? Answer: pumps. Come on, that was funny. I didn’t write it, these kinds of kooky fun riddles can be found all over the kids’ section of most bookstores today.

There is of course many other alternatives. Instead of just the classic riddles, there are other kinds of brain teasers available for the kids. By the way, these are also supposed to be pretty good for cognitive development. So while you are delivering fun riddles to your kids, you are also improving their mental health. Bet you weren’t expecting that.

The real fun stuff now is available online and probably in most toy stores. A great find that I made was Big Fish Games. It is a site that constantly updating with new developments. They seem to have tons of fun riddle and puzzle type games for kids. One of my daughter’s favourites is the hidden object type game. This is where your kid is given a list of objects that are cleverly hidden in plain sight and he has to find them all. Some of the games have second phases to them where in addition to the hidden objects, there are also fun riddles for the kids to solve. One of the games we downloaded had a series of puzzle parts with riddle questions, each having to be solved in a particular order to solve a mystery. It was a blast.

Most of these games can be downloaded in a trial format to be enjoyed for an hour and then you will be given the option to purchase or move on. So far, we just enjoy an hour with each game because there are always new ones being made available with all sorts of new fun riddles for kids available. Enjoy!

Kids Treasure Hunt Clues

2008-11-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

We are in the process of planning a kids treasure hunt. The most challenging part of putting together the kids treasure hunt is coming up with good clues. The kids treasure hunt clues have to be clever enough so that the kids have to think about it, but at the same time you don’t want the clues to be so difficult that the kids are just wandering around frustrated all afternoon. This is our kids treasure hunt dilemma.

Planning the kids treasure hunt

When we first decided we were going to put together the treasure hunt for the kids, I thought it was crazy. It was really the wife’s idea more than mine. I remember treasure hunts when I was a kid and the ones that are the most memorable tend to be memorable for two different reasons. Either the treasure hunt did not cover a large enough area, so of course it was over very quickly, or it was too spaced out and we got tired and ran off in different directions.

When the space you are putting the treasure hunt in is too small, the kids end up finding everything too easily. They tend to not even have to look for clues. They just fumble around on their own and next thing you know they have found clues out of order or worse, they found treasure and hence your treasure hunt is prematurely finished. When any kid finds the treasure early, that is the kiss of death to your hunt.

When the space you are using is too large, you have to be able to supervise the kids and that means more helpers who have to stay motivated so the kids don’t get wiped out too early and decide to give up on your treasure hunt. I can remember one time heading off to play with cows because it looked like more fun. Don’t ask.

Kids treasure hunt clues : teams or individuals

In designing the treasure hunt clues, we also have to consider if the kids are going to work in teams or if they are going to work individually. This is really tricky because we kind of have to know ahead of time how many kids are going to be there. If there is a small group, they will obviously be working on their own or possibly in small groups of two or three. It a ton of kids are coming, sure they work in teams but then there is the challenge of figuring who is going to be on which team.

I told you I didn’t want to do this. This becomes difficult because not only do we have to know which kids are coming, now we have to determine which ones aren’t that smart. See, if the brilliant kids are all grouped together, they get way ahead too quickly and the treasure hunt is over before it’s started. If the not so bright kids are all together, they end up forgetting about the treasure hunt and they go play in the street with squirrels. Yes, I said that. Let’s face it, as much as we all love our kids, we all know that some are working with a dimmer porch light than others. Don’t get sensitive.

Treasure hunt clue proposition

We, meaning mostly my wife with occasional input from me, have decided the treasure hunt will take place in a park close to our home. It is a neighbourhood park and we know most of the kids who play there and it will be a good spot. The clues will be fun for both myself and the kids. I get to design a few of them and my wife will do the others. She says that if mine get too tricky, she will be standing there to guide the kids to the next clue so they don’t end up chasing ice cream trucks in the street.

It should be an adventure. Check back with me and I’ll let you know if the wife starts reconsidering whether it was a good idea for me to reproduce.

Halloween Huge Success

2008-10-31T19:15:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to check in to say this Halloween was great! The little monster, or more accurately, the little unicorn had the best time.

She ran around from house to house in a great neighbourhood and must have brought back five pounds of goodies. I noticed that people seemed to have gotten very generous with the treats because she was getting handfuls of stuff from folks. We had to keep emptying out her bag so it wouldn't get too heavy for her.

I don't think I've ever seen so many Hannah Montana's as what were running around tonight. It would appear that little girl has really impressed herself on the minds of many other young girls. What I can't believe is how hugely successful she has been considering her dad is the achey breaky heart guy. Don' tell me you were a fan because the hair alone should have made you change the channel.

Regardless, it was a blast and most of the kids we saw were really well behaved. There was a strange trend that we noticed. There seemed to be a lot of older kids. I don't remember kids that age going out when I was a kid. There were kids with beards and kids with boobs. If you have a beard or boobs or both, you are too old to be out asking for candy. Just my opinion and I think it's a good one.

The other thing I noticed that I hadn't seen before, is that some people were giving away little things instead of candy. They gave out play doh or pencil crayons and stuff. It is interesting because you don't realize it until you get home and start going through the stuff. I guess it's good to know that some parents don't want to give out junk food anymore and are actually concerned about the health of my kid. I just don't know how thrilled she is going to be about it.

Happy Halloween all! Hope you had a great one!

Halloween and The Running of The Kids

2008-10-30T07:13:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Halloween and the kids are all getting ready. My little one is going to be going out as a unicorn which should make for some fun photographic moments. She does just so happen to make the cutest unicorn ever. I'm not just saying that because I am her parent, I have checked the catalogue of unicorns, both historical and fictional, and she without a doubt is the cutest.

At first we were thinking about her going in a two person costume where one of them is the back side and the other is the front. That would have been impressive and it would have been a full size attraction. I was quite concerned however about how other young kids might perceive her. They might think that it was real and go running off down the street. That would be a bad scene.

The other concern I had with the two person costume would be deciding who would be the back end. That would considerable torture having to live like that for the entire evening. That would get pretty warm after a while and probably wouldn't smell too wonderful. I suppose they could always trade off but that would be a lot of work. So we opted for the single unicorn look. As I already mentioned, she is cute.

It is a great costume because it has no loose parts and the face is wide open so there isn't any mask it is safe and fun and easy for her to run around in. I would highly recommend it for people stuck for costume ideas but don't expect your kids to be cuter than mine. Remember, everywhere else in life it is good to encourage your kids to have fruits and vegetables but don't except them from your neighbours on Halloween. Isn't that odd? Make sure your little munchkins only keep the garbage. What is wrong with us?!

Have fun all!

Kids Alergies and Peanut Butter

2008-10-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing I am incredibly grateful for when it comes to my kid, it is that she is not allergic to anything. I know there are a ton of other things that I could be grateful for with her, and don't get me wrong, I am very grateful. However, it is alarming the rate at which kids are diagnosed with allergies every year.

Apparently the numbers are quite significant. Nearly three million kids were diagnosed this year with food or digestive allergies. That is up eighteen percent from last year. The numbers continue to rise and don't seem to slow down.

Every once and a while I get the feeling that these diagnoses are wrong. That is must be something else. I don't know how I would've made it through my childhood if I couldn't eat peanut butter. It is mind blowing to me the number of kids who have peanut allergies now and still it is highly debated where it is coming from.

I have heard the stories about vaccinations but how different are they from when we were kids? If that was the case, wouldn't so many more kids have the allergy? I don't know, I'm the furthest thing from an allergist but that peanut butter was part of a regular diet of mine for years as a kid. It would be like the next crop of kids suddenly developing allergies to grilled cheese.

Could you imagine telling a kid today they can't have peanut butter and jam or grilled cheese sandwiches? That would be crazy. Both are little kid staples. I know many of you are thinking that the kids should be eating many other healthy things. I agree and I try to push the good food as often as possible. However, as most parents out there know, there are times when only the classics are what the kids want to eat and you can only deny them dinner so many times.

Anyway if anybody has news about the cause of this or if they know about it being overcome, that would be fascinating to hear about. I will be on the lookout to find and flavor and substitute for peanut butter. That smell was always around in kindergarten. Hard to believe it is gone. It would be great to find out what is causing the reactions in kids and how to get rid of it. The PB and J sandwich would be great to deliver back to a new generation.

Kids Eyes Are Critical For Learning

2008-10-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a little something that I just found out about and it is information that no parent should be without. With the school season well under way it has been conceded that something like eighty percent of what kids learn about is vision related. That is, they absorb the information visually. However, nearly two thirds of those kids entering school, particularly primary are not being tested for vision problems. This can become a significant issue since approximately one out of every four kids has a vision problem.

Supposedly both state and federal legislation has been enacted to attend to improving the vision care of children. That would be something I would like to see in practice to actually believe. If it has happened, I wouldn't be surprised if some huge pharmaceutical company is behind it.

Apparently untreated visual problems can affect a child's physical and emotional development. Where some states are requiring mandatory vision testing for children before entering school, many states still do not require it. Of those that do require it, follow up visitation and check ups are not. This is incredibly odd considering those children who may be discovered to have vision problems. It seems to fall more on the parents, as I believe it should, to ensure healthy vision care for their kids and regular follow ups. Particularly if there has been any problems at school.

Parents and teachers are encouraged to keep an eye out, I apologize that is a horrible pun, for the following indications that there might be vision problems:

squinting, covering one eye to read, rubbing of the eyes, eyes being red constantly or appearing torn or a tendency of one or both eyes to turn outward.

These are all indications that your child might be having vision problems. As vision is so critical for the effective learning of kids, make sure yours are checked out or screened at least annually. As most of you I am sure already make sure of this, it is amazing to think how many kids are going to school and can't see properly. Hopefully sharing this information will help lead to eliminating this problem.

Kids Toys This Holiday Seaon: Be Careful

2008-10-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

It is absolutely amazing how big business continues to shun the welfare of consumers regardless of how old they are.

How would you feel if I told you that somebody was making things that they knew could cause serious harm to your kids AND those things were made specially for your kids? I bet you'd feel pretty crappy. No, I bet you'd feel pretty angry. You should feel pretty angry because it gets even more interesting.

Let's cut the hypothetical bad guys some slack for a minute. Supposing they were making things specially for your kids but never knew those things were dangerous. Now, possibly they're not so bad. OK. Let's say that they didn't know for the longest time that they were making things that were harmful to children. However, research then takes place and it is determined that those things are dangerous and that those people making those things should stop. They would probably stop right? Well, what if the government then figured it was so serious that they imposed a ban, making it illegal to manufacture those dangerous things. That should put an end to it right?

Well guess what. When money is involved, nobody cares about our kids. The scenario I described about is exactly what happened recently and the worst thing you can imagine is happening. Here is exactly what happened.

This past summer, Congress outlawed the use of chemicals called phthalates in children's toys. It is chemical that is supposed to make hard toys more flexible. Phthalates have been found to cause reproductive defects in children. Some of the things it can cause is malformation of the genitalia and development problems. In adults, it is believed to cause sterility. Guess who one of the biggest manufactures is of this kind of chemical? ExxonMobile. Guess who was lobbying Congress hard over the summer to try and kill the legislation? That's right, same guys.

So fortunately Congress stands strong and makes the stuff illegal. Here's where it gets interesting. Turns out the ban doesn't take effect until February 10th. Can you smell what is coming next? You should because it stinks. Toy manufacturers and distributors have decided that instead of destroying the toxic toys, they are going to sell them at discount in massive quantities in hopes of eluding losses on the dangerous items.

That's right, you hear me correctly. Just in time for the holiday season, toy makers are going to dump health hazards at us and our kids so that they can make a few bucks. Here is the tricky part, the bigger chains have made public declarations that they are removing all items containing phthalates. Can't say much about the smaller stores. However, ingredients are not listed on most toys and as such, it will be virtually impossible to tell if the products on the shelves contain these hazardous substances.

It's unfortunate because in all likelihood there are some manufacturers that will do right and get rid of the bad toys so they never see the light of day. It is a classic example of some bad apples ruining it for the rest of us. So, in answer this season, consider getting a different kind of present for the kids. Maybe even doing something, going somewhere. Try something fun you haven't done before. Once the deadline passes, the playthings should be safe again. Hopefully.

Things to do with Kids: Feed Giraffes

2008-10-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

So we headed off to this zoo that we discovered about four months ago. My little girl loves the place. It is considerably different from the zoo we normally took her to. For one, it is further away and we end up making a day of it and grabbing a hotel room. It's close to the falls so it's near a fun touristy area. Is there such a word as touristy?

Anyway, what makes this zoo different is the intimacy you get with the animals. Simply put, you can get much closer to them than you can with other kinds of zoos. At most facilities, there are pavilions. You walk inside, there carefully crafted exhibits and the animals frolic or lie around far away from you. At this zoo it is several different cage and enclosures that are designed in such an ingenious way so that you can get up close to the friendly animals (well so far they've been friendly) and you can get a good close up view of the typically more dangerous one. That would be your lions and tiger and bears etc.

So we're walking around this place and it's one of the last times we'll be able to go this season because it starts getting cold, and we hear this roar. It is this low guttural kind of roar and my wife says it must be the lions. The sound is so amazing that it almost sounds like a movie. We head over to the lions' enclosure and sure enough, that's what it was. Of course, he stopped as soon as we got there so we didn't actually get to see him do it. My little girl wanted to see him roar and started asking him to do it. He did not oblige.

What I thought was kind of funny about the situation is that all around the lion enclosure are cages that housed a variety of exotic birds. You could get up real close to them and some of them even talked. My little girl loved those. We checked a map that we picked up when we came in and realized there was a giraffe "show" about to start so we headed over that way. Shortly after hitting the path to get to the giraffes, the lion roared again. He's just messing with us I figured.

We get to the giraffes and my little girl was hooked. She was amazed by their size and how friendly they were. You could stand outside their fence but they would dip their heads over and you could feed them leaves off a branch. My kid couldn't start collecting leaves fast enough. The show was mostly a person talking about the two giraffes they had and the things they liked to do and eat. Near the end she took all the kids, including mine, up three stories of steps where they got to feed the giraffes off a wooden balcony. She had a blast.

Needless to say, I have spent the past couple of days explaining to my daughter why the backyard isn't big enough for a giraffe and if you took him to school for show and tell, he might just try to make a run for it. We'll be going back to see them next spring.

Kids Love To Play Games

2008-10-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

My little girl loves playing games. She has all kinds of different ones. One of her amazing talents is her ability to take a game like Operation for example, and turn it into a completely different game. A kid's ability to entertain themselves and create stuff out of thin air never ceases to amaze me. I wonder what happens as time goes by that we don't do that as often.

Anyway she recently found a new fascination. She loves mazes. We were sitting in a restaurant and the waitress brought over a cup full of crayons and a huge paper place mat with all kinds of activities on it.

The place mat had a bunch of classic games on it like tic tac toe, which she loves as well, along with a whole bunch of other stuff. I think her favorite is the one where she has to spot the picture out of a group that all look alike but there is subtle differences in one or two or something like that. Anyway, whatever it is, she loves it. She was playing her way through all the games and puzzles when she came to the maze. She was instantly fascinated.

She figured out where she had to start and where to end and quickly made her way through it. She asked me if there were other mazes that she could try and we had to tell her that all the place mats were the same. So, I grabbed the place mat, flipped it over and drew a new maze for her. She loved it. I don't know how challenging a maze maker I am, but she still dug it.

When I went home I found out that you can print out all kinds of great mazes of the Internet and there are all different levels to challenge the kids. There are also truckloads of these activity books available that you can find at book stores and toy stores.

Here's the best part. Young kids working on mazes is great for different aspects of their cognitive development. It actually enhances their problem solving and calculating abilities. I'm assuming those are almost the same things but if there is some clinical psychologist out there who knows the difference, I'd love to hear it.

Anyhow, enjoy those puzzle books. The kids will love them.

Kids Don't Need Parents' Economic Fear

2008-10-27T13:29:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that times are tough, we are far from the next great depression. News outlets and political pundits like to use that kind of language because it sells newspapers and air time. There is no question that it is a time to be careful but even more so, it is important to be smart, especially when discussing fiscal matters with your kids.

Not to long ago I was at a friend's house and his wife yelled at one of their kids not to play with his food because they don't know how much longer they will be able to afford it. Personally, I thought it was meant as a joke, but she was stoic. She meant it. Well, what she really meant was to convey that information to her kids.

I couldn't help but thing that provoking that kind of fear in your kids is no way to behave around them. Nobody wants their children to start developing neuroses about their financial future while they are just learning how to read. Even when times are tough, it's important to let your kids be kids.

I can't imagine that no matter how smart people think their children are, that any of those kids could begin to process that kind of fear and information. It is completely unhealthy and unnecessary. Sure a recession is likely but the country has seen it before and come out on top. That's what developing countries do, they survive through planning and ingenuity. This kind of stuff has no place on the daily agenda of your little kids.

Running around fearing the worst never does anybody any good. It is especially crazy to even begin to think about putting it on your kids. I remember when the whole Y2K fear thing was going around and all those businesses started popping up to prepare the industrialized world for doom and gloom. I remember thinking that it was a huge scam and that we were all going to be alright. There's no way a computer that sends people to the moon can't tell the difference between the numbers 1999 and 2000. Remember what happened? Nothing. Imagine what would have been happening to kids whose parents were telling them that there was going to be a disaster. Those kids would be a mess. Unfortunately, I'm sure some of them were.

You can be up front with your kids about times being a little tougher but don't burden them with all your worries. You are fully capable of making it through and if you are really concerned, there are places you can turn for help. Just don't put the fear on your kids. That stuff can cause them to develop all kinds of problems that can stick around long after the recession is over and into their adult lives.

Kids Love To Learn About History and Family

2008-10-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend my little girl came home from visiting with her aunt out of town. She had a good time and got to meet some family that she didn't know about. We always tend to find family that we didn't know about. Don't ask me how we do it. I would hate to see what would happen if we ever won the lottery.

She joined me in the den and explained that she had a take home project to work on with us. Us being her parents. She pulled out a big piece of yellow bristol board and explained that she had to draw a family tree.

I figured this would be fun since she loves all kinds of art work and we were going to get messy with this one doing it with paints. She loves to paint and mix colors. She has gotten really good lately at drawing all kinds of trees and flowers. She is great with mixing together combinations of the two and getting all types of different colors involved.

We decided that we would paint a big old giant oak tree down the middle and have all kinds of leaves that we would glue on to represent different members of the family. The leaves thing was her idea and if I do say so myself, a genius one at that.

The exercise is a great idea. I remember that I did it as a kid and I learned a great deal about my family when I did it. I found out about a great uncle that I had who used to tour around the country performing in a band. I learned about a great great grand mother who used to run around her village delivering food to people who were too old or too sick to do it for themselves. I learned how an uncle and aunt of mine had to travel fifteen miles out of town to meet secretly because neither of their families approved of them getting together. They were a classic Romeo and Juliet scenario.

Now my daughter was going to get to hear a bunch of these stories and it turns out she is hungry for more. She has developed a whole new interest in family members she never knew she had and is excited about meeting new people. She has expressed and interest in doing different things as well as what she wants to do when she grows up. She has mentioned for the first time now that she wants to be a singer. Anything is possible I suppose, but I think she likes animals even more and will probably become a vet or an actress or a judge. There is still lots of room for possibilities.

Needless to say the exercise was a great success and even if your kids don't have this assignment given to them, I would highly recommend giving it a shot as a fun thing to do the next time you have some quality time together.

Toys Loaned For Children

2008-10-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

This is a great story and something we can all learn from. Back during the great depression around 1934, a couple young boys were caught shoplifting in a Los Angeles County. The were taking small toys and parts in order to build their own toys.

The boys and their parents were brought in to the local authorities where it was discovered those boys were making really good grades by their parents just couldn't afford those toys for them so the boys figured the only way they would ever be able to play with them was to steal them or steal the parts needed to build the toys themselves.

The authorities at the time thought better of punishing the otherwise productive youngsters and instead instituted a program that has been in place now for over seventy years.

A centre was created where people could come in a donate new or used toys that other children could borrow. The principle still exists today. Disadvantaged kids are able to come into the centre at certain times during the year and select from a bounty of donated toys. The kids are told that they have to take good care of the toys and return them in good condition.

As you can imagine, once in a while the toys don't make it back. This was the belief of the organizers when they first began the program. They figured once the kids got their hands on those toys, that was it. They didn't think they would be seeing them again. To their pleasant surprise, almost all of the toys make their way back to the centre.

A big part of the program is teaching these kids responsibility and respect for other people's property. The kids also learn to be appreciative of the the opportunity that isn't made available to many other children.

They strange thing is that this program has been around for so many years but has not caught on in many other places. Surprisingly, this program in Los Angeles which is maintained by the county, really isn't discussed that often.

I would think a program like this should exist in every major center across the globe. I'm sure you know of a child who has a collection of toys that just sits now and is pretty much forgotten. Kids move on pretty quickly to new things these days. We donate old toys and clothes a couple times a year and I think if this kind of program was around it could give young unfortunate kids who otherwise wouldn't gain exposure to such a program, a new alternative.

If you know of such a program, take moment one day and drop off a toy. The kids will thank you and I'm sure it's the kind of thing that isn't quickly forgotten.

Kids Will Eat Healthy Foods

2008-10-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

Previously I shared a story with you about how I am always trying to get my daughter to try and eat something different. Preferably, I would like her to eat healthy of course.

If you read the earlier post, you would get to read the story about taking her out and trying to get her to eat shrimp tempura, just to try something different. She insisted on not trying it until the waitress suggested she try it because her son happened to love it.

Needless to say, after the waitress suggestion went in, she tried it and loved it. In fact, it is safe to say that is now her favorite thin to order when we go out to that restaurant.

I chalked up the experience to my little girl's tendency to challenge my wife and I, and to say no even when she doesn't know why. It seems pretty typical and I'm sure I'm not the only parent out there who has experienced it.

I didn't really think much about it again until I came across a news story about a couple of grade schools that have implemented a new program as part of their curriculum. These schools have decided to gradually introduce the kids in their classes to healthy eating choices. A couple times a week, a parent will volunteer and bring to the class a selection of one new fruit and one new vegetable choice. For example, the most recent contribution was raspberries and cucumbers.

Apparently, the results from introducing these foods to the kids has been quite positive. Kids who normally would shun the various fruit or vegetable, is discovering that they like it. There have been countless occasions where the teacher has asked the students if they had these foods before or if they liked them. Most kids, would answer by saying they never tried certain fruits and veggies because they figured those kinds of foods were not for them. Simply put, they didn't like them.

Something more important appears to be coming out of the study. Many of the kids had a history of resisting attempts by their parents to get them to eat these foods but when it was introduced to them at school, there wasn't nearly as much resistance. I think there is definitely something to be said about that.

It would appear that kids are more inclined to try something new when introduced to it by someone other than a parent. Almost as if to say, they don't have anything to prove to these third party people, therefore there is no need to resist. By introducing kids to great foods by way of a third party, suddenly kids are finding out that they can love healthy food choices too.

It stands to reason then that if you are struggling to get your kid to make healthy food choices, better you try to get a school program started or pay a quick visit to your local sushi bar because your kid may just be waiting to discover a whole menu of great foods on their horizon.

Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.

Kids Love To Eat What Kids Don't Want To Eat

2008-10-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

This always cracks me up. I don't know how many times I have tried to get my little girl to try and eat something new. I don't even mean something healthy necessarily. I would just love for her to try something. Of course, I would much rather her eat healthy foods but at the same time I would love to see her explore all kinds of good food choices.

The other night we went out to this great Japanese place to eat where you order a couple dishes at a time. Once you finish those dishes, you order more of whatever you want. It is a single price, just like a buffet, but you get served. It is a great idea because if you are like me, buffets are difficult. I 'm not a big fan of taking food from a dish that had been in the "public domain." I will admit I'm a little OCD that way.

Anyway, we brought my five year old daughter along because she really enjoys beef teriyaki with rice. She asks for it by name when we are at home and she knows the place she likes to go to to get it.

We ordered her the dish she enjoyed and we started ordering stuff for ourselves. One of the dishes we ordered was shrimp tempura. For those of you who have had it before, it is delicious. It is one of those things that if you like it, you really like it. You probably shouldn't eat too much of it but it is really good.

When the waitress brought the dish to our table, my little girl looked up from her beef teriyaki and asked "What is that?" She had a stern look of disgust on her face. I explained to her it was shrimp tempura and that she should try it because it was delicious. She just shook her head and said she didn't like it. I of course came back at her with the classic "How do you know you don't like it if you never even tried it?" I hate that one. My parents used to use it on me. It used to drive me crazy.

Regardless, she just insisted she didn't like it and wasn't going to try it. I tried to change her mind by pointing out that it was really good because it came with this sauce that was sweet and it made it extra tasty. She didn't care if we covered it in chocolate sauce (which she loves) she wasn't having any of it.

Not to long after this exchange, the waitress came by and saw me trying to coax my daughter into trying to taste another dish that we had ordered. I think it was some chow mein dish or something. I get confused sometimes in those places. I don't remember the names of most of the stuff, I just remember if it tastes good.

Anyway, the waitress ended up stepping next to my daughter and explained to her that her son loved the shrimp tempura and that it was his favorite thing on their menu. She went on to say that she wished her son would eat other things but that dish was definitely his favorite. My daughter was giving her a cute smile of recognition and then looked over at me as if I had paid the waitress to say that. In fact, I was just as surprised as my little girl.

The next thing I knew, my daughter was breaking off a piece of the shrimp tempura and dipping it in the sauce. "Mmm daddy this is really good," she said. Imagine that. Score one for the parents. More amazing though was something that I noticed. As her father, trying to get her to try something, it is as if she has some built in mechanism to challenge me. It didn't seem to matter that she would have loved the shrimp, she was just determined not to eat it because I was trying to get her to eat it. When an unknown third party stepped in with the recommendation, there was no stopping her. It was an interesting study in psychology and one that I have continued to use in the way I approach her trying new things.

Check out this blog soon because I will include a story I have found about a school that has implemented this very same technique in getting young kids to explore healthy food choices they normally would not touch. See you soon.

p.s. now she only wants the shrimp tempura.

Kids Love Music and Music is Great For Kids

2008-10-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

Recently I came across some incredible information that I can only hope is accurate. It has to do primarily with the affects that music has on the development of children. It is really fascinating stuff.

Music is great when it comes to kids for some obvious reasons. They enjoy it. They try to sing themselves and learn about rhythm and discover the kinds of music and songs that they like. They incorporate music into their sense of play and often use it to socialize with other children in one way or another.

Apparently though there is some discussion that music actually can help enhance the cognitive abilities of preschoolers. It helps to develop their intelligence, their ability to reason through situations as well as their memory and language skills. Apparently the more often a child is exposed to music the better off they will be.

I believe that music is definitely integral to a person's development. It doesn't take much study to see how music can immediately alter the mood of an individual. Additionally, music seems to have the ability to change energy levels in people in an instant. Remember the last time you attended a sporting event that was slow moving and boring and then suddenly an upbeat chant or tune began being played on the PA system? That seems like an obvious example of how energy and mood can be enhanced by music.

I'm not sure if I believe that excessive amounts of music will unquestionably enhance a child's development. There has to be time for other things as well. The same could be said about other forms of entertainment. As my family doctor would say, "everything in moderation." I would also be curious about the types of music you are exposing your child to. There is considerable support for classical. This is prevalent with all of the baby video series using classical composers. It would seem that the gentle nature of classical would benefit preschoolers. Again, there is always the question of tone and tempo. What about jazz or rhythm and blues? It would be interesting to see the results.

It is proposed that kids learn a lot more from music than simply skills related to music. Apparently they also develop physical skills by listening to music such as coordination and balance. This is worked out mostly through dancing and the interpretation of song and rhythm. Cognitive development is also enhanced through exposure to music including such things as problem solving, spatial skills, mathematics and creativity.

The results of these studies are intriguing. What doesn't seem to be addressed is how well these children would have their cognition developed without the same kind of exposure. I would be curious to see if the development would have been equal say to a child who instead of music, would undergo a series of exercises to develop those skill sets. It would also be interesting to see if there were ever children studied who actually were more distracted by their exposure to music which led to slower development. There are so many other aspects of the study that would be interesting to work out.

Regardless of what you believe, it is good to see that the results of exposure to music in developing children is predominantly positive. I have yet to see a child who doesn't enjoy some form of music. Clearly, whatever is happening developmentally inside those tiny heads, the kids seem to be enjoying it. What kind of person wouldn't enjoy music. In fact, I would go far as to say that if you discover a child who doesn't enjoy any music at all, you should probably watch very closely. I have yet to see such a thing happen. So in the meantime, keep getting down with your bad selves and let your kids play that music and find their groove. Apparently, it is really good for them. It will probably be a lot easier to get them to try than broccoli.

Kids Toys That Kids Love

2008-10-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

Recently I have found some great toy gift ideas for kids that I think most kids will really enjoy. I have been birthday shopping for my daughter. This is not the easiest task in the world since we are blessed with a huge family so she gets toys from all over the place at birthday time. I actually have to tell the family to go easy on the toys so that she doesn't get spoiled. However, no matter how hard we try, I think as parents we end up spoiling them anyways.

While looking for her, I did find these great toys that I think would be fun for either boys or girls. It is always great finding stuff that they can all enjoy and that can always be passed along to another child if and when she outgrows it.

The first new kids toy I found that I thought was great is a classic choice but the latest in a very successful line of toys. It is an Elmo toy. I know what a bunch of you are thinking. Another Elmo? Yup, another one. These things are just so great though. I've always enjoyed them because the kids get such a kick out of them and they are safe and easy to use. Those are things I will often look for in a toy. This one is called Elmo Live. I believe it is the latest in the line to be designed. He speaks and his mouth opens and closes when he talks like a functional puppet. He can wave his arms and he can stand up or sit down.

Elmo Live is capable of telling stories and singing songs and he can even tell jokes and play games. You know the kids are going to think that is fun and hysterical. This toy always makes me crack up. He is really easy to operate. Kids can set him in motion by doing any number of things to him including squeezing his foot, tummy or nose. The ease with which he can be operated is a huge selling feature for me as I mentioned. He is also lightweight and appears pretty durable. If anyone has gotten this guy for their kids I would love to hear about it.

The other toy that I found that I think the kids will love is called the Kid Tough Camera. I think I mentioned another toy from the Kid Tough line not too long ago but I didn't know about this camera otherwise I would have mentioned it. It looks great. It is a digital camera and boasts to be the first pre-school appropriate digital camera. I'm not sure what that means exactly but I know that it looks great for kids. It is easy and straight forward to use. I know my little girl would love it because she enjoys using my camera to take pictures and with this one, I could just give it to her and let her go. It appears to be incredibly durable and also claims to be waterproof. That would be something to see.

The camera has big easy to operate buttons with a 1.5' LCD preview screen so your kid can see the picture right away. This is a great function since my kid loves just seeing the picture on the screen of the camera, I don't think she is that interested in ever even printing them off. She typically likes to take the shot, see it and move on. Maybe when she gets a little older she'll think about building albums. As I mentioned, it looks simple to operate and the box said it only weighs about a pound so it's easy for your kids to carry around and can withstand bumps and drops. I might go for this one but if somebody has one already, I would be interested in hearing about it. I would really like to know about the durability.

Anyway, just wanted to share those finds with you. Best of luck with your birthday gift hunting.

Top Five Books For Kids

2008-10-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

I am sure there are going to be plenty of suggestions for this list. There are a lot of great choices out there. For my money and what I've seen from my kids when it comes to the kinds of books that they really enjoy reading, these are easily amongst the top choices.

Again, I am sure that some of you reading this will have your own ideas. Please add them to the list because I would love to hear from you.

In the meantime, without any further ado, here are my current choices for the top five books for kids which I present in no particular order:

1. The Cat in The Hat. This is a classic favorite from the legendary Dr. Seuss. A story and character that kids all around the world have grown to love. A mischievous cat makes his way to the house of a young boy and girl one day after their mother has left them alone. He is accompanied by two strange companions named Thing one and Thing two. After a day of mayhem and challenges from a talking goldfish, the cat and the children manage to bring everything back to normal just before their mother returns. A strange tale sure to be enjoyed by all.

2. Harry Potter. The now legendary series has been turned into a feature film and captured the imaginations of people both young and old around the world. The story follows the adventures of a young wizard in training, Harry Potter and his friends. He must somehow balance the muggle world, inhabited by most people including his abusive adoptive family, with his new magic family. He studies at Hogwarts, the school of magic, and has made some new dear friends who help him along in his adventures. As time goes by, he discovers a great challenge lays ahead as he must confront his greatest fears and.... well you guys get the picture.

3. Charlotte's Web. This is another classic loved by kids and their parents. It is a story of a group of talking animals that live on a farm. In particular it is the story of Wilbur, a pig who much like the other pigs was originally being groomed by the farmer for slaughter. The pig makes friends with a spider who happens to know how to write in English. After a few fancy messages in her web, the farmer makes new plans for this amazing pig. It is a touching tale of friendship that will be adored for generations.

4. Goosebumps. This is a more recent favorite. The series was created in the nineties as a children's horror catalogue of sorts. From the title came numerous characters and stories that made up a ton of books that have since translated into both the written and visual mediums. A fearful favorite of kids, Goosebumps has colorful scary characters like the original ventriloquist dummy, Slappy, who makes up one of the author's favorite characters. This series is great and something of a consideration for the kids around Halloween. If they like to be scared but still be able to go to sleep at night, the series makes for a good collection.

5. Where The Wild Things Are. This classic selection was written by Maurice Sendak and dates back to when most parents today were kids. It still remains a favorite. A captivating and visually innovative picture book, Where The Wild Things Are explores the vast imagination of a young boy names Max, who has been sent to his room for misbehaving. The young protagonist travels to a mysterious land dressed in a wolf suit where he encounters many strange and mythical creatures that he must conquer in order to become their king. An interesting tale and even more fascinating as a classic since the entire book's story is told in only ten sentences.

That is the list and if you have any better ideas as I mentioned, I would love to hear them. In the meantime, if you are looking for a good book selection for the kids and for some reason or another they have not discovered one of the above, for the love of animation go grab it.

Kung Fu Panda Is Great For Kids

2008-10-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

There are not many films that I've seen that make kids want to move that are not musicals. Most of the time there has to be a lot of singing and dancing for kids to want to get up and jump around after they have seen a movie.

In the case of Kung Fu Panda, that energy seems to stick around for a long time after. This movie has been out of the theatres for a little while but if you look really hard, you might still find it some discount theatres in your neighbourhood, if you have them.

Most of the time you probably will not be able to find this film in theatres any more and as such, you will have to go and rent a copy. Let me just say it is worth the rental ten times over. You should also know ahead of time that if your kids really like the movie, you will be seeing it way more than ten times.

It is a great story about a panda who lives in a village somewhere, working for his father who is a crane by the way, in the family restaurant. The characters in the film are all animals and they all talk. It is interesting how kids never question that fact that all the animals always seem to talk in movies but never do in real life. I have never had a kid who went to see one of these movies with me say " Hey, animals can't talk!" Well they aren't supposed to be good at Kung Fu either but in this film they are great.

The panda, played by Jack Black really wants to be a respected martial artist but doesn't know if he will ever get the chance to become one. I don't want to give away the plot but I will say one thing is amazing about this movie. A lot of the movie has the characters fighting in it. Yet, the fighting scenes don't come off particularly violent and you will hear your kids mention how cute all the animals are over and over again.

The movie has a great supporting cast including Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan and Angelina Jolie. I'm not sure what it is, but ever since seeing it, my little girl wants to take Kung Fu lessons. She also really wants to be a tiger. I'll have to think about both requests.

Anyway, I know the film has been out of theatres for a while but seeing it again recently reminded me about how great it was. If you are looking for a great rental idea for the kids, that also happens to have a great message about friendship and family, you should pick up Kung Fu Panda. It is worth every penny, every time you see it. Oh, and keep an eye on your kids. They may start to develop a mean left cross. Have fun.

Kids Love Drawing and Painting

2008-10-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

There are not too many kids that I have met that don't enjoy some kind of drawing and painting. It must be one of the best ways there is for expressing themselves. It also happens to be a great way for them to spend some time having fun and quality time with their parents.

What is so great about painting or drawing is that kids get so excited about what they have created. They love the entire process. The picture is one thing as it begins and then gradually it changes into another thing, or many different things. It always gives a kid a great sense of accomplishment.

Expressing themselves through art gives kids a great chance to explore different ways of looking at things in the world. It teaches them how to appreciate different perspectives and to further understand things they hadn't previously thought about.

Painting with kids is a great way for them to experiment with transferring figures in their minds to paper. They can learn to translate color, shapes and all kinds of figures. The great thing about drawing and painting with kids is that there are no rules. The kids freely express themselves and use the drawing and painting utensils in all kinds of different and creative ways.

In particular, painting allows them to get in there with all different kinds of brushes, big and small. Sometimes they don't have to use brushes. They can use stencils, and cardboard cut outs and dried pasta or q-tips or string or sponges or anything at all for that matter. Of course the best for kids is to get in the there with their hands an feet and fingers and toes and get messy because that is when they create some of their greatest works of art. We don't need no stinking brushes!

A little something you should keep in mind is keeping your work area clean. Make sure before the kids get started with whatever the art project is, that you put down a drop cloth over your table or floor. You may also want to consider keeping a wash bucket close by full of soapy water for their hands so that your little artists don't have a chance to run all over the house leaving new designs on walls and furniture.

The Artist Kid's Great Toy Idea

2008-10-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know about most of you but my kid loves to draw. She also loves to paint and get messy and leave all kinds of things on paper and call it her great work of art. She has enjoyed painting and drawing and creating ever since she could did her hands into anything that would leave a mark on the wall or table or floor. I think you get the picture.

Well now that she is five, her projects are very serious, as you parents are all very aware. She has learned how to incorporate all kinds of other things. She will stick on pipe cleaners, dried macaroni and bandages. She explores every color under the rainbow and then mixes them together to find other colors. After she is all done, she makes her way to the refrigerator and hunts for a magnet and an empty space. The only thing is, there generally isn't much space left and it usually means we have to retire one of her earlier works to the archives.

In consideration of space management for all the young Picassos out there, I recently came across a great new toy from Alex Toys called My Art Show. It is a really simple idea and great for those families who are running out of display space. It is a flat colored canvas, I've only seen it in blue so far, that measures 50' high by 29' wide. It comes along with six different picture frames in which your child can place a different piece of art work. Then it just hangs on the wall displaying all six pieces. When your child feels like changing it, the frames themselves are easy to remove and replace because they attach with Velcro. The frames can be moved around and placed in a number of different ways.

I thought the toy was great for any of those budding artists out there who are constantly producing but always need a new place to show their work. Sorry mom and dad if it means a little more stuff on the wall but it's worth it. The display piece is a lot of fun, it is easy to use, it encourages the kids to be creative and there isn't much that they can break.

All that being said, it may actually be a great toy that you can make for your kids. It's a great idea but if you have the right stuff, it really appears to be one of those things that you could assemble on your own. That usually is the case with great simple kids' toys. I'm sure the people at Alex Toys don't appreciate the suggestion but in all likelihood, most would prefer to just buy the ready made display case.

For the young Rembrandt messing up walls and tables in your home, I think My Art Show would make a great gift idea.

Don't Miss Parent Teacher Day at School

2008-10-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

There was a time of year as a kid that always dreaded. That was the one day a year my parents were supposed to come to school to meet my teachers. It was brutal for me because I always figured the worst things were going to be said and I would get grounded. I always worried that after the teacher said I was doing something poorly, that my mom would force me do it every night until it became acceptable. I never knew for sure what I was doing well because when I was little, I just figured all the kids were doing the same thing and moving along at the same pace.

It turns out that despite the anxiety I would have every year, my teachers would never have anything bad to say about me. If as a kid you were able to keep from poking out other kids' eyes or eating the fish we kept as pets in the classroom, your report was always pretty good.

Now with a little one of my own in grade 1, it was a blast to go on parent teacher day. I got to meet her teacher and to see the classroom and get a really good understanding of what goes on there from day to day. What has become so incredible is how much they have been able to pack into what appears to be a day care session. In fact a ton of learning is going on.

My little girl has improved her reading skills tremendously. She also has a basic understanding of mathematical principles. I'm pretty sure when I was her age, I was most concerned about some strange goop under a desk or if I would be able to stack blocks higher than a friend of mine. She really seems to be learning quite a bit and she loves it. The big deal during the parent teacher visit was to see the family picture that she drew of us. I always heard the stories about how sometimes your child will depict a little too much truth in those drawings. Not that we have anything about our family that is too unusual, but I was happy to see that through the eyes of my little girl, everything is moving along well.

It is important to me that she is a happy kid. By checking out what she is doing at school and hearing the great things her teacher had to say about her as a person, not just as a student, made me feel really good. I also strongly believe that she was happy that I attended. I get the feeling that she really loves that fact that I take an active interest in what she does, especially at school since it happens without us being there.

Needless to say, the parent teacher experience is something that all parents should look forward to with their little kids and realize that it is not nearly as angst ridden as the days when your parents had to come talk to your teachers. Perhaps we are moving forward a little bit as a people after all.

Your Children Adapt Faster Than Anything

2008-10-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

For those parents out there who have kids starting a new school or perhaps going away to school for the first time on their own where they won't see you all day, don't worry. It is a big deal for our kids to be away from us, especially for a whole day. Even a bigger deal if they haven't been away from us before. For those of you concerned about this type of thing about to happen to your child, read on.

My little girl started grade one this year and I was nervous. She was excited. She had attended the same school for kindergarten and had a hard time the first month or so. This was because she was quite young and it was her first time away from her mother. Needless to say, I was concerned again.

I wasn't worried about the fact that she was going to be away from us for full days, every day of the week, I had grown to accept that. What I was most concerned about was the fact that she had made some good friends in kindergarten. She used to play with them every day and we even arranged play dates at the house for them. What concerned me most was the fact that her good friends were not returning to the school this year.

My daughter's friends were going to be attending different schools for grade 1. These sweet kids who all became so close so quickly, were now being taken away from each other. So my little girl and I went to school for her first day of grade 1. She had been telling me all summer that she was looking forward to it and that she was excited. However, when we arrived, she changed. She suddenly was a little hesitant to go play with any of the kids and she didn't want to leave my side. This wasn't the little girl I knew who had come to love going to school so much the previous year.

When the bell rang to line up, she went to line up with her new teacher, who is very good with the kids by the way, and she looked kind of sad but was putting on a brave face, determined not to cry. Just so you all know, she is a December baby so she is the youngest in her class.

The teacher led the kids off to the classroom and she gave me a big hug and a kiss and I told her how be would be there when school finished and would be waiting for her to come out of the doors.

I went home thinking that my little girl was going to be miserable because her friends were gone and to make matters a little more interesting, she is in a class of 12 kids with only two other girls. I resolved to try and not get too upset about it and figured if she wanted big hugs at the end of the day I would be there and I would take her anywhere she wanted to go for dinner.

The end of the day came quickly and I went to pick her up. The bell rang to end classes and I waited in the school yard for her to come out, prepared for whatever. A group of kids started coming out and then I saw my little girl. She saw me, came running over and said "Hi Daddy, I'll be right back." She dropped off her back pack and ran to go play with a couple of her new friends. Each time a called her to get going she asked if she could play a little longer. She didn't want to leave and to be honest, she probably felt like I was cramping her style.

Just like that, my little girl had gotten over the fact that her good friends were not around and she immediately made new friends. I was relieved and grateful that she adapted so quickly. Take this story to heart, your kids will adapt quickly and the ones who will probably worry most about it is you. By the way, every day since she leaves me in the dust and can't get to school fast enough. She's only five now. I'm hoping she remembers me when she is fifteen.

Kids Top Five Favorite Superhero Action Figure Toys

2008-10-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

This is a list that I'm sure some may want to challenge. The truth be told, I'm sure it might vary a little depending upon where you are from in the world. For the most part, based on sales from some of the biggest toy manufacturers in the world and the types of advertising dollars being poured into the promotion of most of these guys, it would appear that list should be pretty close no matter where you are from or who your favorites may be.

Therefore, in no particular order, here are the top five favorite superhero action figure toys.

1. Spiderman. Due in large part I am sure to the huge success of the movie franchise, Spiderman action figure sales have boomed. The designs that are available today also vary somewhat from earlier models, not to mention functionality. The spiderman paraphernalia franchise has also done quite well in conjunction with the sales of the action figures. Therefor, masks and web spray and villains all do very well thanks to the webslinger's popularity.

2. The Hulk. He is green. He is big. He is mean. Much like the success of the Spiderman franchise, the success of The Hulk also owes itself in large part to the release of the more recent feature films. The popularity of the comic book icon had been dropping off for a period of time but now the need to smash has returned. It has returned big time. This also happens to be one action figure that seems to be available in an incredible array of sizes and construction. Keep and eye on the green guy. He could make your kids get carried away.

3. Batman. This popular dark caped crusader has gone through more changes perhaps than any of his counterparts. He is however, not really a super hero. He is really just a guy with a lot of money and as the Joker has commented, has so man amazing toys. He has gone from a flimsy pajama wearing comic like incarnation in the 60s to a muscle bound almost futuristic machine in the 21st century. He is definitely another character that comes in a variety of forms for the kids to chose from as well as more accessories than you will ever be able to count.

4. Mr. Incredible. That's right this guy is still a favorite. The movie lives on in DVD sales and the action figures seem to go right along with it. It is not surprising that he is a favorite, especially with parents. Even though he is a super hero who is supposed to be covertly fighting evil, he is fun and colorful with a sense of humor. He is playful even though he has enough strength to crush mountains. As such, he remains hugely popular and both mini and large versions of this guy, not to mention the rest of his family, continue to fly off of toy store shelves.

5. Ironman. The popularity of this action figure has exploded. Since the release of the feature film, you may see a common thread here, Ironman has come out of the scrapyard and onto the playing field of kids across the country. He was previously condemned to dusty comic book racks and tended to be a favorite only amongst the die hard fans. Since Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal, more kids have been preferring the iron variety to the one they call super. Although, the classic super fella still does alright.

That is the list of the top five. If you are stuck for an idea for a gift for the kid who loves the superheros, you probably won't go wrong with any of these selections. Honourable mentions to go out to the members of the legion of America as well as the X-Men and The Fantastic Four. All of which are fun choices and easily some of the most popular toy choices ever.

Kids Love a Safe Halloween

2008-10-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

With the ghoulish season of Halloween quickly descending upon us, it once again falls upon the shoulders of parents and neighbours alike to ensure that the kids have a safe and fun night of trick or treating.

When selecting a neighbourhood to invade with your little monsters, it is of course best to stick to what you know. Stay close to communities that you are familiar with and people who are friendly with your family. Exploring new communities is not necessarily a bad idea, particularly if your child is attending a Halloween party in a friend's neighbourhood. It just means that some more attention should be paid to the kinds of treats and candy being brought home.

Going through your child's stash after an evening of trick or treating is both fun and essential. You will find treats that are throw backs to when you were a child and probably see some things that you have never heard of before. However, it is important to make sure that only the safe choices remain. You may also want to try and make healthy choices and get rid of the pure junk. However, let's face it, the junk is some of the best stuff.

Factory sealed treats are your best bets. Get rid of anything that isn't wrapped. That means you should toss the apples and bananas out the window. Not literally, but you know what I mean. Although there have been stories for generations about the noxious substance or hazardous something in some kid's apple found in the suburban town of Somewhereville, for the most part this was a powerful urban myth. That being said, best to save your produce shopping for the grocery store and say no to the fruits on Halloween.

You should also stay away from packages of things that your neighbours made themselves. It could be different if you have known the people in question for a long time but for the most part err on the side of safety and stick to factory packed goods only. If you have real little ones, stay away from the small hard candies. They are no good for the new teeth, or the old ones for that matter, and they have always posed a choking hazard. Oh, and in this writer's opinion, get rid of the candy corn. That stuff serves no purpose, it is pure crap and there are so many other great choices out there. It is time to lay the candy corn to rest. Permanently!

Costumes are going to come in a wide and steady variety. Best to always keep it simple. Avoid all costumes with strings or ties that have to go around your child's neck. Also, do away with capes and flowing gowns. When the kids are running around at night, these types of costumes can cause the kids to trip and hurt themselves and also constitute a choking hazard.

Do your best to sell the kids on make up for their faces as opposed to masks. Although masks can be fun, they pose different kinds of hazards in that they are usually cheaply made, can cause irritation and limit visibility at night. Best to keep the kids eyes and vision clear especially when they may have to cross the street several times during the evening. Going with make up instead of masks will also keep the kids cool and comfortable. You don't want to have to manage one or more irritable kids running from house to house during the course of the evening.

As for the costumes themselves, go with bright and reflective. You always want to be sure the kids can be seen from the street. If your child is insistent on a costume that is drab, dark and goulish, be sure to add reflective strips, also important for those moments when your child is going across the street. Have fun and be safe.

Kids Classic Monsters Inc. is Tops

2008-10-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

There have always been dozen of films available for you kids. The studios come out tons every year and hope to catch the eyes of kids and parents alike in a way that will turn their film into a monster success. Most of the time the films do alright since at any given moment there are not a huge selection of kids movies to go to. Studios also carefully plan release dates so as not to compete directly with another kids movie that might cause theirs to go into the toilet.

As a result, the movie going experience for a lot of these films is OK but there usually are not many that are memorable. There is one film that came out during the past ten years that continues to hold its place as not only memorable but one that will definitely go on to become a huge kids classic.

Monsters Inc. was great in the theatres. It garnered tons of attention and was Pixar's third biggest opening weekend ever. The film is an animated tale about a town of monsters that is dependent upon scaring children for the city's energy. The cast is made up of Hollywood all-stars including John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi and Jennifer Tilly. The plot line involves the fact that despite these monsters having to go into children's bedrooms to scare them all over the world, the monsters are devastatingly afraid of children believing that if they touch them they will get contaminated. Of course, all hell breaks loose when a child makes her way into Monstropolis where they live.

The movie is so well done and despite that fact that it is all about monsters, kids of all ages will enjoy it since the monsters are not really scary, but in fact really cute and cuddly looking. Even the ones that you would imagine to be "gross" or "creepy" are animated in the most amazing way that kids can't help but love them. My little girl, who can be a tad sensitive at times with scary movies, absolutely adores this one and has been watching it REPEATEDLY for years. If you are looking for a great rental for the kids one night and they haven't seen it yet, run out and grab Monsters Inc. The kids will love it and there is plenty of fun and comedy written in for grown ups too. Even if everyone has seen it already, it is sure to become one of those types of films that kids and grown ups go back to time and time again.

Enjoy!

Kids' Fantasy Weather Fairy Tale Book Series is Fantastic

2008-10-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

There are so many different books to choose from these days when you are looking for something for your kids to read. When you have little ones, like I do, the choices are crazy and overwhelming. I have always gravitated towards the classics which I will talk about another time, but I always have my eyes open for other ideas. I am always interested in finding new writers or series that I think my little girl will really enjoy.

I also enjoy books that challenge her since she is learning how to read and progressing along at a pretty good speed. I know I'm the parent and all parents say their kids are brilliant but trust me, my little girl is a future supreme court justice, or rocket scientist or maybe a princess as she has insisted she will be.

On a recent visit to the book store I found a great series of books that seem great for her age, she is five, and her reading ability. It's the kind of book that she can try to read but right now really enjoys when we read it to her, especially at bed time. The book is part of the Rainbow Magic series and is one of a group called The Weather Fairies. This one is called Abigail the Breeze Fairy. In this particular series there are seven weather fairies. Each fairy is responsible for some aspect of the weather, as I'm sure you already guessed.

Each fairy has a magical feather that they use to control the weather. If something happens to the feather, as things usually do, the weather goes crazy! The stories are fun and easy for your kids to follow. The only 'bad guy' that tends to pop up is the goblin and he isn't scary at all. He just tries to cause mischief with the feathers.

The books teach your kids about the weather, friendship and how to overcome little problems that can pop up at any time. The emphasis throughout the series of helping friends in need is a great lesson for kids and the idea of a continuing theme throughout all the books gives your kids something to look forward to in subsequent volumes. I would recommend grabbing all seven weather fairy books at once as you can probably get through one easily for each bedtime session. After you complete the weather fairies series, there are others to check out from Rainbow Magic.

Kid-Tough DVD Player is Great

2008-10-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

The new Kid-Tough DVD player from Fisher Price is terrific. The thing can be easily carried around by kids and it does the job. I have always believed that their are not many occasions to make watching movies a portable experience for kids. They can always watch movies when they get to wherever they are going. Also, there are a lot of other activities I would rather they participate in. In particular, I prefer activities where they are active and running around, especially with other kids. For me, that is the best kind of entertainment for little kids.

However, if you have a child who just has to watch their favorite movies on the go, then this is a good player to buy. First thing you will notice about it is that it is durable. It can take a beating if your toddler has a tendency to bang it into other things or even drop it a few times. So, if your kid likes running around the house with it while it is playing, this unit is a good choice. The other thing I like about it is that the console is easy for a little kid to operate. It has big buttons and it becomes clear to them very quickly which buttons do what.

The other thing that I really enjoy about it relates to use of DVD players in cars. I have noticed that several cars over the past few years have incorporated the built-in DVD player mounted in the ceiling of the vehicle. I have never been a fan of that idea. I don't like the idea of training kids from a very young age that the back of a car is for watching videos. I always believed there are so many other things they could be focused on or doing. Not to mention just checking out the world going by. The other thing that has always bothered me about these ceiling mounted units is that during night driving, it catches the eyes of other drivers. Anybody who has ever driven behind a vehicle that has one of these players operating at the time knows what I am talking about. It is just one more distraction that people driving can do without.

The Kid-Tough player can sit on your child's lap and functions well inside the car. It will not distract other drivers because they can't see it. If you as a parent decide that on any given trip you want the player to stay home, so be it. The child doesn't climb into the back seat and see the mounted player, expecting to be entertained. For these reasons I like the Kid-Tough player. Keep in mind, it is not put together with state-of-the-art technology. If the discs are of poor quality there may some playback problems and the quality will obviously be different from your home unit. However, for a little kid, it is great.

Kids Have Fun With Creepy Things

2008-10-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

There are not many places that my kids won't go. They seem to enjoy pretty much everything. We can go to movies together. They love movies and they could watch them all day long if we let them. They love going to Marineland. They really enjoy the shows and all the different types of fish and whales and dolphins and things. They love going to amusement parks. Even the little ones enjoy the rides, especially when they are made for them. We can even take them to a park for the day and just run around. They seem to be easily entertained which is a blessing. There are definitely friends of ours who tell us about how hard it is to take the kids anywhere because they are so picky about their entertainment.

Although our kids always enjoyed going to the zoo, there was a place that I did not expect them to enjoy. It is a reptile centre. This place is wild. The entire facility is devoted to snakes and lizards and alligators etc. This place does not have all the cute and cuddly things that you would
normally find at a zoo. Now I'm a grown man. I did not look at many of these animals and think that I wanted to get very close to them. Since I felt that way, I didn't think my five year-old little girl would want to have much to do with these creatures either. There is a crocodile tank that doesn't appear the least bit inviting and they have shows where they bring out giant anacondas for people to hold while they tell you stories about how in some parts of the world these snakes have been known to attack people.

There were all the poisonous things too. We all know how attractive those guys are. I didn't think in a million years my little ones would want to have anything to do with this place. After all, my little girl loves puppies and kittens and dolphins and rabbits. These things are considered appetizers at the reptile centre. So needless to say when a friend told me I should take the kids and check it out, I was skeptical.

Well, as you can imagine I was wrong. The kids loved the place. There were areas where you could pet snakes and baby crocs. You could go on stage to be one of twelve people holding a giant snake. Let me tell you, my sweet little five-year old baby girl was the first to volunteer to try all of these things. She couldn't get in there fast enough. The biggest surprise was still to come. At the end of one of the shows, the staff announces that they will be feeding the crocodiles on a particular date and they would like everybody to come and check it out. What will they be feeding the crocodiles you might ask? A zebra, of course. My little girl turned to me a without missing a beat said "Daddy can we please come back to see the crocodile eat the zebra? Please!"

Needless to say I was quite surprised. I never imagined in a million years that the kids would enjoy it so much. They really did and I never even knew that this place existed in town. If you are looking for a different experience to share with your kids and can't come up with anything new, see if there is a reptile centre of some kind in your town. The kids love it. Oh, and keep the bunnies at home.

Myepets.com looks a lot like Webkinz

2008-10-17T19:58:00.001-07:00

So my little girl brought home a plush toy the other day. It was really cute. I'm pretty sure it is a cow and of course you like her right away. The toy on its own would have been great but it turns out it is part of a virtual world game. The cow is indeed a toy on its own but it also brings with it a secrect code that gets you in to begin playing on a website. Sound familiar?

Webkinz has a similar game and has been around a little longer. Myepet allows you to care for your pet in a virtual setting. You can go shopping for it and buy it food and even clothing while you furnish its home. Everything in the world costs credits which can be acquired by playing various games. With the credits you can go to the restaurant to eat when your pet gets hungry, and she does.

Much like Webkinz, Myepets is a fun and safe environment for young kids to play in. There are plenty of parental control settings so that everything is easily monitored. There are chat and message functions that a child can use with other players but again, are subject to parental control. Your child is able to monitor the health and hunger status of her pet and even has the option of communicating with her.

There are a couple things to note. The games are not all that straight forward. If you have a real little one, say under the age of six, there may be some difficulty with a number of the games that have to be played in order to score credits. There are also some things that are not very clear in terms of functionality. Younger kids will probably be better off playing with a parent as they gain a greater understanding of how a computer functions.

There is no particular goal of the game really except to interact with the virtual pet while catering to its needs. The games go on and on and it can definitely be lots of fun. Much like Webkinz, I do see the potential for the game to get addictive. As there is no particular goal, it would probably be best to set limits with your kids in its use. Otherwise, it could become all encompassing. It is an aspect of most of these virtual world games that I am not a fan of. However, with regular parental supervision it should be fine.

I would have stopped at the plush toy. The idea of little kids staring at a computer screen for extended periods of time does not appeal to me as a parent. I would rather she be running around and playing with real friends. However, computer play time in moderation is alright. It is an OK gaming experience but still, I would probably recommend it for older kids. The object of caring for the pet seems somewhat lost on the younger kids who get caught up in the games and activities. Who can blame them. I'll be curious to see how many other companies come out with variations on the virtual pet world.

Kids New Dietary Recommendation and Vitamin D

2008-10-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

When it comes to kids' dietary recommendations, you can't be too careful. One thing is for certain, there is a great deal of information out there. Another thing to keep in mind is that every kid is unique. All parents will attest to that. As such, all health information should be checked out with a family doctor because every kid's health is a little different than the next.

When it comes to certain aspects of kids' diets there have always been a lot of foods available. You want to stick to the healthy stuff and avoid the garbage. You want to focus on physical development and strengthening immune systems, especially during flu season.

A recent report from Good Morning America with Dr. Marie Savard had some interesting things to talk about as far as Vitamin D is concerned. Specifically they are talking about doubling the amount of Vitamin D intake for kids from two hundred units to four hundred units. Apparently, according to this study, the body can't get enough Vitamin D, especially in kids. Another point that is brought up is the bone softening disease rickets, has not really disappeared and the original recommendation of 200 units wasn't doing the trick to prevent it.

The belief structure behind the recommendation is that kids are not going outside and getting as much sun as they used to and the sun is the primary source of vitamin D. They also mention that parents have been extremely vigilant with the sunscreen to protect kids from burning. It's like we can't win! If the kids don't wear sunscreen they get burned by the sun but if they do, they are denied essential vitamins. Sometimes I think this stuff is made up by the drug companies, but who am I to complain. As long as the kids come out healthy, that is what is most important.

There is direction now for kids to increase their daily milk intake. This should also be considered for infants because breast milk does not contain enough vitamin D. Since the measurement now is 400 units, that is the equivalent of one quart of milk a day, since it is already supplemented with Vitamin D.

Again, there has been a lot of discussion about milk over the years. I am not sure even if it is what we have been told it is. I know that it didn't hurt me over the years and my little girl loves it, especially chocolate milk. This is the area where you should probably check with your doctor. They will in all likelihood have a good recommendation for supplements for your kids if they are not getting enough vitamin D as well as other great dietary considerations.

Keep the kids healthy and remember there are a lot of other things out there to go along with the milk.

Good Food For Kids Keeps Them Healthy and Happy

2008-10-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

As a parent with a young child I am constantly concerned with her well being. Chief amongst those concerns is what she eats during the day. I can't always control what she does and mistakes will be made but hopefully I can instil in her some good eating habits that she can take with her throughout her life.In my journey to discover those foods which would comprise a healthy diet for my child, I was able to discover a bounty of great choices. Some of those choices she might even enjoy. Here are a few of them.

American cheese. Apparently one slice contains something in the neighbourhood of 125 milligrams of calcium which are great for building bones. Up to the age of three, children regularly require approximately five hundred milligrams of calcium a day and this requirement rises to eight hundred between the ages of four to eight. My little one has always enjoyed it in the classic grilled cheese sandwich. At one point it was the only thing she would eat. I later discovered that by melting it over other foods I could get her to eat things she otherwise wouldn't be too enthusiastic about.

Breakfast cereal. It remains the most important meal of the day and that goes double for the kids. Whole grain cereals are great. Fortified cereals remain a great source of vitamins and minerals including the B-vitamin Folate which helps in the building of blood cells. If your kids are hooked on sugary brand cereals, typically not the greatest, try mixing them with a whole grain variety or better yet, top it off with their favourite fruits. That will help to start weeding out the sugar brands that they can definitely do without.

Cantaloupe. Speaking of fruits, this is a great one. It is delicious and when in season there is nothing like it. Serve it in chunks, quartered or even show them how much fun it can be to scoop it out. This fruit is the great saviour for parents of kids that don't eat vegetables. It happens to contain both beta carotene and vitamin C and as such is a great vegetable supplement. It is also great on cereal and in yogurt.

Chocolate Milk. I am quite certain I am not alone when I say that my kid practically lives on chocolate milk. I used to think it wasn't the greatest and preferred her to drink white milk. However, turns out it is pretty good stuff. Besides being tastier than ordinary milk, I happen to still love the stuff myself, chocolate milk is still great for building strong bones and teeth and despite reports to the contrary, the chocolate does not hinder the calcium absorption. Drink up! It happens to go great with those grilled cheese sandwiches.

Eggs. You will discover in a hurry that kids don't care about the classic which came first the chicken or the egg. What you may discover is that your child may not be crazy about eggs at first. The good news is that there aren't many foods that can be prepared in nearly as many ways as an egg. There is usually at least one variation of this staple favoured by each child. If you haven't found your kid's variation yet, keep trying. One scrambled egg is packed with protein which builds and repairs muscles, as well as vitamin D which helps the body absorb calcium.

Frozen mixed vegetables. I know. I didn't like them either. They are however great stuff. Peas supply protein and folate, green beans provide potassium and carrots are loaded with beta carotene. If your kids won't eat them straight, try mixing them into a soup or stew. The best trick I discovered was grinding them up into tiny pieces and mixing them into a blended yogurt drink made from your child's favourite fruits. Sound crazy? Try it and watch what happens. Go ahead, do it right now I'll wait.

Ketchup. It goes with everything. Well, according to your kids it will. This is great news because it contains a cancer fighting agent called lycopene which is great news for the kid in all of us. Seriously, who doesn't like ketchup. Now that's good stuff.

There are many other great foods for your kids like blueberries and yogurt and some are great substitutes for others as I demonstrated above. You should check them all out and find out which ones your children really enjoy. Remember, good eating habits can last a lifetime and make for a healthy lifestyle.

Disco Dancin' Wubbzy Gets The Kids Up And Dancing

2008-10-16T17:13:00.000-07:00

There is never enough music in the house and hardly any dancing. It's always great when the tunes are rolling out at our place because we do move like nobody else is watching and I hope for their sake they really aren't.

Fisher Price has put out a great new toy. It is the Disco Dancin' Wubbzy. I like it for a lot of reasons but mostly because it really makes me laugh. The thing is all yellow, which happened to be my favorite color when I was a kid, and it has har like my great uncle Lou. The only difference is that on the Wubbzy, it does not come off.

This toy is great. It is recommended for kids three years of age and up, trust when I tell you the older toddlers are drawn to it. He performs four different dance moves. They all have different names. The moves are comprised of the Wubbzy wiggle, Wubbzy worm, Wubbzy headstand and the Wubbzy cartwheel. They are all hysterical to watch and at the end of his routine he performs a grand finale that incorporates all four moves. It is a blast.

What you will likely notice right away is that the kids love watching it and you can see the wheels turning in their heads as if they wondering how it is working. If your kid likes to move it, they will definitely enjoy dancing with Wubbzy and it makes a great gift idea too.

Birthday Party Ideas For Kids: The Play Place

2008-10-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

Birthdays had a way of bringing out the best in me when I was a kid. I used to look forward to each one as if somethng sacred was about to happen. My mom was always able to make me feel like I was the only person in the world on my birthday and it was great.

For many years we would have parties at our house. It was amazing. We had a lot of room to run around and my mom had just accepted the fact that things were going to get messed up or maybe even broke and that was OK. She always hid away the expensive stuff.

Every once and a while on my birthday we would go to the bowling alley. A bowling alley party was always fun but a lot of the kids would do it so we didn't make a habit of it. Generally, my mom was pretty creative and able to come up with some great themes for my birthday while using the house or even just our backyard. I have nothing but the best memories regarding the whole experience.

Today there are a number of great ideas for kids birthdays. The one I wanted to mention for this report is the play place. The play place is usually and indoor facility that can hold a bunch of kids comfortably with lots of things to do.

Each place always has a name like The Play Place or Kidz Corner, I think the one we took our daughter to recently was called Mini Mania. The names are great and generally hard to forget.

The play place is a great idea for a kid's birthday party for a number of reasons. Usually, they are inexpensive. You can rent the space out for a few hours and it generally will not cost you more than a hundred and change. This will often include a lunch but every place is different when it comes to food. A bunch of the places will have a variety of food and drink options.

The staff is generally quite helpful. They will help you set up if you need it and will even serve at some locations. The only thing is that they are strict about you wrapping up everything in time, before the next party comes in. That is usually not a big deal because the kids usually get exhasted and are ready to go by the end.

Inside there are a variety of activities for the kids. Depending on the palce, you will usually find an incredible state-of-the-art jungle jim, with tunnels and bridges and swings etc. There may be a jumping ride as well as video and other console based games for the kids to play. Every place you look into is different.

They are also great because it is easy to keep an eye on your kid. They can run around, jump up and down on everything and you will be able to see them from pretty much anywhere in the space that you choose.

The party place is just a great birthday party idea and you should check one out in your area the next time you are stuck for ideas. Unless you have tried it before and in that case there is always bowling.

Read With Me and Kidz Bop Score Big for Fisher Price

2008-10-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

When it comes to entertaining little kids, you have to step back and admire the history of Fisher Price. This company has been around for as long as I can remember and they seem to just keep putting out amazing stuff.

When I was little there were too toys that I can remember that were amazing. There was a transparent musical ball. It was about the size of a soccer ball and it floated in water. The inside of it was all different manner of color and there were things in there that I couldn't even begin to describe. It was amazing because I would take it in the bath tub with me and it would float. As it floated, it would spin and that would make music come out of it. That was pretty cool.

The other great toy I had from them was a barn. It was a little red barn like any that you would see on a farm except that it was little and a toy. I could open it up and put all kinds of farm animals inside and pretend that I was a farmer. What made it fun and hysterical for me, was that every time you opened the front door to the barn you would hear a strange sheep sound. It always cracked me up. I could play with these things for hours and they were pretty impressive toys for the seventies.

Today, Fisher Price is nothing short of amazing. They have come up with two great toys I wanted to tell you about. The first one is Read With Me DVD. This thing is great. It is a basic unit that plugs directly into your TV and the activities are all on DVDs. Your child gets to sit with an easy to operate remote unit that takes them through a classic story and teaches them how to identify words and pictures. The one that I saw was the classic, where the wild things are from Maurice Sendak. I highly recommend this toy for all kids who are learning how to read. If I had it as a child, I would have been on it for hours.

The next toy is more fun than it is educational. It is Fisher Price's Kidz Bop. This thing is a lot of fun and bound to bring out the performer in every kid. If you thought your child was shy, a few moments with this thing and look out. It basically plays all forms of modern music, all stored on mini cartridges. The unit plugs directly into your television and your child holds a remote microphone. It is instant karaoke but it goes one better. Your child gets to watch themselves perform on television since the base is also a camera. Great fun.

If you have little kids, you have to run out and grab Read With Me DVD and Kidz Bop. You will thank me later.