The return of dance reminded me of the past years when several of the students in the dance school were taking multiples of classes each. This was on top of school, sports, and other extracurricular activities. And, even more interesting to me, some of the kids were still pre-schoolers and were still being scheduled for several activities on several different nights of the week.

So, my question to you this week is, “How much is too much scheduling for a kid?” I know that I tend toward the, “possibly not enough” end of the spectrum as far as outside activities are concerned. I’m just fairly content hanging out at home with the kids and not doing much of anything organized. So much so that my middle, almost 4 year old, has yet to be a part of an organized sport or activity.

However, I also know that so many people comment on the rapidity of children growing up these days, and that they no longer seem to have time to just play and be kids. And isn’t our overscheduling of their time a big part of that problem?

What are your thoughts here?

photo credit: aussiegall

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To date, CPSC and Mega Brands are aware of one death, one aspiration and 27 intestinal injuries. Emergency surgical intervention was needed in all but one case. At least 1,500 incidents of magnets separating from the building pieces have been reported. Although the hazard was initially thought to be a problem primarily for children younger than six, it has since been learned that at least ten injuries involved children between the ages of 6 and 11 years old.

If a child swallows more than one tiny powerful magnet detached from the plastic building pieces or one such magnet and a metallic object, the objects can attract to each other inside the intestines and cause perforations and/or blockage, which can be fatal, if not treated immediately.

If you’ve had a personal encounter with Magnetix magnets coming loose, share your experience with other parents in our previous post about Magnetix.

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Inventor Patrick Calello in the Baltimore Sun:

We like to say this is the reinvention of the classic wooden car. What we really wanted to do is bring great styling, craftsmanship and heirloom quality to children. Essentially, what we’re combating is the disposability of the mass toy industry.

The mass-market toy market is all about flash, bells and whistles, noises and distraction. And we’re trying to bring substance and quality and real learning benefits.

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Like many parents, educators, and journalists, Seth Porges at CrunchGear would like to take a whack at the ugly head of modern technology and how it has ruined toys. I’m not sure if I agree since my personal observations tell me that kids might like power toys, but they’re just as happy with paper and pens.

What kinds of toys to your kids prefer? Non-tech or totally wired?

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I came across a post by Mary Jo at another b5media blog, The Seattle Traveler. She shares information on an American Girl Doll play based on the story of the doll, Addy. Head on over to her post to read more about it. I’d love to see some of these in our hometown!

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And check out this fun web page from at Cranium’s site! There are links to a couple of blogs, fun ideas for families, a chance to try out their new game, Pop 5 (warning: sound), and more fun stuff. Man, I love Cranium games! And so fantastic that they do the games for kids as well as the ones for adults. Too fun!

Do you have a favorite Cranium game?

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It always fascinates me the way my son can take a standard toy and play with it in ways I never imagined. This Play Doh constructed keyboard is one example.

Here are the keys up close. How did he make them? With this:

Any adult would see that this is a pastry tip, garlic press type apparatus where you put a big ball of Play Doh in and press down on the handle to have it squirt out a long tube in whatever shape the slide-in plate dictates. My four-year-old, however, used it to make these “piano keys” instead. Pretty clever, eh?

Have a picture of your child’s toy creation? Email me!

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Playing up playtime: It’s kids’ learning gift

These are hard times for child’s play:

Testing pressures have squeezed much of the play out of kindergarten, according to many activists and researchers. And those pressures are even trickling down to preschools.

Parents worried about their children’s safety — and maybe hankering for some time to themselves — keep them indoors, often tethered to a television, a computer or a video game.

And children’s toys — and their fantasy lives — run heavily toward licensed characters derived from videos and television programs created in someone else’s imagination.

All of which is to say: Whatever happened to making mud pies?

I don’t know about mud pies but my son’s digging around in our garden right now having a jolly time. Guess I’m doing something right.

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Cranium is one of my favorite games. It is a unique combination of tasks and questions that allows every person to feel that they can contribute, and have a blast playing.

I was so excited when we found that Cranium has a complete line of games for children of all ages. My oldest received Balloon Lagoon for Christmas this past year, and it is as much fun for her to play as it is for us to play Cranium. And even cooler? We have a blast playing Balloon Lagoon with her as well. Yes, it is a little below our ability level, but it is not mind numbing, as some kids’ games can be for adults. And though our 2 year old doesn’t get all of the concepts of the game yet, he can still physically participate in all aspects of it.

It is very colorful, with fun cartoon art, and has with different stations where the kids can earn “balloons” for their game pieces. I really like the fact that kids can earn anywhere from 1 to 4 balloons in each turn. It’s not all or nothing.

The drawbacks? The board comes in four puzzle-like pieces, with each of the four stations fitting into the board with pegs. Because you can end up at any of the four stations in each turn, there is a good deal of moving around the board. The board can be shifted around on the table, unless you have a table with seams or tiles, and then the board gets caught on the seams and comes apart, or the stations fall out. And there are a lot of pieces involved in the game, so not for those of you who tend to separate game pieces from their boxes.

But the game is really worth those inconveniences for the fun and excitement that it brings to playing with the kids. And, who knows, maybe Cranium is reading and will try out a folding board for the game. My family and I would be happy to test run it.

By the way, I know there’s more than 9 of you out there! Have you voted in our toy spending poll yet? C’mon everybody. This is one poll where you can be sure that your vote counts!!!!

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