Parenting Sites 411

Ok, so I’m starting this out a little hacked if you just want to know the truth.  Why is that you ask?  Because I was looking around, hunting some good links to refer on to you and I found one that I just new was going to be great.  It was title St. Patrick’s Day Crafts.  So, I thought, woohooo, this is a great place to start even if I did miss the whole holiday.  But, when I clicked the link, it took me to a doggone Spongebob page.  Do I have to tell you how much I hate Spongebob?  Cartoons in general are not my thing….but ergh….I was hacked. 

So, I kept searching and low and behold, I did find a great site and it is way more appropriate anyway.  The site is entitled Games for the Whole Family.  And, they have a set of family games, outdoor games, parlor games, travel games (slug bug) and party games. You can also find a list of Card Games and Indoor Games as well.

Finally you can get a few links under News and Views that promotes the top ten board games, toys that think, kids that don’t and then expert advice section for safety first and rethinking children’s play.  And, finally, the page gives you a message board of resources….so yea, so much better than Spongebob.

Some of my children’s favorite toys are actually not toys at all.  As a matter of fact, it is quite frustrating when I find them with adult “toys” in their hands wondering what in the heck they are going to do.  Yes, I have watched as one son tried to completely remove a door.  He had earlier watched his father work on the door so that it would remain open, but thankfully he didn’t have the strength to then remove the door himself. 

But, something that my husband is plain naughty about is buying my children toys that work with gears.  I say that as if it is a bad thing and  know it’s not.  But, that’s my husbands big love and always has been, “How Does This Work?” and he has passed that right on down to our children.

So, I thought now would be a good time to share with you a set of gears that make awesome gifts for children once they are old enough to keep up with small parts and obviously old enough not to put them in their mouth.  It’s truly amazing to me that some of the most favored toys for boys is something like Learning Resources - Gears! Gears! Gears! Lights and Action Building Set

You may recall last week when I pointed out the CPSC website and where to find recent recall information as it pertains to children and infants.  Just in time, because this week toy giant Fisher Price has issued a massive recall of nearly 1 million toys, all which contain excessive amounts of lead-based paint.  And lead is extremely toxic, particularly for children who often times put their toys in their mouths as they’re playing.  All the toys feature licensed characters (think “Sesame Street” or “Dora the Explorer”) and were manufactured in China.

If you see a toy your child is playing with after the jump, please take the toy away immediately.  Then return the toy to the store you purchased it from and you will receive a voucher to purchase a replacement toy.  If you’d like more information about the recall, call Fisher Price at (800) 916-4498 or visit their website.  You can also visit the CPSC website for more information.

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