December 2011 – All The Best Toys

Compassion International

Every Christmas Season since starting this toy review website in 2008, we like to take a brief break from talking about the best toys for kids and instead direct attention to a worthy charity.

Last year we wrote about Compassion International. Compassion is an organization that allows you to commit to monthly giving to support a specific child in need. My family has supported two kids through Compassion for a few years now. You can read what I wrote about Compassion last year here.

Some of you may not want to commit to monthly giving, but would be willing to make a one time donation. Compassion has provided a list of real needs that can be met for a specific dollar amount. So it’s not just giving a dollar amount into a fund and you never know what it goes towards. You can give $10 toward garden seeds to help a family grow their own food. Or $30 towards school supplies.

Or my favorite, give a Chicken for $16. That’s right, a chicken is more than a meal to a family living in poverty. It can provide a source of income, manure for a vegetable garden, and a steady supply of eggs. This gift helps a family to put food on their table and provides them with earnings.

If you would like to make a one time donation and see the full list of gifts, you can do that here.

Toddlers and Computer Toys

I just read an article in the USA today that asks the question, “Do toddlers really need computers to learn“?

The article makes the case that young kids have too much “screen time” and not enough outdoors time. That may be true as a trend in the US, but to me, that’s really a parenting issue more than a problem with a certain type of toy or technology.

One of the hottest new “screen toys” this year is the LeapPad by LeapFrog. I listed it in my list of the 20 Top Toys of 2011. Every time I’ve been at a store and browsing the toy aisle this holiday season, the LeapPad is sold out, so I know demand has been high for this toy.

I’ve also written previously about my kids experience with the Fisher Price iXL vs. the LeapFrog Explorer. These are great electronic learning toys for young kids.

The LeapPad is suggested for Kids 4 years old up to around 9 year old. So it really isn’t a toddler toy. I’d have to agree with that. My Pre-school age kids love their LeapFrog Explorer and Fisher Price iXL — but our 1 year old don’t play with these toys much if at all.

Personally, I think that these educational toys are great. My young kids also certainly love to spend time with my iPad and playing games on my iPhone. Many of the games we let them play have an educational value, while some are “just for fun”. As parents, we make sure to limit “game time” or “screen time” (including tv) so that our young kids are getting enough exercise and “real world”, not just “virtual world” play time.

So overall, I have to disagree with the USA Today article and I think that these “computer toys” are great for young kids. But just like everything else, it’s most important for parents to monitor what their kids are doing and provide boundaries and guidance all along the way.

Little People Christmas Story Nativity Playset

We bought the Little People Christmas Story Nativity Playset this year to add to our Christmas decorations. We were surprised to see that our 1 year old played with this set for almost an hour the first day that we set it up!

We had really purchase the set as a “child safe” nativity set that our young kids couldn’t break — we didn’t really consider it to be a play toy — but that is exactly what it has turned out to be.

Just like all the Fisher-Price “Little People” toys, it’s high quality and safe for toddlers and young kids. The star above the manger lights up and plays the song, “Away in a Manger”. This set is a cute and fun way to teach your young children about the story of Christmas.