http://www.thingamababy.com/baby/2006/11/learning_is_fun.html A dad's eye view of baby and toddler stuff Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:34:58 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://www.thingamababy.com/baby/2006/11/learning_is_fun.html/comment-page-1#comment-5337 Educational Learning Toys Thu, 14 Dec 2006 15:33:44 +0000 http://s54748.gridserver.com/baby/2006/11/learning-is-fun-or-why-i-hate-corporate-toys.html#comment-5337 <p>I was looking for an occupational therapy toy for my son and my OT recommended the CLICS learning toy, Educational toys to help children with learning disabilities preschool kids age 3 and up. My kid plays with it every waking hour of the day because it is easy to construct and with just a few pieces you can make a huge construction.</p> I was looking for an occupational therapy toy for my son and my OT recommended the CLICS learning toy, Educational toys to help children with learning disabilities preschool kids age 3 and up. My kid plays with it every waking hour of the day because it is easy to construct and with just a few pieces you can make a huge construction.

]]> http://www.thingamababy.com/baby/2006/11/learning_is_fun.html/comment-page-1#comment-5336 jd Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:48:01 +0000 http://s54748.gridserver.com/baby/2006/11/learning-is-fun-or-why-i-hate-corporate-toys.html#comment-5336 <p>While not all of their toys are necessarily "play and learn", I've always been drawn towards the type of toys HearthSong carries. At the very least, they seem like they'd inspire more creative play and use of kids' imagination than all the talking, automated, cheap commercial junk out there. www.hearthsong.com</p> While not all of their toys are necessarily “play and learn”, I’ve always been drawn towards the type of toys HearthSong carries. At the very least, they seem like they’d inspire more creative play and use of kids’ imagination than all the talking, automated, cheap commercial junk out there. http://www.hearthsong.com

]]> http://www.thingamababy.com/baby/2006/11/learning_is_fun.html/comment-page-1#comment-5335 STL Mom Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:42:12 +0000 http://s54748.gridserver.com/baby/2006/11/learning-is-fun-or-why-i-hate-corporate-toys.html#comment-5335 <p>I'm with you on these last two posts. There are so many horrible "toys" out there that don't even look fun to me, much less educational.<br /> With Christmas around the corner, I am trying not to let my kids (ages 3 and 6) see any TV commercials. We Tivo the shows they like, and I try to leap to the remote at the closing credits, before the ads start. Of course, most kids' shows are full-length commercials for the products with those characters plastered on them. And don't get me started on Chuck E. Cheese's "sponsoring" of public television shows (so much for no commercials on public TV!)<br /> I am lucky to live in a city that still has a few toy stores that sell toys and games that are simple and classic. I also get a lot of catalogs: Museum Tour, Leaps & Bounds, Imagine the Challenge, Young Explorers, Magic Cabin, Highlights, and Back to Basics Toys. Child of the World sells Montessori equipment - kids can actually get pretty excited about a kid-sized but functional mop and pail -- parents just have to remember not to expect the floor to actually be cleaner after the kids work on it.<br /> I am lucky that my six-year-old daughter would rather get some kind of building kit that a Bratz doll. But I am also trying to put less focus on toys and more on other items - books, arts & crafts supplies, science or cooking kits - and provide more experiences. I would rather spend money for her to take an art class, or even go to a movie, than buy more toys to clutter up the basement and her room. I think this is less because there aren't good toys out there than because kids' needs change as they get older. Of course, I am still in the golden years when my daughter asks for books on Ancient Egypt, not an Ipod, a Play Station, or a cell phone!</p> I’m with you on these last two posts. There are so many horrible “toys” out there that don’t even look fun to me, much less educational.
With Christmas around the corner, I am trying not to let my kids (ages 3 and 6) see any TV commercials. We Tivo the shows they like, and I try to leap to the remote at the closing credits, before the ads start. Of course, most kids’ shows are full-length commercials for the products with those characters plastered on them. And don’t get me started on Chuck E. Cheese’s “sponsoring” of public television shows (so much for no commercials on public TV!)
I am lucky to live in a city that still has a few toy stores that sell toys and games that are simple and classic. I also get a lot of catalogs: Museum Tour, Leaps & Bounds, Imagine the Challenge, Young Explorers, Magic Cabin, Highlights, and Back to Basics Toys. Child of the World sells Montessori equipment – kids can actually get pretty excited about a kid-sized but functional mop and pail — parents just have to remember not to expect the floor to actually be cleaner after the kids work on it.
I am lucky that my six-year-old daughter would rather get some kind of building kit that a Bratz doll. But I am also trying to put less focus on toys and more on other items – books, arts & crafts supplies, science or cooking kits – and provide more experiences. I would rather spend money for her to take an art class, or even go to a movie, than buy more toys to clutter up the basement and her room. I think this is less because there aren’t good toys out there than because kids’ needs change as they get older. Of course, I am still in the golden years when my daughter asks for books on Ancient Egypt, not an Ipod, a Play Station, or a cell phone!

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