How We Used to Play...

Kid’s today have such a diverse range of toys to aid learning in fun inventive ways, kid’s tablets, camera’s that actually take photos and a whole range of battery operated toys that would well and truly go on to make a very long list.

The toys Leo has to play with today pale in comparison to back when I was his age, my tech savvy 2 year old knows exactly how to un-lock my iphone and swipe through the photos. Heck he even has Luke’s old cast off iPod Touch!

Research has shown that the average child today has around £1,200 worth of toys in their home. As I look around Leo’s ever expanding toy collection I have to say I am inclined to agree with this.

In my immediate sight I spy an InnoTab Tablet, a toy washing machine, the Bubble Guppies Rock and Roll Stage, his favourite toy tractor with authentic sounds and lets not forget his army of stuffed toys, most of which have plenty to say thanks to the voice box in the back of their stuffing!

In the past 20 years toys really have become far more sophisticated, but we used to play very differently.

Once upon a time there were no batteries, toys relied heavily on the imagination of the child at the end of the strings. There were no flashy lights and no computer generated sounds, and absolutely anything could happen in the make believe game you dream up.

npower recently launched an energy archive on Historypin.com called 'Remember How We Used To...' www.historypin.com/rememberhow - They have launched this archive to take us back over the years and to show us all just how much energy has transformed our lives.

Leo and I took part in a very interesting challenge assigned to us by npower to help them see how a child would feel about toys from back in the day. 

The challenge was to put away all of our electronic toys for one whole weekend and play with toys from back in the day. Interestingly enough many of the toys we were sent for the challenge are still in existence today, or the idea at least. Of course they have been modified for use in 2013 but they have never been forgotten.

In our challenge set we had:

-          A wooden Puppet

-          A tin Cash Register

-          Play dough

-           Kaleidoscope

-          Mr Potato Head

When the toys arrived I was discussing the challenge with Leo’s Granny and I was intrigued to discover just how far back Mr Potato Head went. Back in the day of my Mother’s childhood he was merely a potato (a real one!) that you stuck body parts in. Of course today we have the very well-known Potato Head that many of you will recognise from the ever popular Toy Story series!

Not long after the box arrived we were packing up to go away to Devon and to be staying in an old barn conversion. I saw the opportunity to take the toys along and take part in the challenge, so I simply took only this box of toys along with us. I knew this way there was no chance of one of Leo’s many electronic toys cropping up on us…

Leo didn’t take long to get his hands into the very lovely tin cash register, he loved playing with it just as much as he does his electric one at home. It has lovely big buttons that he can push in and even make the register ping open. This is a toy that will never loose it’s place in the grand scheme of things, kids love to role play. Many of the most popular toys are simply toy versions of general day to day objects.

The kaleidoscope took me right back to when I was about 5, I remember being allowed to choose one toy from Woolworths and I chose the Kaleidoscope. I haven’t actually seen one in the shops for the longest time, and I think it was actually Granny and I who enjoyed all of the shapes and colours hiding within this toy more than the toddler. Leo did give it a try but I think this will be something he ‘grows into’.

The wooden puppet was really fun to dance around the lounge, admittedly Leo was a little scared of it…For what reasons I will never be completely sure of. He did however say ‘No Mumma’ through the screams that ensued shortly before I listened to him and put the puppet back in his box.

Granny was telling us all about the puppet she had as a child, how back then a puppet was the kind of toy you would receive as a main Christmas present. That alone shows you just how far we have come, todays bigger Christmas gifts come in the form of tablets and computers, but back in the day…Puppets were the current fad!

We had great fun with the Play dough, this was Leo’s very first experience with it and I did wonder whether he may try and eat it or not. In all honesty though, Leo has always been pretty good with the whole not putting things in his mouth. Leo adored the play dough, even though all he really did was roll it around in his hands. When I was little Mum would always make the play dough from scratch for us, we could then colour it with food colouring and make it as bright as we liked! I think maybe soon Leo and I will have to have a go at making up some home-made play dough.

I feel that the challenge was a big success, Leo didn’t mind the fact that the 50’s style toys were not electronic, he didn’t mind one bit. I think that many of these listed above are classics and that is why they are still in production today. One thing is for sure though, and taking part in this challenge really opened up my eyes to how many toys my little guy has, how much technology has come along over the years and just how tech savvy kids today actually are.

Disclaimer: I was provided with the above toys to take part in the npower challenge. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Dear Santa...

With each passing day we are getting closer and closer to that one magical day of the year. Christmas.

With this date coming around quicker and quicker each year, or that’s the way it feels anyway, we turn our attention to the Christmas lists written by our children so that Santa knows exactly what to bring with him on his sleigh.

I have been examining many a letter to Santa already, and I am pleased to share with you the toy’s that are going to be in high demand this festive season.

In no particular order I give you the Christmas 2012 Highly Anticipated Toys

Dear Santa,

This Christmas there are a number of very exciting toys that your elves have spent all year crafting, and I am so excited by what you may have in store for all the girls and boys.

Furby has recently been re-launched and is more life like than ever before. He dances, sings and even learns more English as your journey together progresses. He comes in a variety of bright colouring's and will be sure to add some extra excitement to Christmas day, maybe even annoyonce to many a adult!

The LeapFrog LeapsterGS is a gaming learning system for children aged 3-9 years old tailored in a robust kid's design. There is even a camera and video camera included so that you can edit your pictures or even put yourself into the game you are playing! 

The Innotab 2 is the latest creation from VTech for tech savvy kid's. There are many different apps to suit each child's taste from music, TV programmes and Ebooks, There are many children's favourites such as Peppa Pig and Thomas and Friends that you can download. 

The Mookie Scramble Bug is a unique ride on that can move in all directions due to the incorporated castor wheels. It features a fixed handlebar that your toddler can hold on to as they go along, the castor wheels mean that the Scramble Bug can turn 360 degrees with ease and is suitable for the use of children from 1 years old, right up to 3 years old. 

The Razor E90 Electric Scooter is aimed at children 8+ and reaches speeds of up to 8.5mph! It comes in a variety of bright colours and has recently been seen sported by One Directions Zayn and Little Mix's Perrie!

The Fisher-Price Wheelies Loops 'n' Swoops Amusement Park is the ultimate in toddler fun! There are play options on both sides and it stands at over two feet tall. It is the perfect height for kid's to send their Wheelies vehicles down a swirly whirly ramp filled with twists and turns and a gravity defying 360 degree loop! This action fun toy would not be complete without the many lights and that accompany!

The Mini Micro 3 in 1 Scooter  is exactly what it says on the tin! A toddlers very first scooter that will see them through until 5 years old. As the child grows you can adjust the scooter to reflect their new stage of development!

WOW Toys Dudley Dumper Truck is just one toy out of an extensive range of incredibly fun resilient toys that work with no battery's! 

So Santa please consider my Christmas list this year, and I promise that upon your arrival you will find a nice glass of Sherry and home made mince pies! 

P.s If you are still in the process of Christmas shopping, Argos Reserve and Collect is a great way to shop. You can reserve many of the above gifts online to guarantee collection in store! It really does take the stress out of Christmas shopping!

Merry Christmas!

Disclaimer: I wanted to put together a selection of toys that I have enjoyed this year that I think will be popular this year. In order to put together this composition I have been sent the toys to personally try out where possible and have or will be sharing my full experience with you. I have not been paid to write this and all views expressed are completely honest and my own.

The Innotab 2 Review

Kid's technology today is on a complete other level to what it was back in my childhood. Everything is colour and does so many different things to keep kid's learning and entertained all the time. It is no surprise that is has come on in leaps and bounds over the years though, what with all of the latest technology that has come around, kid's are more inclined to take to such savvy toys.

We have been sent a VTech Innotab 2 to have a play with which is a prime example of how toy's have developed, and the Innotab 2 is already the second generation of Innotab.

When the Innotab 2  arrived I heard my iPad breathe a huge sigh of relief in the hopes it may keep the toddlers sticky fingers from dancing all over it, after all this toy is just like an iPad for kiddies and my expectations were set pretty high.

Although the Innotab 2 is aimed at children from 4 years through to 9 years old, I knew it would be a big hit with my 16 month old. Children these days are growing up with this technology and it is surprising how even at 16 months old Leo knows how to swipe his finger across the screen to scroll through and how touching icons will action a command. 

The new InnoTab 2 is a multi-media touch screen tablet for children and comes in two stylish colours, Pink and Blue. It boasts a 5 inch screen encased in durable plastic and rubber bumpers on each corner, as if it expects to be dropped! A lovely touch is the built in 1.3 mega pixel camera, that kids will love to get snap happy with. The camera is on an adjustable lens which allows the kid's to snap photos of themselves which can then be used as their profile photo, or to snap scenic shots by adjusting the lens.

What's in the box?

- The Innotab 2

- Read, Play & Create Cartridge

- USB Cable

- Instruction Manual

So while Leo was napping I opened up the Innotab 2 and decided to get it all set up and have a little play before little man was up and decided not to share. The Innotab 2 requires 4AA batteries to function and you will be pleased to know that battery changes are really simple, by just pushing the release button on the back of the Innotab to access to battery compartment.

The best place to start with the set up is by hooking the Innotab 2 up to the computer using the USB cable, and downloading the 'Learning Lodge Navigator' download to your computer. This download allows you to control everything that you put onto your Innotab 2, and you can then choose the 2 free apps that your little one would like! I found using the Learning Lodge really simple and soon had some apps installed to have a play with. 

VTech very kindly sent a £20.00 Learning App Card along with our Innotab so that we could download some more apps and music. So I wasted no time finding some nursery rhymes to download and put onto it for little man. 

When Leo awoke he wasted no time in taking it off me, and I took the opportunity to try out the cartridge that came with it. The cartridge entitled 'Read, Play and Create' has a ebook, a learning game and a colouring application, providing plenty to do. Leo and I sat huddled up on the sofa and followed the ebook about a dog that moves to the city, which Leo followed all the way through loving all of the animation provided within the story. 

In keeping with the creativity factor that the camera provides there is also a video player, art studio, G sensor, MP3 music player, e-reader, calendar, friends list, notes app and an augmented reality game. Of course you can download more apps and online content from the online Learning Lodge Navigator as I mentioned earlier. Apps retail from as little as 99p depending upon which apps you are after,the nursery rhymes we purchased cost around £6.00.

There are many different apps to suit each child's taste from music, TV programmes and Ebooks, There are many children's favourites such as Peppa Pig and Thomas and Friends that you can download. 

A very unexpected but welcomed feature on the Innotab 2 is that it has a memory card slot, allowing you to expand the memory and fill it up with more apps and games! The initial internal memory is 2GB but it really is up to you how much you expand it by!  

The Innotab 2 even comes with it's very own stylus, of course at present Leo is just pressing what ever he feels like, but I handed the Innotab to my younger sister and she was having a great time flipping through all of the great features and really making use of them. The stylus really makes getting around this tablet a doddle and interacting with all of the features.

On the back of the Innotab is a stand feature which allows you to open it up and freely stand it on it's own. You can stand it either landscape or vertically.

What I really like about the Innotab 2 is that it is promoting essential skills and also being a very enjoyable toy, Leo is always having a play with my iPad and now that we have this nifty little tablet, it means the iPad is having a break. Toddlers are picking up on all of these new technologies earlier and earlier, and although Leo cannot use this toy to the best level yet, it is great for the ebooks and letting him get to know what he can do with it. I don't think it will be long before he is completely accustomed to his Innotab and showing me what to do! 

I can confirm that the Innotab is durable, and is obviously prepared for a few drops and bumps here and there, as Leo has already demonstrated a few times, I wouldn't recommend deliberately throwing it around to see what happens, but it is safe to say the clumsiness of  toddlers and children has been taken into consideration!

The only thing I did find with the Innotab 2 was that the loading time between the apps can take longer than you may expect it too, and I thought his may reflect on a child's attention span, but other than this I thought the Innotab 2 was brilliant. The rotating camera lens is fab and there is hours of fun crammed into this compact hand held.

Alice (my younger sister) has given the Innotab 2 her seal of approval and may even give Leo a run for his money on who get's to play with it more. It is safe to say that there is plenty to do on it and this will continue to develop with the hundreds of readily available apps and cartridges. 

The Innotab 2 is set to be a big hit for Christmas 2012 and retails at £84.99. 

We are really enjoying the Innotab 2 and I know it is going to get plenty of use!

Disclaimer: I was sent the Innotab 2 for the purpose of this review, however all views and opinions are completely honest and my own.