Last weekend, our little family made a trip to The Supershed in Christchurch. The Supershed is basically a very large warehouse of second hand items for very cheap prices. In the shed, I found a lovely cropping table for my craft room for a very, very cheap price. I’m stoked! The kids also found a lovely manual typewriter for $3. In the world of computers and high-tech gadgets, these old things that the young people call ‘vintage’ have not lost their practical use and entertainment value. The little old typewriter kept both girls occupied typing away, role playing as the spy and investigator leaving ‘confidential’ messages to us and all. See, you don’t have to buy expensive toys and hi-tech gadgets to... [Read more]

My 8 year-old daughter, Bea received her very first TY Beanie Baby last year (pictured above). I can’t even remember who gave it or if we have bought it for her (is it obvious that we buy her too much toys???). I knew it was a collectible but never took much notice of it not until my 11 year old stepdaughter, Summer brought her tiny collection of TY Beanie Babies with her on one of her weekend visits with us that Bea realised she likes to start collecting too. My aunt from the US has just sent Bea 22 TY Beanie Babies (God bless her generous heart)! Both girls play with these darling soft toys as if they were their children or students or patients (the roles of the Beanie Babies change depending on what the kids are in the mood for). I’ve... [Read more]

Our daughter belongs to an extension class in school together with other kids from other classes who get to learn advanced lessons in computing, Maths and English. While it is good to allow them experiment with the internet and maximise the value it can provide them. It is best to safeguard our kids from the danger of going to sites that are inappropriate for them. It is best to have kids surf the internet with adult supervision. Here are a few of the search engines that are safe and friendly to kids: 1. Yahooligans – Web Guide version of Yahoo! for Kids. 2. Onekey – Web Guide version of Google for Kids. 3. Kids Net – a searchable database of more than 30,000 sites designed specifically for kids, that also contains an... [Read more]

My daughter loves to dress up. I mean LOVES to dress up!! She has a ton of princess outfits and today her grandmother bought her a ballet outfit, complete with ta leotard, ights, shoes, a hair ribbon, and skirt. Dress up can be fun for both girls and boys, encouraging pretend play and social interaction. You can use old Halloween costumes, your own clothes, play jewelry, scarves and ribbons, feather boas, hats, and shoes. The key is to have outfits and clothing that they can put on themselves, often even over the clothes they are wearing. Keep a chest or box full of outfits that are available for them to browse. Make sure to keep beads, jewelry, and scarves away from little ones as they are a choking hazard. [Read more]

Razor USA LLC is recalling about 246,000 electric scooters sold between October 2003 and May 2005 because the weld can break causing the handlebar to detach from the scooter. The models E300, E300S, E200 and E200S are involved in the recall. Consumers should contact Razor to arrange a free repair. Fisher Price is recalling 30,000 PAC scooters for a tire defect. If they are inflated above 30 psi, they can rupture. The scooters were sold between November 2001 and April 2003. [Read more]