Kiddobeans

Review: Aquadoodles!

My kids are no longer allowed to play with crayons.  I just had to give up on them as the 2-year-olds' artwork began to slowly but surely creep onto the walls of every room in the house.  Why did they always go for the walls when there was plenty of paper available?  My aunt, an early childhood special ed teacher, provided the answer.   Kids learn better when working directly in front instead of bending over.  Coloring on the walls is their natural inclination.  The solution in her classroom was Aquadoodles, and I resolved to give this coloring alternative a try for Little Man's second birthday.

The aptly named Aquadoodles allow kids to "color" with water.  The water goes into a pen or brush with an absorbent tip, and the pens change the color of the special Aquadoodle mat from light blue to dark blue.  The mat can be mounted on the wall and presto! the kids can draw on the walls, meeting their intuitive educational needs with no mess.  As their scribbles dry, the mat returns to its original color, so it is continually reusable. I bought the Aquadoodle Wall Mat, which came with one pen, for $20.00 and the Aquadoodle Accessory Set, which included an extra pen and a paintbrush, for $5.99. 

From the moment we popped it out of the box, I was of two minds about its success.  On the one hand, the kids loved it.  My two-year-olds and their four-year-old cousin jumped right in to "coloring".  They were absolutely delighted watching the different ways the water could spread across the mat depending how hard you pushed the pen.  They drew shapes and asked for letters and numbers.  They shared very well, they played both on their own and with adult input.  It was fun for everyone, and it kept their interest for over an hour on that first day.  Given its success with the target audience, the Aquadoodle mat should have earned a 100% positive review from this Mommy.

Unfortunately, I noticed a fatal flaw even before the kids started playing. When I pulled it from the box, I immediately felt it was too flimsy.  The mat is not really a mat at all, but a thick piece of paper only about as sturdy as a sheet of poster paper.  The toy is marketed for ages 2 and up, and it is just not sturdy enough for that age group.  My Little Man is not very aggressive, but he is, like most little boys, just hard on stuff.  Part of exploring and understanding a toy is to bang it around a little--it's just how toddlers are--and the Aquadoodle Wall Mat was not fit for that kind of treatment.  I was sure he would rip it.  My sister-in-law offered the excellent suggestion of covering the back with contact paper, and I resolved to do so ASAP.  Unfortunately, ASAP was not soon enough.  Little Man ripped the mat almost in half the next day during the course of normal play.  It had been up in the house less than 24 hours.

I taped the rip, coated the back with contact paper, and stuck it back on the wall.  The paper is absorbent, so I was worried that the contact paper would affect its playability.  Though the mat did wrinkle a little bit during use, which I feel happened because of the contact paper backing, this has not diminished the kiddobeans enjoyment of the toy.  It has continued to be a hit, and is great for single or multiple kids from scribblers all the way up to writers.  Apart from the durability issue, the only other (very minor) problem is that the kids can unscrew the pens and dump a small amount of water on the floor.  In general, however, the water is pretty well contained and the Aquadoodles system does keep everything very clean.

I would purchase an Aquadoodles toy again, but I will skip the Wall Mat if I do.  The floor mats appear to be more durable (though without touching one I can't know for sure), and if I purchase again I will attempt to stick the sturdier floor mat onto the wall.  In the meantime, I'm giving a shout out to the Aquadoodles' people:  Hey guys!  Great product, but way too fragile for two-year-olds. Either change the product, or change the marketing!

Toy Land, Toy Land

Like all parents, Phil and I are trying to find a balance with Christmas.  We are still new at the Santa Claus act (Little Miss is having her 3rd Christmas, Little Man is at his 2nd) and its hard to know how many gifts to buy without going overboard.  We want it to be a special day for the kids...we want them to open lots of presents and  have new things and get really, really jumping-around-and-laughing excited.  But, we don't want to break the bank, we don't want to spoil the little ones, and we don't want to celebration of Jesus' birth to be lost behind the celebration of "new stuff."

At least for this year, we have a plan that has helped maintain some balance.  Because our little 2in12s are at the same stage as far as toys go, we have decided to give them all joint presents this year.  After all, their toys always end up being shared anyway, so why not start out that way?  I think Little Miss' birthday presents in July were "her toys" for about an hour and a half before they started being "their toys."  This great plan opened up some fun ideas for us, and proved to be cost conscious as well.  For example, the kiddobeans love playing with the toy kitchens in their classrooms at church.  Well, a toy kitchen is a pricey commodity, but since they were going to share it (and since we found a great deal on ebay) they do get to have what a I hope will be a jaw-dropping gift after all.

Books, bath toys, toy kitchen accessories, coloring supplies, and a toddler-friendly MP3 player round out the mix.  These are all toys that the kiddobeans would want to play with together, and that's what I would want to encourage anyway.  Who wants to stock up the kids with a bunch of fuel for sibling rivalry?  It's like my theory of gift-buying for my sweet hubby.  I don't buy him presents that are predisposed to take time away from the family.  Wii family play video games are ok, first-person-shooters are not-so-much.  A toddler carrier for his bike is great, something that aids in solitary training for his triathlon habit can come on his own time.  In the same way, I want the kids gifts to aid in family harmony, not destroy it.

I flatter myself that I (as the primary gift buyer) did a good job finding toys that will bring our little co-players closer together and give them the imaginative fun that is ideal in a sibling relationship, and that I in fact remember having with my own siblings.  I hope that I can keep as good a balance as my own parents did.  I guess time will tell.  I'll keep you posted.

Review: Radio Flyer Pathfinder Wagon

Lots of times, I go for the old-fashioned kids' toys.  I'm not fond of the latest trends with over-stimulating lights and sounds that purport to make geniuses out of toddlers.  Sometimes, however, innovation can be a really great thing for everyone involved, and the latest innovation in wagon design is one of those times.  Move over heavy, rusted, metal wagon and make room for the Radio Flyer Pathfinder Wagon!

The red, plastic Radio Flyer Pathfinder Wagon sports a seat with a backrest at either end, and each seat has a seatbelt and two cupholders.  Kids today sure are spoiled!  Well, that's what I though at first, anyway.  Then I realized that full seats and cupholders mean that kids can't escape from the wagon without being released by their parents, and that they have some place to put their cups instead of dropping them over the side, and that whiny kids tired out from a long day at the zoo will agree to sit almost anywhere as long as their cupholders hold an adequate number of Goldfish Crackers.  This is a win-win situation.  Maybe it's the parents who are spoiled!

The kiddobeans love to ride in the wagon.  It's sturdy enough to be outside with the yard toys regardless of weather, so part of our playing-outside routine involves the kids hurtling themselves into the wagon (over the high sides), attempting to buckle themselves in, and urging Mommy to take them for "just a little ride."  For long day trips, like the Zoo or the Fourth of July parade, we find the kids are much more willing to spend time in the wagon than they would be to sit in the stroller.  Somehow, the wagon allows them to be more interactive, both with each other and with the stuff going on around them.  Although unwieldy, the plastic wagon is not too heavy and does fit in the moderately-sized trunk of our PT Cruiser.

This is primarily a wagon built for two, but the seat backs do fold down to create a solid platform to hold 3-4 kids, depending on the desired level of squishiness.  On short rides, the kids are often joined by their almost-two-year-old BFF, the little girl next door.  Really, though, the folded down seats are not strong enough (or comfortable enough) to make this an option for older kids or longer trips.  With two kids in the upright seats, there is no room for any type of diaper bag or cooler down by their feet.  I'm able to sling a diaper bag over the seat back, but that is basically the only luggage option.  We've also found that the wheels  could bend out of shape if the wagon is pulled over rough ground for any length of time.

Still, the Radio Flyer Pathfinder Wagon is a great asset for us.  We have had it for almost two years, and find that it is both a transportation device for long trips and a play toy for daily adventures.  Even our little kiddobeans try to pull each other around in it, and it is a staple when BFF's older brothers' (ages 11, 10, 9, and 8) come by with her.  All of the kids play together as the older boys race around and around the house pulling the laughing toddlers in the wagon.  As afore mentioned, we usually opt for the wagon over the stroller for zoos, parades, parks, and disc golfing because the kids are much more willing to sit in a stationary wagon than they would be in a stroller.  They love it, we love it, and I feel no nostalgia for the clunky metal wagons of my childhood.  In this case, the re-design is for me.

Review: Leap Frog Learn & Groove Musical Table

The Leap Frog Learn & Groove Musical Table (formerly the Leap Start Learning Table) gives toddlers a chance to control their own music while exploring a variety of buttons, keys, slides, and rollers.  Sounds noisy, right?  Well, a little bit, but it is so much fun that even with my acute noise-aversion I still like it.  It doesn't hurt, of course, that the table possess the all-important volume control and on/off switches.

The table has two settings which the kids themselves control from a two page plastic "book" in the center.  One side has pictures of shapes, numbers, and "abc"s.  This is the learning setting.  Activities include the alphabet song, a counting song, and the names of of shapes and colors.  The other side pictures musical notes and instruments.  This is the music setting, and it is the kiddobeans' favorite.  The different buttons make shape-appropriate instrument noises (the trombone shape makes a horn sound, for example).  Other keys give percussion sounds, a snippet of jazz, or the (instrumental) chorus of a kid's song.

Our Learning Table was Little Miss' "big present" for her first birthday.  I really bought it because she was having trouble pulling up (to the point where she had weekly physical therapy), so an activity table seemed ideal.  And it was.  This little table basically taught Little Miss how to get up and down.  And, because there are different activities on each of the four sides of the table, it also encouraged her to cruise.  The legs of the table pop off and the toy can be placed on the ground.  We tried this when Little Man was starting to creep around.  Again in worked.  This little noise-maker is such a draw that my two just couldn't resist it.  When Little Man was able to pull up, he and Little Miss could play with it at the same time by standing on opposite sides of the table.

In spite of its name, I'm not sure that the table really does help with learning.  I don't think the kiddobeans are miles ahead in counting and learning colors just because of this table.  The fun, however, is definitely there.  And as for helping with gross motor skills, well, I'm a big fan.  I actually found out that Little Miss' physical therapist uses this very same table when working with pulling up, cruising, and early walking, so I feel pretty good about that endorsement.  As I said, I do not enjoy noisy toys, but I really don't find this one abrasive, especially when switched to the lower volume.  The songs and jazz snippets are kind of cute.  The kids treat this as their own personal juke box, singing along, clapping, and dancing as they play.  I'm willing to put up with a little extra noise for that level of fine arts entertainment!