Cathy Spalding's Blog
Posted by Cathy Spalding
While my kids are thrilled every time they bring home an invitation to a birthday party, I must admit I feel something a little different. Some weeks can include three or four parties. That to me means spending time and money buying gifts. While birthday parties are a rite of childhood, I realized long ago that I needed a strategy to get through the gifting end of things.
While you may think that I sound a little like Scrooge, I think I am just being realistic. I don't want to spend every week scouring the shelves of our local stores for the perfect gift for a child I barely know. Sometimes my kids barely know them too, as in the case of the children who invite everyone in the class to their parties. I also don't want to spend more money than necessary to purchase more toys that may never even get used. At least when you buy for your own kids you know for sure what they play with. It is a little hit and miss when you buy for your child's friends.
Now I have a better way of dealing with birthday party gifts. It doesn't completely alleviate the anxiety when yet another birthday party invitation comes home, but it does help greatly.
Posted by Cathy Spalding
Infantino and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have issued a voluntary recall of approximately 100,000 SlingRider infant slings sold between July 2006 and February 2007. The slings feature a fabric strap with a plastic slider. The manufacturer has received reports of the plastic slider breaking, causing the strap to release and the child to fall out of the sling. Consumers with this particular model can contact the manufacturer to receive a replacement. You can find more information on the recall and a photo showing the SlingRider infant carrier at the Infantino website.
Posted by Cathy Spalding
I have no huge beefs against the kid's flip sofas. I think they're kind of cute, and I certainly understand why kids would love to have one of their own. But I won't get one for my daughter. Why not? After all, she keeps asking for one. But she is 7 years old. Even when she first started asking for them, she was almost too big for them. If she was one or two, I would think seriously about one, but only if we had room in our house. I don't want her to be a sofa spud or couch potato, but I don't really think that would necessarily be the result of these flip sofas. All in all, she is just too old. Which doesn't happen often when you're seven.
Posted by Cathy Spalding
One of my kids is a huge pet lover. She has spent years trying to figure out what career she could eventually have that would allow her to be around animals all day. Fortunately we have been able to have pets in our home over the years that have included dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, and fish. Some kids don't have that luxury however, due to allergies or no pet rules where they live. So that is why software games that allow you to care for a pet are such a great idea.
Sometimes, though, those software games are a huge disappointment. We tried Petz to see how it stacked up against the rest. We looked at the flexibility of the program, the ease of use, and the fun factor. Read what we thought of this game.
Posted by Cathy Spalding
Walking through a toy store can be an overwhelming experience. In our new poll, found toward the bottom of this site's main page, I want to know how you personally choose one toy out of all of those choices. Do you consult with friends or read some of those top toy lists produced by expert panels? Do you look for the toys that seem to provide the best learning experience for your child? Or do you simply go for the one they have been asking you for? Quite likely you have used more than one of these methods to choose a new toy, but which would you use most often? If you use some other criteria, start a discussion and let us all know how you decide.
