Posts Tagged ‘toys’

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How Can I Encourage My Children to be More Active?

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Building of Outdoor Play Apparatus

As parents we are constantly reminded that it is our responsibility to get our offspring to be active, to get exercise and not to lie around eating fast food while playing computer games. Many parents will probably agree that persuading their children to ignore their televisions and computer games can be impossible.

Last year I invested a significant amount of hard earned cash in a few pieces of outdoor play equipment, chosen by my two youngsters. They always enjoy a visit to our local park where they can race around, swing on the swings, slide on the slides, bounce on the bouncy things and climb the climbing frames. Unfortunately our nearest park is about 3 miles away so these visits are not as frequent as they or I would like. So I bit the bullet and shelled out quite a bit of money on a wooden swing slide playset and climbing frame which I put together whilst my wife was conveniently at the health spa.

Now I would like to report that my generosity has paid off and my children are now fit and active and can’t get enough of their new equipment.But nothing could be further from the truth. Since I installed the equipment (which presented many headaches, took a lot of hammering and quite a bit of bad language) they have probably only played on it three times. Admittedly I didn’t get the equipment until the Autumn of 2009 and since then our weather has been atrocious.

At least that is the reason they give when I try to convince them that they’d enjoy a little outdoor play. It’s too cold, they often say. Or, ‘the swings are too wet to sit on’ is another excuse that I hear. I’ll be needing one of those spa treatments at this rate!

I’m hoping that, as we move into spring and the weather improves, they will naturally want to get out into the garden and get some much needed exercise on their new outdoor toys. I’m dreading another miserable, wet summer as this will result in my expanding children just expanding even more instead of working off those excess pounds with a little outdoor adventure. Nobody ever said that being a parent was easy. Although the odd massage does go down well when it all gets a bit stressful


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James May’s Timeless Toys are Ideal Gifts

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Will our children reflect on the toys and computer games that they have today with the same enthusiasm that James May exhibits for Plasticene, Meccano and Scalextric?

In the TV series ‘James May’s Toy Stories’ we see Mr May revisiting many of the classic toys that he enjoyed as a child. They’ve concocted a series in which Mr May builds a full-size plastic Spitfire plane, a full size house from Lego bricks, a full size bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool canal built entirely from Meccano and a 3 mile replica of the Brooklands banked racing circuit built entirely from Scalextric.

The playthings that Mr May favours all involved construction. These toiys come from a time when toys inspired youngsters to develop interests in engineering and construction rather than blowing people away.

His TV series comes at a time when many of us are thinking about buying more computer games and consoles for our children’s Christmas presents. Computer games have been at the top of their gift list for many years. Last year they demanded a Wii Fit and Guitar Hero. This year they want Santa to bring them DJ Hero.

I’ve been wondering which form of plaything is actually most beneficial to their development? Computer games and modern games consoles or inspiring, creative construction toys like Meccano, Scalextric or Lego.

I belong to the same generation as James May. I grew up with Action Man, Lego, Bicycles and Model Airplanes. It baffles me why computer games have grown to become as popular as they are today. Personally, I would get a lot more enjoyment and satisfaction from building a model railway circuit than I would from pretending to be a disk jockey or pretending to play guitar. But I suppose that by building a model railway I’d be pretending to be a railway construction engineer and train driver. Choo choo!

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Win a Scalextric Street Car Race Set by answering just one simple question in this free-to-enter competition. Competition ends 29th Nov.


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Selecting Age-Appropriate Toys for Kids and Babies

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009

Buying toys not appropriate to age is not a wise idea. This is because kids learn differently from each age group so what’s interesting to them may not be interesting to any kid younger than them.

Challenge kicks in when you have kids of different age-levels. Like a few months old and seven. You cannot buy toys that they will both enjoy playing together.

Though toys may have age-recommendations based on a lot of factors including age, motor skills and maturity, it is also advisable that you know your child’s capabilities first before buying that age-appropriate toy. He or she may or may not be advanced for his or her age.

Select age-appropriate toys according to the following:

Birth – 1 year: Anything colorful, with texture, sounds will appeal to babies of this age so it is just right to buy them something with squeaky sounds, colorful plush toys, or ones with different textures. You can also try ones with complete baby gears like activity mats and gyms, Fisher Price Jumperoo, baby quilts and swings. Reading can also be introduced using books with textured pages.

Ages 1 – 3: Children are mobile at this age so they need toys that are mobile as well. Great options include walking toys that they can push around like tiny baby carriages and supermarket grocery carts. Motor skills are being made on at this age so let them write and color, pound, and run around. ‘Pretend’ toys are also very common at this age.

Ages 3 – 5: At this children would love to chauffeur, play dress-up, draw, solve puzzles, be involved in arts & crafts so give them something like, their own car, clothes for dress-up, puzzles with big pieces, and safe art materials.

Ages 5 – 9: At this age kids already love working with other kids so peer pressure will already be felt. It is advisable to give them toys that will help them learn. It is also urged that they have toys to amend their motor skills, more complex crafts, exercise equipments, and exploration. Robots will make more appealing to boys so hand them something like Transformers Optimus Prime.

Safety first should always be your mantra, so disregarding your child’s age, think of their safety first before buying any toy. While toys can make them preoccupied, it is still best to know that they are safe with it.


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