Pick of the Day: Calico Critters Country Tree House

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Calico Critters Hedghogs- Amazing!

Even though I absolutely shunned my own colonial dollhouse (sorry Mom)…I really have always loved the Calico Critters (International Playthings)  and their houses over the years. The collections always feature what look like storybook animal families and miniature settings that fit them.  I am absolutely obsessed with the Hedgehog family (see pic). This year they have a new Country Tree House that has lots of levels and features. Read our complete review.

Calico Critters Country Tree House

Pick of the Day: I Spy Little Wheels and Little Animal Puzzles

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Looking for a great way to build your child’s patience and ability to stick with a task?  Puzzles are a wonderful way to connect and talk about problem solving skills.  Give your child some strategies–“can we find all the flats?” “all the pieces that are green?”

The idea is to find puzzles that will build confidence. Save the 1,000 piece puzzles for you!  Some kids take to puzzles very easily–for others they are just pure frustrating…that usually means the puzzle is too hard.  This set from Briarpatch comes with four puzzles.  Our suggestion — take on the pieces out for one puzzle at a time and leave the rest in the box!  Read our complete review and shopping info on our site.

Also be sure to visit  Jean Marzollo’s website  (the author of the I Spy series). It’s chock full of activities for kids that are fun (and not a waste of their time or minds!).

Best Gender Free Gifts for Kids

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I always thought my brother’s Hot Wheels sets were much more interesting than any doll my parents brought home to me  – which is probably why I have problems with the concept that play things should be gender based.  Construction sets like  LEGOs were also big on my list (although my mother will tell you that I was most fascinated with putting all the pieces back in the box).    My slight OCD tendencies aside, when we started the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio I was taken aback by the blatant gender specific marketing to boys and girls.  In big toy companies the divisions are actually divided by sex. Had this generation of marketers and toy makers missed the fight for women’s rights? gender equality?  Are we really ready to say that a five year old has a innate desire to play with only certain toys?  It still bothers me.  So each year we look for toys that are gender free.  Why do building bricks need to be pink for girls?  If we want our sons to grow up to be great partners, husbands and fathers–shouldn’t they also role play with such basic family staples as kitchens, strollers and baby dolls?  If these issues bother you as well, take a look at our list for some gender free suggestions.

Click here to read our list.

More on Cadmium

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Happy to read Ravlya Ismall’s piece Why Do Jewelery Makers Get Off Easy With Cadmium?

There are certainly many issues facing the nation this year–but the lack of aggressiveness on this issue on the part of the  CPSC seems to be a step backwards when it comes to protecting our children from hidden dangers in toys and jewelry.

Pick of the Day: Radio Flyer Bumper Car

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Ride on toys for toddlers is always one of the hardest categories we review.  Over the past few years we’ve noticed that one of the ways companies have cut back is to do away with steering mechanisms.  Now this bumper car also doesn’t steer but because it’s on casters – it does move easily in any direction your child would like to go. What really annoys me are ride-ons where your child has to stand up and move the toy and then sit down again- where’s the fun in that?   To read our full review and for shopping info — click here!

Pick of the Day: Strobotop Light Animator

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Most science toys we look at are duds. They’re typically really expensive and they don’t work.  So we were thrilled when we tried the new Strobotop Lightphase Animator from Eye Think. It rocks. If you have a child interested in science and/or the movies – here’s a beginning lesson from the world of Physics (my high school interns who had just finished AP Physics explained why changing the light frequency changes what we see). Here’s what you do: put of the printed rings on the toy-you can clearly see the images.  Then make it spin, it alters what you see–then put the strob light on the spinning image and the static images now move  like an animated cartoon.  Really!   (It’s been a long time since I took Physics.  A shout out to Mr. Stewart–my favorite science teacher from Monticello High School for being consistently thrilled with sharing science with his class.  I’m pretty sure he would love this toy.)

For a complete description of how it works and shopping info, read our complete review.

One aspect that we love is that you can create your own images to make move (it comes with blank disks).  The company has made a great video showing how this works-you have to stick with the video to see it–the demo comes towards the end.  You can watch their video by clicking here.

A different spin on Cadmium in children’s products

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I was somewhat surprised today to see how the NYTs is addressing the cadmium issue in their article, U.S. Seeks Limits on Cadmium for Toys and Jewelry.  What really happened yesterday was the that CPSC asked the industry to self-regulate.  The CPSC Chairman, Inez M. Tenebaum is quoted:  “If we find those standards are insufficient to protect the health and safety of consumers, then we can move to a mandatory standard.”

Why are we waiting? I would have thought that after our experiences with the toy industry and dangerous lead levels–that we have learned our lesson about self-regulation.  Leaving this to the industry also means a continued uncertainty about how to test for cadmium.  As with lead the way you test can greatly impact the results. We agree with the Center for Environmental Health that the standard on the federal level should be the same as it is now in California–which bans children’s jewelry that contains more than 300 parts per million total cadmium.  The “total” testing approach is superior to the extraction approach being used.  The CEH points out that the extraction approach does not take into account the wear and tear that occurs.

This is a step in the wrong direction.

My continuing fascination with singamajigs

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Sing-a-ma-jigs

I love these dolls. The harmonizing is fun. Here’s another video where we demonstrate that they each sing a different song. For a full review visit our site, www.toyportfolio.com. I’ll try to stop writing about them…but when the new batch arrives – I may have to post some more.