A Smart Cycle??

Hey all…

We came across the Fisher Price Smart Cycle while we were shopping for Christmas this past year and decided not to go with it because our then 6 (now 7) year old was a bit too big for it and would feel left out while her 3 year old sister played with it. However, even with that, it’s won several Toy Industry Awards this year, including Most Innovative Product and Educational Toy of the Year, which is pretty darned cool. This group has very high standards for educational toys and is one to watch.

This cool gadget does two things… It gets the kids moving, but also gets them some of the TV time that kids today seem to demand more and more (not that the demands work at our house because most kid’s TV is kind of mindless, but hey). Anything that gets kids moving AND allows them to have fun is ok in my book. At its most basic level it’s a bike attached to a video game. Pretty simple. And not bad for $100 or less.

You can now buy additional software products for it too, including games for:

• Hot Wheels game
• Spongebob
• Dora and Diego
• Barbie
• and Dinosaurs…

The software seems to go for $20-40 a game, which is a bit high considering the cost of the cycle. But it does have choices for the kids in popular characters.

One of the complaints I’ve seen is that it doesn’t remember specific users of the game, which means that if you have three kids playing on it, they all have to start in the same place (the beginning) every time, playing through the whole thing again. But for younger kids (3-4) I bet this is probably not a bad thing, as it gets them going with the easy stuff and as they get better, it gets harder every time they play.

So this looks pretty cool. It’s Fisher Price, so it should be built to last. And it looks like it’s expandable which is always a good thing!

Let me know if you pick one up!

–Fitz

Fisher-Price Smart Cycle


Smart Cycle™ Hot Wheels Software


Smart Cycle™ Ocean Sponge Bob Software


Smart Cycle™ Dora Software

Time for a Dwink?

Hi all!

Yes, I’m back and I have to write about this cool, very useful item for parents of children who like juice boxes or pouches… and sometimes squeeze them accidentally, getting juice (or other drink) everywhere…

Well, the folks at Dwink have come up with Dwink Boxes!

These lovely little containers are dishwasher safe and pretty indestructible. We purchased four of them (one in each color – blue, orange, pink, and purple) in August 2007 and they are still going strong!

You can buy them directly from the MyDwinkBox site for $4.99 each and they ship them to you pretty quickly. We had ours in less than a week.

Check ‘em out! Kids love ‘em for the big handles and you’ll love ‘em because they’ll lead to less messes!

–Fitz

Books for Cool Kids – Paper Airplanes!

Hey all…

Books you say? Books aren’t cool… Bah! But you’d be wrong. I was a nerdy kid growing up, always with my nose in a book, and my oldest daughter is very similar. She’d love either of these books, which I’m considering for a birthday present (birthday in January)…

The World Record Paper Airplane Book

Though this book is recommended for ages 9 and up, I’d say that with help any smart, crafty kids would enjoy it from ages 7 and up. It includes materials and directions for 20 different cool designs, plus a discussion of why they fly and how to make them fly farther.

If that’s not enough, it also includes:

• info on Ken Blackburn’s world record paper airplane flight
• how to organize and win contests
• a flight log
• and a runway for practicing accuracy

Another cool paper airplane book is the…

Kids’ Paper Airplane Book

This book is also meant for ages 5 and up and features designs and materials for 16 different planes, plus:

• a field guide to real planes
• a log to record flight distances
• and a full-color poster of an airport

So check them both out for your amateur paper pilots. Maybe you’ll start a lifetime obsession with flight!

–Fitz

Thar’ be Toys!

Hey all!

As a parent of two little girls and uncle to several other little ones, I thought it was time to try and give back a bit. I’m always concerned about my children playing with safe toys and with all the toy recalls, I’m even more worried than usual.

I’m going to use this forum to do the following:

1) Write about cool, safe toys for kids…

2) Write about the toy recalls and what you should do…

Pretty simple, right?

Well, let’s get started!

–Fitz