I thought it might be interesting to some of you that if you have a toy that breaks, it might just be worth calling the manufacturer to complain. You could get a full refund!

I have to say I’ve been very impressed with Leap Frog and Fisher Price’s Customer Service regarding refunding broken toys. I have called them both with complaints and they have been more than accommodating. I have a Leap Frog Activity Table and every time my baby would try to pull up to it, it would tip over. I had already upgraded the toy with replacement legs, but it still wasn’t safe. I called the manufacturer and told them my complaint and asked if there were even newer replacement legs available. Unfortunately they didn’t, but much to my surprise they offered to send a shipping label for me to send them the toy, and they would send me a brand new one. The toy I have is about 3 years old, and the newer ones are much better, even bi-lingual. Great!

Yesterday I called Fisher Price to tell them that my 14 mo. old just broke a part off of our Laugh and Learn Home (a very expensive toy). After speaking with them, they too offered to send a shipping label to me so that I can send them some pieces off my toy and in turn they will send me a full refund. I told the lady that the toy was about 3 years old, and she said it didn’t matter, it wasn’t supposed to break like that. Cool!

So, if you have a nice toy, especially one that isn’t very old, or that your children really enjoy, take a few minutes to call the manufacturer and see what they can do for you. You may get a nice surprise.

…what is more beneficial for your child’s learning: battery-operated toys or natural toys (or even just items from around the house!)?

Maybe it’s just me, but this is something I’ve wondered about often!

Are the non-battery-operated toys better because they don’t “do it all” for your child, ensuring that he has to use his own brain to figure things out and hold a longer attention span…

…or do the lights and sounds stimulate your child’s brain in a way that the non-battery operated toys can’t (my son often seems to pay better attention to the flashing toys)?

I’m still not sure what the answer is, but for now, we’ve decided to try to have a mix of both, erring on the side of non-battery operated toys and just things around the house (I think we have a total of 3 battery-operated toys). If we do buy battery-operated toys, we try to buy bigger toys that aren’t likely to be chewed on as much as smaller toys because we want to keep as much plastic out of his mouth as possible because of all of the junk that has been found in toys (we invested in cloth and wooden teethers for this purpose).

This is probably a no-brainer question? I’m not sure, but I wish I knew more about it!

To check out their new line of toys, go here .

It’s pretty hard to find natural/non-toxic, organic or wooden toys at any ol’ regular store. In fact, I haven’t been able to find any natural toy store in my area where I could go to buy these kind of toys for my son (granted, Babies-R-Us stores have begun selling more organic toys, like MiYim and Haba). With all of the recent toy recalls, this topic has become a concern for many mothers.

Now, don’t get me wrong, not all of our toys are natural (it’d be pretty hard to find a wooden exersaucer - tell me if you’ve seen one!), but since our son is a stewardship from God, not only spiritually, but physically, we’ve decided that this would be a good investment for us to make in trying to limit his toys and feeding utensils/bowls/cups to ones that are non-toxic, PVC free and BPA-free as much as possible and as much as we can afford (more on this in the future). See this article for more information on toxic toys.

Anyways, back to what I was saying…it’s hard to find natural toys just anywhere! Fortunately, you can find almost any natural toy you are looking for at online stores. Yes, shipping costs tend to double things, and that’s a bummer, but look for sales and use coupon codes. The following are a few of my favorite. Enjoy!

Moolka

Apricot & Ivy

Kids Unplugged

Walking Stick Toys

Oompa Toys

Organic Toy Box

Doodletown Toys

To check if your toys are safe, go here.

I am a firm believer that children learn the best through interactive play. What I mean by that is the parent plays with the child using a great educational toy, and reinforces it’s lesson. I recommend beginning teaching your child the alphabet when he is 18 mos old. My daughter knew all of her letters, and the sounds they make by the time she was 21 mos. old. Not because she is a super genius (though I tell her she is all the time!), but because I wanted to bring out her full potential and was able to do so just by making playtime constructive! When beginning to teach your child his letters, teach the sounds they make simultaneously. Animating each letter with sounds makes them more appealing to your child and fun to repeat.

Here are a few of my all time favorite toys for teaching letters and phonics.

Leap Frog Fridge Phonics

I give full credit to this toy for teaching my 18 month old the names and sounds of every letter. Amazing!

Lowercase Expansion Kit

This is a great addition to the Fridge Phonics game. It teaches the lowercase letters.

Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD

Entertaining and educational. I love it! A great way to help teach your child letters and their sounds.

Leap Frog Phonics Radio

My little girl loves to sing along with this toy, and learn letter sounds at the same time!

Letter Puzzle

Alphabet puzzles are a great way to play, and learn letters.

Little Leap

This cute plush doll sings the alphabet, names letters, phonics and much more!