Last week I then came across a series of posts inspired by Ride The Waves of Life where Mummy Bloggers had interviewed their little ones. The answers were cute and funny and it was fascinating to see the world through a child’s eyes.

Check them out here:

Mom – According to Liam at Ride The Waves of Life.

Mama’s Interview at Under The Big Blue Sky.

My Interview at A Modern Mother.

Photo by peasap.

Happily inspired, I forced my 8 year old to sit down so I could probe deep into his thoughts.

As this is a toys blog rather than a mummy blog, I came up with a different set of questions for him about toys, although couldn’t help myself but ask the original interview questions too.

So here goes:

Mum (37) interviews Ben (8) about toys:

1. How often do you think you should get a new toy? EVERY DAY

2. How much do toys cost? 1 EURO

3. How much do we spend on buying you new toys each year? 100 EUROS

4. Do all children have toys? NO

5. Which is more important: toys or clothes? TOYS

6. When do you think you deserve a new toy? WHEN I HELP

7. Will you be keeping your toys tidy in your room this summer holiday? NO

8. What should we do with the toys you no longer play with? SELL THEM

9. Which is your favourite toy at the moment? OOOOH … EVERYTHING … UUM MY VIDEO CAMERA

10. Which is your least favourite toy? MY POWER RANGERS NINJA STORM VISOR LIGHTER

11. If you could have a new toy tomorrow what would it be? A BOX OF DINOSAURS

12. If you could be a cartoon hero, who would it be? DINO BOY

13. When will you buy your children toys? WHEN THEY’VE BEEN GOOD.

14. What do you think my favourite toy was when I was young? BARBIE

And lastly the Mum Interview:

1. What is something Mum always says to you? I LOVE YOU

2. What makes Mum happy? HELPING HER AND SAYING PLEASE

3. What makes Mum sad? ME DELETING THINGS FROM THE VIDEO CAMERA ACCIDENTALLY

4. How does Mum make you laugh? BY TICKLING ME

5. What was Mum like as a child? I DON’T KNOW

6. How old is Mum? 37

7. How tall is Mum? 3.5 METRES

8. What is her favorite thing to do? WORK

9. What does Mum do when you’re not around? WORK

10. If Mum becomes famous, what will it be for? SINGING

11. What is Mum really good at? MATHS

12. What is Mum not very good at? PLUMBING

13. What does Mum do for her job? WORKS ON HER WEBSITE

14. What is Mum’s favorite food? CHEESE

15. If Mum was given one wish, what would it be? TO HAVE A FANTASTIC HOUSE

Where do they come up with this stuff? Sometimes you wonder if you live in the same house! It’s scary but worth a try! Let me know how you get on in the comments.

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Trying to Buy Toys Locally in Spain

Last November we went to our local Toys R Us to start our Christmas shopping. When I say local, just over an hour away is the best we can do! Anyway we were on the hunt for the then ‘must have’ Ben 10 Deluxe Omnitrix. There it was, looking all ready to be wrapped and stacked under our Christmas tree, until we saw the price – 35 Euros. Knowing a bit about Ben 10 prices, I knew it was then on sale at Amazon.co.uk for around £14. A few coughs and splutters later, a key item on our shopping list was left on the shelf.

After trudging home slightly disappointed we kick started our satellite internet connection (oh I miss broadband) and got down to the task of ordering things from Father Christmas’ list online. This was the first time I had tried to ship items that are so easy to get in the UK out to Spain. It was quite an eye opener, especially the dent to the toy budget made by the shipping costs.

Postage Costs from the UK

Sticking with my Ben 10 Deluxe Omnitrix example, you have to bear in mind that it weighs 241g (Amazon are so detailed aren’t they?). According to Royal Mail this should cost £2.18 to post to Europe – not too bad you think. Hmmm.

Photo by Jenny Downing.

Toys R Us, John Lewis & Argos

So onto finding someone to buy from. Toys R Us, John Lewis and Argos do not ship outside of the UK so that rules them out.

The Toy Shop

TheToyShop.com does ship to Spain yippee. On no, hold on, changing your delivery address from the UK to Spain increases the standard £3.95 delivery to, wait for it, £22. What?

Ebay

Ebay has a great feature allowing you to sort the results by cost including P&P with the lowest first. There were a few Omnitrix’s available to be sent to Spain with postage starting at £4.99 and certainly no £22′s in sight!

Amazon

Amazon say that ‘Toys & Games’ can be shipped to Spain. From experience, however, this seems to apply mostly to Amazon dispatches rather than those from their Marketplace sellers. So you happily shop away and when you finally think it’s all over, you go to checkout and choose your delivery address.  Take a deep breath as this is where it can all fall apart.

If you get to the credit card page you have won. Otherwise you get the “There’s a slight problem with your order” message where they tell you they cannot ship to your destination.  It’s then back to square one for those items where you have to try the “More Buying Choices” box on the right hand side of the product screen in the hope that you can find a seller willing to ship to you.  If Amazon themselves can fulfill your order or you can find a Marketplace seller, things are looking up as the Amazon postage rates abroad are very reasonable at £4.98 for this toy.

One last point about Amazon is that their postage charges are based on adding together a ‘per item’ charge and a ‘per delivery’ charge. So if you are ordering a number of toys it is cheaper if you can find them from the lowest number of suppliers. In other words make sure they are going to be sent by Amazon themselves or just one of their resellers. I ended up buying things from quite a few different suppliers at Christmas so the postage was nearly as much as the toy value. By the time I got to the final ‘Confirm’ page where this became clear I had lost the will to live. I could not face going back over each item again to combine my suppliers. Don’t make my mistake – take note when you are filling your basket.

So since moving to Spain, Amazon and Ebay have become our friends. Do they top your list if you are an expat trying to buy toys in Europe affordably?

If you know of any other great ways to buy toys cheaply in Europe or have any other stories of your experiences, please leave me a comment.

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With summer holidays coming up get yourselves some fresh air and teach your little one to fish. Try this blog post for some tips. –Lilsugar

Why didn’t I think of that? One father has taken a photo a day of his children since they were born 12 years ago and now has a great collection to give to them to look back on later in life. It is never too late though. Take advantage of our Freebie this week and get 40 photos printed FREE with Photobox. –Parentdish

Do your children eat their meals in front of the TV? How bad is it really? Not that bad apparently, phew, but keep it to only 3 times a week. –Parentdish

From Etch-A-Sketch to the Rubik’s cube to Harry Potter – how toys move on. Check out the best selling toys of the last 50 years for a blast from the past. –Dad.info

Photo by ŭn-sŭng.

Toy inspired tables – illuminated Yo-Yo ‘lounge’ furniture will light up your home but at $1,150 each, they’re a bit pricey. –Trendhunter

Research shows storytelling is more popular with kids than TV. Almost two thirds of children have revealed they want their parents to read to them more often, so how often do you read to your children? Story time in our house was sadly lacking until I read this article – now things have changed and it has been prioritised in the daily routine. We finished “Tom’s Sausage Lion” over the weekend and my 8 year old loved it! –AlphaMummy

Kids love to create artistic things. Try this different idea, creating pictures on wood with them, using this step by step guide. –SavvyAuntie

Following in the same vein as my “Who Wants Tips To Keep Their Children Safe This Summer?” post from last week check out this post specifically covering pool safety tips. As drowning is the second leading cause of injury related death in kids between the ages of 1-14, a quick read couldn’t hurt. –SavvyAuntie

What do you think of when you read the word Lego – certainly not fashion right? It will be no surprise then that these Lego fashion trends never took off. –ComedyCentral

Do you have trouble getting your children to sit down and do their homework? Well the new Study Ball & Chain is presumably designed to help you if you’re quite that mean! It is a 20-pound ball and chain that attaches to a student’s ankle and assists them in sitting still to concentrate on their work. And you think I’m kidding! –Lilsugar

How is your sun protection knowledge?  Take this test and find out. –Lilsugar

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Why do we need a reminder of child safety?

Accidents are the second biggest childhood killer in the UK with six children and young people dying every week. Nearly half of all these accidents happen in the home. With a long school holiday approaching, here’s a reminder of the innocent looking dangers that lurk in all of our homes, primarily aimed at 5-8 year olds.

Dangers in the home

Falls – especially on the stairs from playing on them or not holding the hand rails. If my son falls over in the house it is always on the stairs usually from tripping up them when going too fast or from not having his slippers on properly.  How many times does he need to be told before he listens? Who knows?

Photo by Jesse.Milan.

Fires – we all know the danger of fire but did you know that 6,000 fires a year are caused by children under the age of 10. Children can be fascinated by fire but don’t understand its dangers. Do you ever wonder what your child is up to when they are keeping themselves amused?  I did but luckily he was not starting a fire, just removing all the covers from my spare printer ink cartridges on the sofa – aagh!

Burns and scalds – from the hot tap in a bath, from pans getting knocked off the front rings of the cooker or from matches left lying around.  My son has just started topping his own bath up so is learning not to put his hand under the hot water. I also try to get him to stay away from the hob when I’m cooking as he leaps about like a loonatic or stands so close that hot fat spits out towards him. He also seems to have a fascination with how hot the oven door gets at the moment – what is it with 8 year olds? Thankfully matches were a passing phase – he lit a few to burn some old firewood and soon lost interest.  The old sun through the magnifying glass trick still keeps him amazed though so that goes away out of his reach at the end of the experiment!

Choking – from running with food and sweets in their mouths.  I am paranoid about my son eating and choking on those large boiled sweets and thank goodness he does not really like them so I can avoid them.  Smarties and Haribos seem fine!

Cuts – teach children how to use scissors and knives safely. We have a strict walk and hold them downwards policy which is adhered to as otherwise they are off limits.  My son has a healthy respect for knives since “I chopped his thumb off” as he kindly reminds me every so often. I was cutting some strawberries one day when he dashed in like lightening to steal one just as my knife blade went down onto the chopping board. Thankfully the cut was only small but a lesson learnt for both of us.

Drowning – here’s the insulting tip, sorry – never leave children under 8 years old or those who cannot swim in or near water. Teach them to swim and never rely on arm bands or floatation devices. Yet another one of my stories I’m afraid. On holiday a few years ago my son couldn’t swim so he was bobbing about in a ring float playing catch with a ball with his Dad.  The ball went over my son’s head, he reached up to grab it and promptly fell straight through the ring. Obviously his Dad dove straight under to get him but those 2 or 3 seconds were the longest of my life.

Poisons – including medicines, alcohol, cleaning products, DIY tools and chemicals should be stored out of reach. Also don’t forget berries and plants in your garden that may be of interest to children roaming about in the summer.

Dangers outside the home

Road Safety - traffic causes half of all accidental deaths in childhood. As I’m trying to avoid the insulting tips blog post I will not recite the seatbelt laws or Green Cross Code but will just mention three points from my personal experience. My 8 year old knows the road safety rules but (a) cannot judge speed or distance to enable him to cross the road alone and (b) forgets all about them when playing with his friends. He also learns bad habits from watching other adults cross the road when it is not safe to do so.

Cycling, Scootering, Skateboarding Safety – even if children ride in safe places, falls from the equipment are very common due to their limited judgement, skill and strength so ensure they are wearing protective gear.

Other People’s Houses – other people, especially those without young children may not have the same safety rules as you, so remember to be extra vigilant for medicines, alcohol, sharp or hot objects lying about.

Dangers on holiday or on a day trip

Getting Lost - make sure you have pre arranged meeting points so your children know where to go if they get separated from you and make sure they know all of your phone numbers – write them on their tummies with permanent markers if you have to!

Pool Safety – if you are lucky enough to be going abroad this summer or have your own pool at home, check out these pool safety tips from SafeTravel.co.uk

The Sun – use sun cream obviously. A bad sunburn on a child aged under 10 can increase their chances of getting skin cancer by 50% as an adult. Test your sun protection knowledge here.

Can we keep our children safe all the time?

We all hope we are good parents and do everything we can to protect our children from danger but inevitably accidents will happen.  No matter how many times you say “Don’t run” they will still trip over. I know as two summers ago my son ended up in hospital after a trip head first on a concrete path where he was playing with some friends. Some accidents are unavoidable as children will be children, but hopefully just giving five minutes thought to some of these basics will avoid an accident, even a little one.

I truly hope this post does not offend anyone as the TIA’s tips did for me. If you have any other useful tips for please let me know by leaving a comment.

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2. Tips On How To Save Money On Toys with Amazon Marketplace

Internet savvy kids can be dangerous to your wallet if you do not log out of websites as some unlucky parents found out when their 3 year old bought a $20,000 digger. –Stuff.co.nz

We all have children with messy rooms, right? But calling the police on them is taking things a bit too far! –Strollerderby

Photo by Baston.

Any parent who has thrown a birthday party at home for their little one can relate to this trauma – Birthday parties aint what they used to be. –Mumsrock.com

Everyone knows that a kid’s favorite toy is a big, cardboard box. So they are going to love these surprisingly durable recycled cardboard rocket and airplane toys. From $7-77. –Celebrity Baby Blog

Second to cardboard boxes, all children seem to love craft activities.  So get them cracking on this Father’s Day Origami Card. –Alphamom

Mommy, do you remember all four times you had sex? This is a funny blog post about teaching your children the facts of life.  Read to the end as the last paragraph is the best! –DivineCaroline.com

The headline “Five tips to keep your kids safe this summer” sounded like it should offer some good advice but when reading on it seemed like the Toy Industry Association must think parents need some help sucking eggs. –LA Times Blogs

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3. Fishing Lessons, A Photo A Day, TV Meals, 50 Years Of Toys, Yo-Yo Tables, Reading To Your Children, Wood Pictures, Pool Safety, Lego Fashion, Study Ball & Sun Protection Knowledge – Weekly Web Wandering

It’s a shame we all don’t have unlimited budgets for decorating our childrens bedrooms! Check out how the celebrities do it in style. I especially like the Tigger one where the celebrity couple had the Pooh cartoonist come in to draw the mural. –Lilsugar

If your child scares easily avoid this list of 26 Disturbing Kids Movies.  My 8 year old watched Alien but was terrified by Monster House so I can agree there! –Babble

Here’s a quick and simple activity to give your children appreciation for some of what ends up on our plates – “Egg Carton Herb Garden Gives Your Lil One a Green Thumb” –Lilsugar

If your child is now bored with or too big for his Postman Pat toy car, do what this man did and transform it into a real one. But is it safe – I guess not? –Gearlog

Read this suggestion of how to introduce tasks to your toddler, or more importantly how to teach them the consequences of failure. I find the following through with the consequences very hard. How about you? How to discipline with love. –Bukisa

Check out this list I wish I had read when my son was born – Tips to Raising Independent Children. –Lilsugar

And finally what are your thoughts on the awkward topic of scolding your child’s friend? I get my son to explain the house rules to his friends if they are misbehaving in an attempt to tone down the ‘scolding’ tone. What do you do? –Parentdish

And finally a funny toy photo .. “Unemployment was High in Legoland” ..

Photo by WoodleyWonderWorks.

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3. YouTube Baby, Parents Aren’t Babies, Photo Cube & Momlogic – Weekly Web Wandering

Man Delivers Baby With YouTube’s Help – You should probably file this under Don’t Try This At Home, but sometimes one has no choice. Pressed for time, a British man delivered his wife’s baby with the help of instructions uploaded to YouTube. –Webpronews

Quit Treating Parents Like Babies – Excerpts – Here’s a tip from a little article on flying a kite with your kid: “Choose a sunny day when there’s no chance of lightning.” Or how about this pointer from Parenting magazine on how to delight your baby: “Lean in close and kiss her nose.” Kissing my baby. Why didn’t I think of that? And here’s my favorite … “You’ll get more bang for your buck with a toy that can be played with in more than one way — for instance, a push toy that can also be pulled.” –Washington Post

How to make a Handmade Photo Cube. Children seem to love photos and crafts so keep them entertained making  these great gifts. –Alphamom

Momedy: My Momlogic. I was in awe of parents. I particularly marveled on a child’s first birthday. I clearly remember saying to my husband, “Holy cow! They kept that kid alive a whole year! That takes a lot of work! You have to feed them multiple times a day and everything!” –Momlogic

And finally a cute photo .. “Stopped By Curiosity” ..

Photo by TheBusyBrain.

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Amazon Marketplace

Amazon Marketplace enables you to buy new items from third-party sellers from the same page on which they sell the item new. In some cases these Marketplace sellers offer lower prices than Amazon themselves. However, often Amazon are out of stock of particular toys so they rely on their partners to fulfil any orders. The merchants that have stock at any one time change quickly but Amazon always show the merchant with the lowest price (including delivery) on the main page with a “More Buying Choices” box on the right-hand side. With rapidly changing available merchants comes similarly rapidly changing prices. With a bit of planning and daily monitoring you will know when a lower than average price comes along and you are well positioned to buy then and achieve some money saving.

Photo by annia316.

My Experiment

I have an interest in Ben 10 toys and just over a month ago I decided to record how the Amazon Marketplace price of the popular Ben 10 Ultimate Omnitrix changed on a daily basis. Although this experiment only recorded the price once a day rather than every price change that happened during the day, the results below show the general trend in changing prices.

Results

Over the 35 days of my experiment the price ranged from £13.94 to £19.14 – a saving of £5.20 had I bought on the lowest priced day.

The average price was £16.52. 13 days were over average and 22 days were under average.

Tips On Saving Money By Using Amazon Marketplace’s Changing Prices To Your Advantage

1. Plan ahead – If you know you need to buy a specific toy for a birthday or other occasion, the key is to plan ahead. You need time to monitor the trend in prices. You cannot use this technique the day before you need to buy.
2. Monitor the price – Ideally start monitoring the Amazon Marketplace price about a month before you need to buy. Two weeks is really the minimum. Stop by the Amazon website daily to check on the price.
3. Record your results – Note down the price on a daily basis.  You could just use a scrap of paper but I have created a little Excel spreadsheet that makes this exercise very easy. Download my “Amazon Marketplace – When Should I Purchase?” tool here.
4. Watch the trends – When you are about half way towards your “buy” date you should have a fair bit of data. You then need to calculate the average price of the toy so far and each day from then on. My Excel tool does this for you.
5. Consider your purchase – If the price on the following day is below the average you should consider buying the toy. My Excel tool makes recommendations for you. Depending on your risk appetite you may want to get closer to your “buy” date to see if the price falls further. Remember though that the price might go up and stay high.
6. Buy – Choose your day and buy your toy.

Remember, unless you are extremely lucky, you are not likely to choose to buy on the lowest priced day. However this technique should at least give you some comfort that you are more than likely buying at a below average price.

Good luck. I’d love to hear if you save a few pounds using this method. Please leave me a comment.

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1. Who Else Wants Tips For Keeping Their Children Safe This Summer?

Firstly you need to consider which toys should really go in the rubbish and which can safely be given away. You should not donate:

• toys which are at the end of their useful life
• unwanted soft toys, unless they are new or in as-new condition
• toys which have suffered significant damage.

In other words only donate toys in a condition that you yourself would buy. If you have the original packing or manufacturer’s instructions give them away with the toy.

Secondly you need to decide whether you want to donate used toys or make a bit of spare change from selling them.

The following 11 ideas cover unwanted toy donation to worthy causes:

1. Donate Toys to Charity Shops

Pop into your local charity shops and ask if they accept second hand toys. Don’t be offended if they don’t because due to health & safety regulations it often costs the charity more money (in terms of staff time having to check for loose threads/parts/batteries etc) than actually buying them brand new. If they will accept your donations do not forget to sign the Gift Aid declaration form, to boost the value of your donation by 28%.

Charity shops obviously benefit the charity they are supporting, be that children’s charities, medical charities etc. If you would prefer your toys to go directly to less fortunate children ideas 3-11 may be more appealing.

Photo by Gaetanlee.

2. Donate Toys to Charities Online

By using the Ebay For Charity initiative, you can sell your unwanted toys and the proceeds will be sent directly to the charity. Items being sold for charity are identified with a distinctive ribbon symbol along with a description of the charity that will be receiving the proceeds of the sale. Buyers place bids for these goods in the usual way, knowing their money will go to a worthwhile cause.

JumbleAID is another online answer to your mountainous toy problem – they let you post adverts for your unwanted toys (and other things) online and anyone can pledge a donation for them. It is free and easy to use and all of the funds raised go to your chosen charity.

3. Donate Toys to Hospitals

This is only really appropriate for new toys due to safety/infection concerns but sometimes we all find toys that our children received two of or perhaps some that they were not so keen on that never left the box.

4. Donate Toys to Childrens’ Homes

Children in homes are typically older so when considering which toys would be suitable go with an average age of about 14. Find your nearest home using a service using an online search to see if these children could benefit from part of your unwanted toy stash.

5. Donate Toys to Women’s Refuges

Women’s refuges help hundreds of thousands of women and children escape domestic violence each year. Often they flee their homes leaving all of their possession behind. Find the number of your local Domestic Violence service online through an organisation such as Women’s Aid, to offer your help through your used toy donation.

6. Donate Toys To Orphanages Abroad

There are many orphanages, child health homes and day care centers abroad who are in need of toys. Some encourage you to send your toys, old and new, to improve the lives of these children as well as monetary donations. To find addresses of orphanages that do accept toy donations, search on Google for “send toys to african orphanages” or “chinese orphanages” or something similar and find their donations page. Some only accept monetary donations but you can find addresses if you are persistent.

7. Donate Second Hand Toys to Family Centres

Contact your local Social Services Department to see if they know of any family centres near you that will take and get good use from your second hand toys.

8. Ask Your Local Church

If you do not know where to donate toys, ask your local church if they know of families who could benefit from your unwanted toys.

9. Donate Old Toys to Special Needs Schools, Playgroups or Nurseries

Find your nearest special needs school, playgroup or nursery and ask if they will accept second hand toys.

10. Donating Unwanted Toys to Toy Libraries

Toy libraries offer services to local children, families and carers based on regular toy loan for a nominal fee (and sometimes for free). Contact the National Association of Toy & Leisure Libraries online to find a library nearest to you.

11. Use The Freecycle Network

Freecycle is an online network of groups that match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them. Their goal is to keep usable items out of landfills. Find your local group from their website and send the details of the toy you are offering in an e-mail. All items must be offered for free.

The remaining 5 ideas cover making a few pounds from your second hand toys to help in the current gloomy economic climate:

When selling your second hand toys you must be aware that all second-hand toys sold or supplied in the course of a trade or business fall under The Toys (Safety) Regulations 1995 which requires that they must be safe and bear the CE marking.

1. Sell Them On Ebay

Sign up with Ebay, an online auction and shopping website, where you can advertise your unwanted toys for sale and interested buyers will make bids if they are interested in your item.

2. Sell Them On Craigslist

Sign up online with Craigslist, a centralised network of online communities, and submit a free online classified advert for your item.

3. Sell Them At A Car Boot Sale

Look in your local newspaper to find the location of your nearest car boot sale, usually held over the weekend. Make sure you turn up early to ensure you get a pitch. You will have to pay a fixed fee for setting up your car boot in the sales area so make you sure you take enough unwanted items to make it worth your while. Portable tables or blankets are a good idea to take with you to display your goods on.

4. Organise a Toy Swap Party

Arrange with other parents a time and a place for everyone to bring their unwanted toys and the chances are all items will change hands very quickly. The downside to this is that you will not end up decluttering your house of toys but you will get some new toys for free.

5. Rent Them Out

Find an online toy rental service, such as Zilok, and make some money by loaning out your unwanted toys by the day.

Update: 2 Bonus Ideas

• Give unwanted toys to your children’s grandparents to keep at their house for them to bring out on your visits. Toys that children have not seen for a while always hold some “new” appeal. It also means you do not have to carry a lot of toys with you on your trip.
• Help your children learn the value of money by letting them profit from the sale of their toys. Encourage them to clean out their rooms and then sell or trade their toys at a child to child sale which you could arrange with other parents. They could either make a little extra money or buy themselves some ‘new’ toys with their proceeds.

Start DeCluttering Now

As parents it is a daily task to try and keep on top of the toy chaos that surrounds us. Decluttering the house of unwanted toys is a logical way to restore a bit of order and get part of your home back. Hopefully at least one of the above ideas will work for you and you will feel better knowing another child is benefiting from your efforts.

What ideas do you have for dealing with unwanted toys? Have you tried them and if so, were they successful? I’d love to hear your comments and examples.

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