Inexpensive Home Made Toys and Activity Ideas Reviews

I know from when I was a child and looking at my two children now the most fun they have is from the least inexpensive stuff available. I have a 6-year-old daughter and a 20-month-old son. When I look at the amount of toys they both have it makes me feel rather guilty. I can honestly say that for the amount of money we have spent on them it is ...  Read the complete review

With the credit crunch hitting everyone hard, I've made an even bigger effort to find things to do with my 18 month old daughter and 5 year old nephew rather than buying them toys when they tire of the old ones. Here are just a few cheap ideas that should keep you going for a while. ~~ Craft Type Toys ~~ Always keep your ...  Read the complete review

As I work in a nursery and have done various placements in schools, I would like to share with you one of the activity plans which I have found very enjoyable to do with reception aged children and upwards (or even more advanced pre schoolers) Decorative stones Resources - Stones collected from a trip/brought ...  Read the complete review

I think that children's imaginations especially when they are tiny are amazing! They really don't need to to have the latest toys - there is plenty of time for that later when they are on their teens. Thinking back to my favorite childhood memories it it things that were relitively inexpensive and allowed me time with frineds and family that i ...  Read the complete review

Over five years of parenting I think it would be fair to say that I have learned the hard way that the inexpensive things are sometimes the best for having fun with your children. I read recently that many parents are not doing art and craft things with their children as they don't like the mess and that this is a bad thing. Whilst I always take ...  Read the complete review

My son once got so upset with his toy aeroplane so much so he was in floods of tears. This toy barely measured 20 cm and about 7cm wide. He was so desperate to sit inside it and when he couldn't he was just beside himself. The weather was awful and it was a day where you knew you were going to be in the house. I took a large box that I had in ...  Read the complete review

If you don't know by now I have two boys, one is only 6 months and the other has just turned two. I am a mum that stays at home so we tend to do a lot of things that are based around my home or area. It's not practical for us to go on trips out every single day because for a start it would be too expensive and secondly those of us who have kids ...  Read the complete review

If like me you get to the Summer holidays or Easter break and wonder how you are going to keep the kids entertained for what seems like months, not weeks ;o) and without spending a small fortune then hopefully these few ideas will help... and hopefully you will post some of your own on the comments page. As a single Dad with two girls, ...  Read the complete review

A friend of mine lent me a book she got in Australia. It was called something like 'Cappucino Moments for Kids' . The gist of it was that in the same way as sitting down to drink a cappucino makes us as an adult feel for those moments luxurious and as though we were being treated to something, so children should have the same special moments ...  Read the complete review

We all know the one about the expensive Christmas present that just sits on the side and the child plays with the box!!! Well this is something that I wish we all embrased a bit more. I have a son who is nearly one year old, and he will play with anything. Sure, I went through the fussy parent phase, where only the best would do. I spent alot of ...  Read the complete review

I am a working mummy as you can see if from my other reviews I hate it, but unfortunately there is nothing I can do at the moment or can change about the past, but I try and make sure that the time I spend with my children is quality time and that they remember these times for the rest of their lives. As a family we are ok for money as ...  Read the complete review

My baby is 10 months old, and his favourite toy is my keys. This would be ok, except that sometimes I need to use them - to drive the car, that sort of thing. Also, they have an electronic door-opener on them and I was worried about all the drool going into it! I tried giving him the spare keys for a while but he tends to lob things ...  Read the complete review

My daughter is 4 years old now, and over the years ive spent quite alot of time doing home made activities with her. Not only are the tasks cheap and enjoyable, they are also full of bonding moments and a great opportunity to get to know your childs creative side. My little girl is now pretty good at artwork, and even her nursery teachers mention ...  Read the complete review

Here are a few inexpensive ideas that have been tried and tested on my daughter (22 months) that are popular enough to keep her quiet for a 30 minutes or so! - selection of different sized and shaped plastic bottles filled with different bits and pieces eg water/cooking oil, seeds, leaves, pasta, lentils, rice, paper clips etc. When she ...  Read the complete review

Babies are little money pits and soon enough they won't want to know about a toy unless it's the latest thing but while they are too young to have reached even the most eager advertiser's target market take advantage of it! Yes, sometimes the best things in life ARE free (but usually they involve copious cash) The things that have ...  Read the complete review

Cheap and easy toys. Some home made Well I earn my living playing with children, never had much money when my own was young. Children do not appreciate the expensive toy as much as the adult giving it does .We are pressurised so much into doing the best, buying the best for our children. The best toy a child can have is ...  Read the complete review

UPDATE!!!!! From the moment your child is born you swear to yourself that you are going to look after them ,love them and of course do all the things that you feel a parent should do with them.You say you will influence them and help them develop.and as they get older they get to the age where you can sit and do things with them but for the ...  Read the complete review

Not many people can afford to buy expencive toys for their children. And if they can, it is obviouse that not all toys can keep a child "busy" for a long time. So parents in my area came across with the idea to make a Toy library. Now people can get lovely toys for just 2 pounds a year membership fees+ 0,25p per toy you are ...  Read the complete review

To begin with it is useful to define what it is that is being discussed, so to find out what a toy is and what intelligence is, seems the best place to start. The British Association of Toy Retailers (1995) says that a toy "is any product or material that is designed or clearly intended for use in play by children of less than 14 years of ...  Read the complete review

Making your own collectors plates is a really simple and fairly inexpensive way to brighten up a rainy day for a young child. It's a simple idea but my two used to love doing this when they were small. I think anything that includes gluing and sticking and generally getting messy makes good entertainment for an hour or two for everyone ...  Read the complete review