It may take special talent and years of study to compose music for a symphony, but we've discovered a fun shortcut with Think Fun's new Compose Yourself , a creative, musical card game which lets kids 6 and up -- and even adult neophytes…
Before you pack up the kids and head to the beach ( yay summer! ), take my advice and do a quick inventory of last year's beach toys. Between missing shovels, broken pails, and maybe some toys that are no longer in the best shape, it may…
We talk a lot about toys that inspire creativity and imagination , and the thing is, in a kid's world, pretty much everything is a source of creativity and imagination. (See also: Pillow forts, scarves that become hula skirts, and monste…
It's not often I discover a new Etsy shop and automatically think okay, every single thing in there is adorable. But that's the case with Babee and Me , which I can forgive for being based in Byron Bay, Australia, considering what beauti…
Wow, is our email box and social media feed getting packed with parents stressing out about what to do with kids during downtime this summer. Seeing as how we can't let kids play in the park by themselves without 8 "concerned" neighbors …
When I first saw a picture of The Swurfer in my local toy store's summer catalog, I thought that it looked like a nice wide swing for those of us who can't quite, ahem, cram ourselves into our kids' smaller swings. And while it can defin…
Just when I think it's time to put the baby blocks away, my kids will surprise me by building some huge creative structure on the living room floor, enhanced by LEGO men and dollhouse furniture. Still, I can tell the basic square blocks …
If your kids like building blocks as much as mine, you'll want to check out Paper Punk's new Urban Fold paper blocks which allow kids 6 and up to build a sprawling metropolis without the bulk and weight of traditional blocks. This is suc…
When you're going through the pain of cutting teeth and the indignity of drool everywhere, you deserve a little reward, don't you think? Of course, there's no more appropriate gift for your teething six-month-old than a designer handbag.…
With three vehicle-loving children, there was a time when I feared my living room would be overrun with sections of train tracks and makeshift "roads" built out of blocks. I wish I had known about InRoad Toys; clever play tape road rolls…
We fell so in love with Candylab Toys and their gorgeous, modern-looking wood cars when we saw them over the holidays last year, they easily made 2014 Best Toys, Dolls, and Games list . Now our engines are all revved up again to see that…
My kids have a penchant for falling in love with tiny things. I can't blame them; I'm the very same way. The smaller and cuter a toy happens to be, the more we all adore it. So how could we resist the heart-meltingly adorable creations o…
You buy all sorts of toys to fill the nursery while prepping for baby, then they start to grow and you find yourself wondering which toys are right for them and for which developmental milestones . Those long aisles full of very brightly…
Since most of the mail I get in my own mailbox is junk or bills, I'd love to see my kids playing mail carrier and delivering me something really special using Miss Pretty Pretty's colorful felt mail bag . Perhaps delivered to this cute p…
Whether you call it Autism Awareness or Autism Acceptance like one of my good friends, April is a great month to learn more about autism and how to make our world more supportive to those families living with it. That's one reason we've …
Since we're always saying that moms are superheroes, it makes perfect sense to actually turn her into one this Mother's Day. That's why we're doing backflips, and possibly leaping tall buildings in a single bound, over a new company that…
I just love when parents get fired up about not being able to find the kinds of off-the-beaten-path things their girls are interested in. Because really, that just inspires entrepreneurs to come up with such things and now we all get to …
When my kids try climbing onto the huge woven rope hammock in their grandparents' back yard, it inevitably flips over and leaves them dangling inches above the ground, hanging on underneath for dear life. It's so hilarious. I mean...awfu…
Vroom vroom! That's the sound of one very happy 21-month-old zooming around in my living room on the Piki Piki from Gallo and Spence Toys , a great new bike-trike hybrid for toddlers and preschoolers. And with my own toddler (and soon-to…
If Spring Break or Easter has you heading out by plane, train, or automobile, you may be wondering how to keep your kids happily occupied beyond the iPad, as you travel from Point A to Point B. And since we all know how hard it is to hea…
Between school parties and Easter baskets from their grandparents, my kids will be coming home with chocolate bunnies and cream-filled eggs to last us till the Fourth of July. So I've been looking for some extra special Easter basket gif…
We've seen lots of awesome cardboard playhouses over the years, from European village squares to castles to pirate ships. We even featured OTO's gorgeously designed ice cream truck playhouse when it was a mere Indiegogo fundraising campa…
Most preschoolers can tell you that M is for Monkey and N is for Nut , but a hip preschooler may know that those letters also stand for Moustache and Narwhal . Since I'm pretty sure my three year old doesn't, I've got my eye on this Hips…
I've always loved the Chinese Zodiac and not just because I'm a Chinese American. I am fascinated by the history of the signs and their meanings. So with the Chinese New Year just a couple of days away, we thought it would be fun to roun…