| Baby toys for throughout the ages | | Posted Monday, January 30, 2006 11:19:40 AM by Rose Martins | The toy market is literally flooded when it comes to baby toys. There are baby learning, educational and developmental toys from every age, from 0 years upwards. Each toy is aimed at stimulating the baby during the stage of development at which the baby is at. 
The Baby Einstein range is extremely popular, starting with DVD's, videos and CD's, to the books and toys that they feature in their visual material. Baby is kept stimulated both visually and aurally with the sounds and sights of Baby Einstein.
When Baby Einstein was first released it was unique, but subsequently many companies have followed suit, imitating the style of Baby Einstein. Certain soft baby toys have recently been recalled off the shelves due to safety issues.
One must always ensure that baby toys are safe for the age and capabilities of your baby. There are some really cool bath toys for baby. Your choice is no longer limited to just a yellow rubber duck. There are bath toys that squeak, float, stick and play with the bath water.
Traditional wooden toys are still cool. These are the best toys that never age and are passed down from generation to generation. Wooden toys can be rather expensive, but definitely an investment. The cheap wholesale priced plastic toys of today, often don't last very long. The wear and tear factor leaves much to be desired.
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| | | Popular bilingual toys reflect changes in society | | Posted Sunday, December 17, 2006 12:46:49 PM by Blog57 Team | | Sometimes he and his mother, Marcela Hede, solve a simple puzzle of shapes - the words for those shapes written in English and Spanish for his mother to read aloud. And sometimes, he finds his amusement in his LeapFrog letter reader, which, with the simple push of a letter, offers Ian the sound of the letter in Spanish and a catchy little tune. "We made the decision as a couple to raise him bilingual because we thought it would be a great asset," said Marcela Hede, 36, a Long Island resident who is originally from Colombia, whose husband Neil was born in the United States. "We have this mentality that we are citizens of the world," she said. "We like the fact that we can communicate in different languages and with different people and meet people of different cultures." As it turns out, the Hedes are not the only ones looking for toys that will help develop dual language skills.... | |
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| | | Older Toys Seek New Fans With Makeovers | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 10:46:26 AM by Blog57 Team | | It seems an unlikely pair -- the trendy SpongeBob SquarePants teaming up with the aging Etch A Sketch. Ohio Art Co. is banking that replacing Etch A Sketch's familiar red rectangle case with Nickelodeon's most popular cartoon characters will make the iconic baby boomer toy more appealing to kids and young mothers. Other toy shelf staples also have gotten makeovers. Monopoly is out with a new version that replaces the Atlantic City Boardwalk with Times Square. And who can forget when Barbie ditched her longtime beau Ken just two years ago. Traditional toys have been losing ground to electronics in recent years -- sales fell 4 percent to $21.3 billion last year, according to the market research firm NPD Group Inc. For the makers of classic toys, creating a new look is one way to compete against video games and the holiday season's "must have" toys.... | |
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| | | Elmo's worth more than a few laughs | | Posted Sunday, November 05, 2006 2:46:07 PM by Blog57 Team | | GREENLAND -- Town clerk Pat Ferrelli is raffling off one of this year's hottest toys -- a Tickle Me Elmo "TMX" Extreme doll. The doll is so popular and often so hard to find that Fisher-Price, which manufactures the Sesame Street baby monster, has a public relations firm with people ready to answer Elmo questions. The toy's retail price is $39. The Greenland raffle is an annual Christmas tradition for Ferrelli. "Everyone is welcome to come in and participate for the drawing," said Ferrelli. "All the money collected will go to Greenland charities." .... | |
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| | | The Children Left Behind | | Posted Sunday, October 29, 2006 6:47:33 PM by Blog57 Team | | The Tijuana Temporary Shelter for Minors was established as a test case to alleviate the burden of young children who are caught trying to cross into the United States illegally, often smuggled without a family member with the help of a coyote or pollero. Just a few feet from the border line, the 25-foot trailer houses a nursery, a room with two bunk beds, a small office, kitchenette and a sitting room with a TV. The shelter opened in February 2004. Since then, it has processed 11,400 children (65% boys, 35% girls). It is difficult to estimate how many children are smuggled into the United States, but the Tijuana sector border patrol deports a steady stream of kids every day. During the summer, the number of deported minors nearly doubles due to summer vacation from school. About 80 percent of these children are trying to join family members already in the U.S.... | |
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| | | Baby's best friend: Training class helps dogs to get ready when families are expecting | | Posted Sunday, October 22, 2006 10:46:18 PM by Blog57 Team | | When dog trainer Jill Miller was involved in Labrador rescue, she saw at least one couple a month give up their dog because they were expecting a baby. "It makes me sad when people feel they have to get rid of their dog for that reason," she said. "A dog and a baby can be good friends, but that doesn't happen by itself." To that end, she created a "Bringing Home Baby" class at Mad City Dog Training, aimed at people expecting a new baby in their home. The goal is to help family dogs adjust smoothly to the major change in the home. The class will be held "every trimester" and couples are encouraged to take it early in a pregnancy so they'll have as much time as possible to work with their dog. .... | |
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| | | Baby Loves Disco Saturday | | Posted Monday, October 16, 2006 12:46:23 PM by Blog57 Team | | I had kids four years ago and I was just sort of not feeling completely satisfied by the kids music, he said. While his children took quickly to The Wiggles, Hurwitz just wasnt engaged in albums like, Wiggly Wiggly World, and Lets Wiggle, I dont want to dis The Wiggles, my kids fell in love with The Wiggles, but you know, he said. Realizing that his children were not going to fall in love with John Coltrane, Hurwitz stood prepared to tolerate his childrens healthy obsession with The Wiggles. A tough break considering Hurwitz owns one of the top jazz record labels in the country. But then he thought to put some musicians together to create a jazz album for kids. Together with the likes of John Medeski and Sharon Jones, Hurwitz released Baby Loves Jazz.... | |
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| | | Today's toys lack the shelf life to have a monopoly on kids' attention | | Posted Monday, October 16, 2006 6:46:41 AM by Blog57 Team | | AN INCREASE in faddy toys and a possible shortening of attention spans has been revealed by a list of best-selling toys over the past 40 years. It shows that where the same toy or brand used to be able to capture imaginations for several years, the trend has increasingly become patchier, with unfashionable toys from the previous year quickly forgotten. Lego, Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, Transformers and Sylvanian Families had runs at the top in the '70s and '80s. But apart from Beyblade just after the turn of the new century, only the Furby, with back-to-back successes in the late '90s, has shown any staying power. Welsh toy expert Ian Lloyd Gibbs, a buyer for Hamleys, said, "Basically toys have become more fashion-led and the shelf life is definitely a lot shorter as children get in and out of concepts and trends a lot quicker than in previous years.... | |
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| | | Toys 'R' Us to reopen with baby store | | Posted Monday, October 09, 2006 2:46:39 PM by Blog57 Team | | JOHNSON CITY -- When Toys "R" Us reopens next month, it will include room for a Babies "R" Us component featuring "one-stop shopping for everything baby," a company spokeswoman said. Both stores will be under one roof, Babies "R" Us spokeswoman Katie Reczek said. But the baby store will focus on products for newborns up to 4-year-olds, she said. Everything from strollers, cribs, high chairs and car seats to bottles, bibs and clothing will be available, she said. Construction on the baby store is under way, but there is no definite opening date scheduled yet, she said. A Toys "R" Us spokesman has said the toy store will reopen in November, after flood-recovery efforts are complete. "We're definitely looking at opening in plenty of time for the holiday," Reczek said.... | |
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| | | Pregnant women explore options | | Posted Monday, October 02, 2006 10:46:45 PM by Blog57 Team | | Walls are painted a soft lemon yellow and the blue floral couches are comfy. Children's toys are neatly stored by an end table and videos of Aladdin and Winnie the Pooh await viewing. FirstCare Pregnancy Care Centers, with the friendly look of a pediatric office, is a Christian-based counseling service to help pregnant women explore their options. .... | |
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| | | Toys 'R' Us Offers Annual Guide of Toy Recommendations for Children With Special Needs | | Posted Tuesday, September 26, 2006 2:46:24 AM by Blog57 Team | | For more than a decade, Toys "R" Us has released its Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids, an easy-to-use toy selection guide for parents and friends of children with disabilities. The 2006 edition is now available for free in all Toys "R" Us, U.S. retail locations and online at http://toysrus.com/differentlyabled. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060925/NYMFNS1 ) Since its inception in 1994, thousands of parents, relatives, friends and professionals have relied on the guide to help them determine which toys are suitable for a child's particular abilities. "As the toy authority, Toys 'R' Us understands that parents and friends of differently-abled children have unique criteria when assessing their toy-buying needs," said Jerry Storch, Chairman and CEO, Toys "R" Us, Inc.... | |
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