Hot Toys for Kids for the 2016 Holiday Season

Are you looking for some entertaining toys for your child? Here are a few from VTech to check out for the 2016 holiday season.

For toys to be awesome hits for kids and parents alike, they must be fun to play with right out of the box, but also having staying power to last as well. It's also important for toys to educate, entertain, and hold a child's attention for a good length of time. Most of this year's toys will also appeal to adults, so join in on the fun and enrich your child's playtime. Here are a few to consider.

Go! Go! Smart Wheels Blast–Off Space Station – Little astronauts will love helping the rocket lift off from the launch pad for an outer space adventure. They can maneuver down the space ramp, spin the galaxy or even pretend to tumble through a black hole. Zooming past five SmartPoint locations will enable the kids to hear fun phrases, music, and more, including learning about the letter “R” and hearing sing-a-long songs. This playset helps to strengthen a child’s motor skills and teach cause-and-effect. This toy is geared for ages 1-5 and sells at retail for $34.99.

Bizzy the Mix & Move Bot – Children can get creative as they build their own robot with this toy. It has 10 different accessories that enable the kiddos to make and role-play with a different robot every time they play. Along with the various robot experiences Bizzy has 10 melodies and sound effects to share. This toy is age-appropriate for kids from 2-5 and retails for $24.99.

Care for Me Learning Carrier – This interactive pet carrier lets young children take their plush pet anywhere. As you put the furry puppy inside the carrier, the child will hear playful phrases when opening and closing the door. Then, press the light-up buttons to learn about colors, shapes, pet care, and more. This set also includes four pet care accessories so toddlers can groom, feed, and play with the cuddly puppy. This toy is perfect for children ages 9-36 months and retails for $24.99.

Go! Go! Smart Friends Secret Blossom Cottage – Who’s ready for a tea party inside this cute cottage? As your child explores the cottage, Sunny the Garden Fairy reveals her personality with motion and lights. The cottage also features a twirling fountain, spinning gears, and has a carrying handle for fun on the go. For ages 1-5 retailing at $24.99.

Remember all the Go! Go! sets have extra characters that you can interchange with all the other playsets by VTech. You can purchase these characters separately too.

You can find a large variety of VTech toys online here.

Purchase toys on Amazon or at your local toy stores.

What a fun year for the toy industry and for the entertainment of your children. Take time to enjoy your children's company and play with them. You'll be directing their development and absorb the thrill and amusement in their playtime activities.

Happy Parenting and Enjoy Your Holidays,

Tania  :)

Note: These toys were provided by the manufacturer for review, however I was not paid for this blog post. These are my own opinions.

Photos by Tania Cowling, all rights reserved 

Skating and Exercising: What Fun!

You see them everywhere - parents and kids playing ball in a park, mothers with infants in jogging strollers loping through neighborhoods and kiddos on bikes or "blades" heading down the sidewalks. Getting fit doesn't have to mean time away from your child. In fact, being active with your kids teaches them to make exercise a lifelong habit.

Here are some fun ideas to share with your children:

Moving to the music can be a fun indoor/outdoor sport. Put on some lively music and create ideas for activities such as "pretend to be a bird hopping around and building a nest", "blowing like the wind as if you were a kite (carry a scarf and let it billow) or "pretend you are a professional dancer and put on a show." Anything is fun to do with music playing in the background.

Skating is an all-time favorite for kids and adults alike. Bring out the shoe skates or even better yet, these new fit on the shoe NEON Street Rollers from Yvolution. New to the market are adjustable heel skates that easily fit you’re your child’s shoes and feature innovative wheel technology with bright light-up LEDs in pink, blue or green, which glow with each turn of the wheel, no batteries needed. Kids are able to control how fast they ride and simply put their foot down to stop, very easy to master this technique. NEON Street Rollers are recommended for ages six and up, with a maximum weight of 132 pounds. Buy these skates online or your local retailer. Think about skates as a holiday gift. Your kids will love them. 

Let the ball call the shots. Blow up a small plastic beach ball and write movement ideas (with stick figures) on the sections with a black permanent marker. Throw the ball to each other. Have the kids read the action by looking under their right hand when catching the ball and doing the motion marked. Agree upon the number of times to do each action.

Make exercising an incentive by changing the "challenges" daily. Children will be eager to see what's posted on the family bulletin board (say in the kitchen) and to be more interested in exercising. You may wish to let the kids make fitness necklaces or bracelets to be punched with a hole punch when a certain activity is completed. Use this idea to accumulate points for a special prize or treat.

NEON Street Rollers – information and sample from the manufacturer. I was not compensated for this review.

Until my next post.

Happy Parenting,

Tania :) 

Hot Toys for Kids for the 2013 Holiday Season

For toys to be awesome hits for kids and parents alike, they must be fun to play with right out of the box, but also having staying power to last as well. It's also important for toys to educate, entertain, and hold a child's attention for a good length of time. Most of this year's toys will also appeal to adults, so join in on the fun and enrich your child's playtime. Here are a few to consider.

VTech has launched the InnoTab 3S, which is a Wi-Fi enabled children's learning tablet. Just like the parents' electronics, this communication device allows kids ages three to nine to be connected with their parents and friends through both tablet to mobile and tablet to tablet communication with the Kid Connect app. Just think, your child can make you a special drawing or note and you can download it on your smart phone at work and you can reply back to them. This package, at around $100, comes as a kid-safe web browser along with a rechargeable battery pack and AC adapter. VTech's Learning Lodge app store has a plethora of age appropriate content and curriculum to download plus 20 free apps with this package. It's never too early to start children on computers as technology is the key to future learning.

Understanding the importance of imaginary play, Playmobil has launched its new toy PopStars Stage. Pretend to be rock stars and belt out your favorite tunes in concert to a crowded audience. This toy is MP3 compatible so you can create your concert where your songs are accompanied with drums, guitar solos and flashing lights. Four figures are included (as your band) along with accessories such as drum sets, guitars, microphones, speakers and two preloaded tunes to get you started. This toy is a must for musically inclined kids ages four to ten who yearn to be singing sensations. It's retailing this holiday season at $39.99. Later you can add to this theme with the PopStars Tour Bus and PopStars Keyboarder.

And for the younger set, why not let your youngster play with miles of learning with VTech's Go! Go! Smart Wheels Airport Play Set? The airport helps young children strengthen their fine motor skills and builds their imagination through play. The little airplane teaches letters and sounds and there's a control tower that turns its antenna to fly the plane. Children may also be interested in this company's other sets including the Go! Go! Smart Wheels Train Station and Go! Go! Smart Wheels Construction Play Set. These stations range from $25 to $35 in retail stores. You can pack a few Go! Go! Smart Wheels vehicles in a child's holiday stocking for $7.99 with an assortment of 12 different vehicles to choose from. With a push of a button, they light up, talk and play music.

Is your child a foodie? VTech has the 2-in-1 Shop and Cook Play Set, which transforms from a shopping cart to a kitchen in a matter of minutes. The cart responds with cute sounds and phrases and then when the child is ready to cook, there is a pretend cutting board, stovetop, oven, and sink. For children ages two through five, this play set encourages learning about food, colors, numbers, following directions and much more. This toy retails at just under $50.
What a fun year for the toy industry and for the entertainment of your children. Take time to enjoy your children's company and play with them. You'll be directing their development and absorb the thrill and amusement in their playtime activities.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION:
The Contributor was given a gift or sample to inform this content.

This content was originally posted on Yahoo Voices