Being the dad of two boys doesn’t get me in tune with the culture of young girls. You can insert your own joke about that here.

Anyway while stumbling around the web I saw a press release for casting calls for Kitt. Kitt is a character from the “American Girl” toy line which is 100% owned by Mattel. Mattel is working with HBO to make a movie about this doll/story character named Kitt. The film will be called “Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl Mystery.” The film will take place in Depression era America and star Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine.

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There are three recent toy recalls we just want to alert everyone about. These are all from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The details are below:
Parent’s Magazine Record-a-Voice Toy Cell Phones
Reason: choking hazard
Stores sold at: Target stores nationwide from September 2006 to January 2007 for about $8.
For more information call (800) 247-6144.

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I won’t lie to you.  I am a dad.  I tend to look at toys from a dad’s perepective.  That means that for me to personally like a toy, I need to like playing with the toy.  Needless to say I don’t like too many of my sons’ toys.

I just found a blog called Wonder Mom.  Wonder Mom just did some reviews for LeapFrog.  I love the story about how she used some of the free stuff from LeapFrog to get through a wedding reception.  The toys may have changed from generation to generation but the goal is the same, keep the kids quiet so you (us, we, the parents) can get a bit to eat.

Enjoy!

Playmobil recently launched a new line of play sets with a sports theme. There are two sports in the new line, Skateboarding/BMX Biking and Soccer. This move by Playmobil really goes into the “why didn’t some one think of this sooner” category. With children’s weight problems spiraling out of control, anything that fosters an interest in sports and outdoor activities is a welcome change for parents. Even if these are toys to be played inside, it is better than a screen that has them slaying dragons all day.

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Happy Meals are great for one reason; they have boys and girls toys. My question is where are the “boys” toys for this latest set of toys based off of the ubiquitous American Idol (AI)? The current offerings of a microphone, hand clapper, sunglasses, and fake ipod are pretty lame.

I’m sorry McDonalds but you guys really missed the mark with this one. My son could care less about American Idol gear because he’s a boy. It is widely known that the target demographic for AI is young girls. My 3 year old son could care less about that show.

The last round of Happy Meal toys were great, they included boys toys like Ninja Turtles which my son loved. He didn’t even watch TMNT before getting his first turtle action figure and it didn’t matter because boys understand action figures. Boys don’t understand lame stuff like microphones and fake ipods.

I don’t know if other parents had this fantasy growing up, but I always envisioned my (future) kids playing with the toys I kept from my childhood. Don’t ask me why I thought this but I had an opportunity to put this to the test the other day.

My 3 year old son had two of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the last McDonald’s Happy Meal toy line. He took them to day care the other day and came home with only one. He was a little upset so I remembered that I had several original TMNT’s in the package from the last time the were popular. Yes, I did do a small bit of toy collecting in my youth. I quickly checked Ebay to see if I was about to destroy hundreds of dollars of precious mint condition toys. Fortunately old TMNT’s, still in the package, are pretty much worthless.

I then went into my small stash of unopened action figures (don’t be impressed the stash is pretty pathetic) and presented two TMNT figures to my son. His response to Daddy’s selflessly offering toys from his childhood to him? “Um….lets see what else you have daddy.” Hmmm…..”That’s all Daddy has.” My son then proceeded upstairs to continue watching his Diego DVD.

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Ever go to the local Target looking for a toy only to find a ton of the one you already have, that your kid is not playing with anyway? This typically happens with the “hot new toy” or item in a line of toys relating to a hit movie, Cars (from Pixar) being a prime example.

While researching cool websites for toys I found this post on a site called ToyBender.com. It is basically a blog written by a toy collector. The blogger is a male who collects, from what I can tell, action figures ranging in price from retail to obscene. He also posts neat classic ads for toys like commercial and comic book ads.

He recently posted an article called “Toy Collecting is for Losers: Defending Toy Collecting.” The article is about how toy collectors are not all like the 40 Year Old Virgin. Ok, that’s fine. I believe him even though ALL the toy collectors I have ever met are in fact freaks who do still live with their parents. However, given the size of the toy collecting industry I can believe that there are some socially, well-adjusted toy collectors.
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There is no end to Star Wars toys. Even after (what we are told) was the last film, toys licensed after the mega hit series are still pouring into stores. I really don’t like to endlessly profile one action figure after the next; because lets face it they are all pretty much the same. There are the rare toys out there that have the brand recognition, plus that certain something that gets your kids to do something other than slay Storm Troopers online all day.

Give your Star Wars kids the new Star Wars Light Saber Battle Game. It basically works like the Wii and Guitar Hero but with the whole Star Wars theme. There is a device that plugs into your TV and displays various battles and scenarios. There is also a Light Saber that when used by your child will manipulate the TV light saber to slice up enemies. Until the Wii gets a Star Wars game this is the next best thing.

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There is no end to the number of building toys out there, from Lincoln Logs, to Tinker Toys, to Legos. Building toys are proven tools to get your kid’s creative juices flowing. Plus there a great way to play with your kids, much better that being forced to play video games with them or watch their favorite DVD for the 500th time.

I just stumbled across Zoobs from Infinitoy. They are a relatively new building toy for kids ages 6 to 10. The core of Zoobs revolves around five different pieces that can connect to one another in 20 different ways. This leads to some very strange, interesting, and interactive things your kids can make. Things like jelly fish (pictured) with flowing tentacles, suspension bridges, with cables that can move, and race cars with spinning wheels

Zoobs sets vary in price from $10 to $30. Different sets come with the parts a child would need to build cars, action heroes, and general building. You can pick up a set from Amazon.com and learning toys stores.

If your child doesn’t have a Webkinz yet, get ready to be begged for one. Webkinz is probably the biggest fad with the 5 to 12 crowd right now. Webkinz are stuffed animals with a digital twin on Webkinz.com. Webkinz come in a ton of different animals like, dogs cats, bears, koalas, and birds. Each Webkinz has its own unique code that identifies it with its online twin on Webkinz .com. Be warned, Webkinz aren’t in every toy store in the US. You may have to hunt around to buy one. Amazon.com has a huge selection in their future releases section of their toy department.

Webkinz.com is an online community, where children take care of their digital Webkinz and also can have fun gaming, participating in quizzes, competitions, or just chatting with other Webkinz owners. Webkinz.com is meant for kids aged 6-13 years. It is brilliantly designed to match the computer skills and intellectual abilities of children in that age group.

The entry to the Webkinz.com community is through a secret code, included with all new Webkinz or Lil’Kinz plush toys. Using that secret code, your child can adopt the virtual plush pet in the Webkinz adoption center, have a room for the pet, feed, exercise, and take care of it in a way one might does in the case of a real pet.

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