If the electronic age hasn’t arrived I don’t now when it ever will.  Don’t misunderstand me. As a working mom, I can’t live without my Blackberry, Laptop and cell phone. But when it comes to electronics and kids, how much is too much?

Most or them are plugged in an average of 6.5 hours a day, save for school and athletic events.  That is a staggering amount in my opinion and I think a lot of parents share my concern. We should re-introduce these kids to board games. If your holiday gift list doesn’t include one, now is the time to take a look at some exciting new ones and some familiar classics.

Puerto Rico By Rio Grande Games is a German Board game that is slightly complex, but once teens get in to it they’ll be obsessed with it. (In a good way!)   The object of the game is to gain as many points as you can by shipping goods to the Old World while acting as colonial governors on the island of Puerto Rico during the age of Caribbean Ascendancy by constructing buildings. This is like a really grand version of Monopoly by parker Brothers, which is my second choice for those “hard to buy for” teens.

“Game Night” is a great way to re-connect with your kids and establish some lasting traditions. Why not give it a try? 

I can’t say enough about Lego’s.  They have kept my son enthralled for hours (So I can get some work done!) and I have fun playing with them too.

One of this years “must have’s” for the Lego loving child is The Lego Agents Mobile Command Center. There is something about the words “command center” that gets a little boy’s heart racing. Must have something to do with being the good guy. (Which is a fine thing.) This toy certainly comes with a lot of opportunity to do just that. 

The imaginary story of Dr. inferno and his evil henchmen will most definitely bring out the hero in your little guy, as he races against time to save the world.  With a little help from the intel center, weapons Bay (Whatever that is? I’m a girl so I’m still learning!) Jet plane boat and two cars surely it will all turn out all right. 

Until Dr. Inferno escapes in his monster robot! (Lego Agents Robot Attack, oh, how kids love robots!) This superset comes with missiles and a harpooned quad bike and is the perfect addition to the command center if your little guy has been extra good this year.  

Art class is a favorite of most kids, especially little girls.  (Boys tend to like recess) At I recent kindergarten graduation I attended, twelve out of sixteen girls said they wanted to be an artist when they grew up.

Well what’s not to like about expressing your creativity?  In my son’s school, they do a lot of crafty things, and the kids enjoy it tremendously. So, as I was looking for a gift to buy for a for a little girl’s eighth birthday party, I kept this theory in mind.

I thought this Friendship Bracelets By Alex would make a great present and a fun activity to do at the party.  This is an Oppenheimer Award Winner Toy and is a new way to make some fashionable accessories for the “diva “ in them.

This kit comes with ten wheels, ten colors of floss, finishing beads and easy instructions so Mom or Dad can get them started.  Once the initial pattern is in place, kids can simply turn the wheel and watch their creations take place. This would make a great party favor too, if you were the one hosting the party.

As an add-on gift you might want to include a refill pack (Alex Toys Friendship Wheel Singles) for the birthday girl so she can enjoy making additional bracelets for herself or as gifts for others. (You know you’ll be wearing one, Mom!)

As I was strolling around a music festival the other day, I happened upon some very artsy vendor’s selling beautiful handmade clothing, jewelry, etc.

Over in one little corner of one of the artist’s booth was a very whimsical display of her handmade finger puppets, each one cuter than the next.  This is not a toy you’ll see around much these days I thought to myself and I promptly picked out a half dozen to take home with me. I checked Pricegrabber to see if they offered any puppets, and here are the ones that I loved.

The Cirque Du Soliel Finger Puppiezes from Manhattan Toy is a set of finger puppets based on the very popular musical and includes four puppiezes for little fingers to enjoy.  They can stand on their head like real acrobats or walk down the stairs with the help of some little fingers!

Make a stage out of a shoebox, and have your kids put on their very own show.  They can decorate the stage and even add a tightrope for their new friends with a bit of string and some glue. Add some music to the production and watch their personalities shine!

Manhattan Toy  makes some other great toys for babies too. ( Biggles Ball.)

eeBoo’s website promises to offer only “ beautiful, useful and well-made gifts for children”, and uses only the original art work of well- known, well- loved children’s book illustrators to create vibrant and original toys and gifts.”  I’m very excited about the wonderful products they have to offer, and I would like to share with you a few of my favorites.

eeBoo Spanish Bingo: A fun way to expose children as young as three to another language!

eeBoo Good Manner Flash Cards: Well, we could probably all use some of these.

eeBoo Fairies Of The Field Lacing Cards: Oppenheim Gold Award Winner, this is an old fashioned toy that has been updated with gorgeous illustrations and is a simple way to teach hand eye coordination to youngsters.

eeBoo Castle Sketchbook: For the princess in your life.

eeBoo Santa’s Flight Advent Calendar: It’s never too early to start shopping for Christmas.

eeBoo Poet and Astronomer Paper Doll Set: You can be anything you want to be.

I could go on and on, but you’ll just have to check out PriceGrabber for their extensive collection of fabulous eeBoo products.  Wrap one of these lovely items up in some pretty tissue or even some recycled newspaper and you will be giving the gift of creativity, knowledge and fun, all in one beautiful package.

I am just getting around to developing my pictures and assembling some sort of album for my son to remember this year’s family vacation. It seems like months ago we played and strolled on the boardwalk, yet it was only a few short weeks ago.

Memories that were so fresh in our minds are starting to fade as the summer months fly by. I found this Travel Notebook by eeBoo and thought this was a neat thing to take along on our next vacation. This 128-page book is designed to let kids create their own special account of their travels.   After your day’s activities, ask your child to write or sketch what they saw that was interesting or fun for them in the daily log. Or encourage them to send a note to their favorite friend or relative on the stationary that is included.

Be sure and check the itinerary for the next day’s plans.  Even a packing list comes with, so they can make sure they have everything they brought with them (we hope) before they depart.  Attach some of your favorite vacation photos to the journal pages once you’re home, and they have a scrapbook to show off to their friends!

This is an excellent way to teach organizational skills to children, and it offers a really great reward at the end.

Also from eeBoo, Scientific Notebook for the outdoor adventurer!

University Games has won many awards for their creative and engaging products from such prestigious magazines such as Parenting , Family Fun and Child to name a few.

They have recently re-introduced an exact replica of the original Colorforms Playset, which was first introduced in 1951.

Made in the USA, Colorforms contains 350 pieces of colorful, primary stick on shapes to make whatever you kid”s imagination dreams up. -a rocket ship for boys, a doll house for girls.  The simplicity of this set, which has been updated to house them in an elegant spiral bound book, is the perfect addition to a kid’s toy collection.

Over stimulation is never good for children and this interesting toy is the perfect way for you child to quietly unwind from a busy day.  Give them 45 minutes of quiet time before dinner or bed, to construct something on their own.  These shiny vinyl pieces stick to most surfaces and will even stick to each other if need be.

Also included is a design booklet to help inspire kids to get started. University Games also makes gender specific Colorforms such as Astro Boy Playset, which will most likely appeal to boys, and Fancy Nancy Playset, geared more toward the young ladies.  But who’s to say?

The original collection will develop more creativity in a child, but just get them playing with any of these marvelous sets and you’ll see why this classic toy will be around forever.

Going on a family vacation is a much-anticipated event for everyone .The car is packed the kids are buckled in and off they go.

Since I personally experienced this situation a few weeks ago, I thought I would share with you a game we played to entertain our own kids on our way to the beach. The version we played was a little less sophisticated than the one I am presenting since all we did was call out the capitals of each state and then dispute over who answered first, which one of us was right and who had the most points (My son the scorekeeper gave them all to his beloved cousin!)

Fast Track Learning U.S. State And Capitals by Learning Resources has a lot more to offer and I think I’ll pick this up for next year’s trip. This terrific game offers a map to let you know if you have answered the question correctly, (Important!) and self-checking activity cards as well as fun facts about the people, places and geography of each state.

The set contains over 100 laminated cards (I love this as you can take them to the beach with no fear of them getting ruined!) designed to test a kid’s state knowledge and   presented in a way that’s and fun and easy to play. Since my child has not yet been taught this in school, I was pleased he was introduced to something he will most likely be learning in the near future.

An educational toy that’s enjoyable for all ages and can be played just about anywhere.

That sounds good to me. (Tuck these in to your Beach Towel In A Bag )

OK so your 3-year-old looks like he or she might be ready for games. Well, maybe it’s that you’d like the little one to start playing games. You dig through all of the classic card games you loved as a child. You drag out the board games. The game never gets started, but boy is it fun to scatter all of those pieces, cards, dice all over the room!

Sorry, your preschooler isn’t ready for what you or I might call a game. But, he or she is ready to learn one of the key steps in successful game playing – taking turns. The Crocodile Dentist might just be the best place to start.

This easy and fun game comes with just one piece, an open-mouthed plastic crocodile. Players take turns pressing the row of tiny teeth, one of which will release the spring that snaps the crocodile’s mouth shut, usually to a chorus of raucous laughter and tiny giggles.

We’ve had this game for a few years now, and happily, it is still in one piece and still works. I LIKE a sturdy toy! The spring action is not very strong so a hand or finger of any size is safe in this crocodile’s mouth. And the design is such that it would be quite tough to insert any other body part, except perhaps a foot.

If your child has an engineering bend, he will be happy to pay this game by himself for hours to try to figure out which tooth will set off the spring each time too!

I have to recommend this game because we just played several rounds this morning. Mancala, is an ancient game or games from Africa. Played in a variety of different countries, it looks simple, but it isn’t.

Originally played with pebbles or shells in several different ways in several different countries, it is a game along the lines of checkers that is fun for players of all ages. I always think of the older gentlemen I always see playing checkers on outside tables in the park. Now transport that idea to Africa and you get the idea.

Quick to learn, children from about age 4 or 5 can grasp it and start playing. The longer you play, though the more you realize that there are layers of strategy involved. Though we’ve had this game for several months it finally occurred to me this morning how to beat my six-year-old…which, of course was not one of my smarter ideas.

This is also a game that children can play together without adult involvement (except to break up the fights). Since it is so easy to learn, newcomers can quickly pick it up and even pros can have fun and occasionally get beaten by the new player.