Roberto Sedycias asked:


Every parent wants to see their kids happy, cheerful and smiling all the time. So, they want to bring their kids happiness in every possible way. When it comes to gifting your child something, there is nothing like offering them an elegant and sleek digital camera. However, buying a digital camera for them could be extremely daunting task as you may not be aware of their personal taste and liking. At the same time, you would want to pleasantly surprise your kid with a gift and hence, would keep it a secret. This article will tell you what to keep in mind while purchasing a digital camera for gifting your child.

The Latest & Most Sought-after:

The digital camera that you are buying for your kid should be the latest trend and the most demandable one. Go for the one which is being heavily advertised and popularly talked about. This will give you child immense happiness and a sense of pride. Besides, it will make your kids really proud of the possession and will make them feel special.

Elegant Design:

Children have a knack of being excited by the looks of their possessions. So, while buying a camera ensure that it must have elegant look to impress your children. It doesn`t really matter to them if the camera has a big screen or whether it is 2 mega pixel. What matters a lot to them is whether the camera has got a smart shape, flashy colors, and funky look. Kids are not pretty amazed by gadgets that look boring or serious. Hence, you have to carry this factor in mind while buying a digital camera for your child.

Compact Size:

Children like their gadgets small, funky and compact. So you need to select a digital camera for your kid that should be small and compact in size. While you choose a camera, weigh it by your hands and see if it would be comfortable for your kid to carry or hang round their shoulder. Don`t go for large and bulky models even if they have attractive features, they will not catch the fancy of your kids.

Fun Features:

The gift to your kids might be meant for taking pictures for school projects, however, they will be using it for taking pictures of their friends and for some really fun activities. Hence, try to choose a digital camera that has maximum fun features. It may be colorful background images, sound effects or wonderful photographic effective. You can truly win the heart of your kids if you offer them a camera that best fits their interests and activities.

Easy Usability:

The digital camera you buy for your children should have easy functionality for them. They should find it easy to use their camera without much problem. For example, the `click ability` factor should be taken into consideration as it could be confusing for some kids. In short, the camera gifted by you should have simple system through which children can easily take pictures quickly and efficiently. However, children these days are much smarter and gadget geeks and they pick up really fast.

Price:

It is really understandable that you don`t want to spend a fortune on buying a digital camera for your children. Luckily, there are lots of choices available in the market and the prices of digital cameras start from as low as 30 USD to 300 USD. Hence, it really depends how much you want to spend for the gift of your kids. However, it is advisable that you should start simple and upgrade it if you notice that your kids grow out of the one you have bought for them.

So, consider these factors into account and buy your kids a digital camera so that they can take their favorite pictures. Who knows, they can be a talented photographer in future!

This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author’s name and all the URLs (links) mentioned in the article and biography must be kept.

Krista QQ(www.123giftfactory.com) asked:


All toy companies are eager to grow sales in a stagnant $22 billion market, they want to know which toys are “hot” for the year. Invariably, the toy trends for the year are strongly influenced by movies being released that year. This year, there are some awesome icons vying for our attention - Indiana Jones, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and Batman. Aside from these superheroes, the hot toy trends for 2008 also include dinosaurs, robots, musical toys and of course, web connected toys!

Aside from these, “Electronics and the Internet. That’s what kids are obsessed about today,” said Jim Silver, editor and co-publisher of Toy Wishes magazine. “They have an iPod, they are on Facebook and some are e-mailing by age five.”

1. Web Connected Toys

IToysWe all know and love Webkinz, the pioneer of the “virtual toy” revolution. Webkinz is still doing very well and now has been joined by several other toy manufacturers. Russ’s Shining Stars, TY Girlz, Barbie and now even TY’s Beanie Babies. Aside from dolls and plush toys, there’s a brand new preschool game which nicely incorporates play and technology. It’s called Me2 from IToys. Also worth noting is Clickables, a wonderful line of toys from Technosource. Clickables integrates the virtual world of Disney Fairies with toys for girls. There are a lot of other web connected toys and dolls. My collegue, the Doll Collecting guide, has a great article up on the virtual doll trend.

2. Dinosaur Toys

Dinosaurs have been around for a while now, (remember the very recent Pleo?), but they certainly made their presence felt at the Toy Fair! Here is one dinosaur which was hard to miss - Kota the Triceratops from Playskool. This friendly creature is pretty tall at approximately 40 feet and is equipped with sensors, which when activated, make him move his head, tail and horns. Kids will enjoy sitting on this playful (and very pricey) creature. Another dino in the spotlight comes to use from Mattel. D-Rex, a remote controlled dinosaur with a lot of different sounds and realistic motions aims to fascinate kids this year.

3. Indiana Jones Toys

HasbroIndiana Jones is really something to look forward to this year. The movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is slated to be one of the hot movies of 2008. It’s no wonder then, that Lego, Hasbro and the rest have jumped onto Indy’s bandwagon! The plot of the movie isn’t yet revealed fully. Still, Lego had some wonderful sets based on Indiana Jones. The Indiana Jones LEGO sets include Indiana Jones Temple Escape, Indiana Jones Race for the Stolen Treasure, Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb and Indiana Jones Motorcycle Chase. Some of Hasbro’s Indiana Jones offerings include Mr Potato Head: Taters of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones Sound FX Whip and of course Indiana Jones action figures.

4. Science and Nature Related Toys

Jakks PacificI noticed a large variety of Science Kits and nature themed toys at this year’s Toy Fair. Elmers (the glue company) had some really cool science kits represented by Bill Nye, the science guy. Scientific Explorer had a lot of fun kits to offer where kids can experiment with fascinating stuff like bubbles, perfumes, volcanoes and more. The biggie in the science category is none other than EyeClops from Jakks Pacific, which has updated versions(read night vision and higher magnification) available. Also, Uncle Milton of the Ant Farm fame had some cool Indiana Jones based products to show.

5. Batman - The Dark Knight Toys

MattelThe new Batman movie, The Dark Knight is slated to be released later this year. Mattel has a host of Batman related toys and action figures up their sleeve. The Stealth Batmobile and the Wayne Tech Tri Fire Blaster are must haves. Apart from those two, there are a lot of pretend play options and Batman action figures from Mattel. Lego also has some great Batman themed construction sets for release this year.

6. Speed Racer Toys

MattelSpeed Racer is another big movie franchise on which Mattel has a great lineup of toys. I know that Hot Wheels has a Morph Mach 6 vehicle and an interactive helmet to offer as well as the Speed Racer Sky Jump Track Set among other toy vehicles. The movie should spark off a craze for racing and toy cars which is going to be huge. Lego also had some great Speed Racer kits on display at Toy Fair. Personally, I think this is THE franchise to watch out for.

7. Animated Toys/Robots

Fisher-PriceOk, so by now everyone must have heard of Elmo Live, right? Well, the animated toy trend seems to be very prevalent this year with Elmo Live, Hasbro’s Biscuit, Playskool’s Kota the Triceratops, Tomy’s ISobot and more. While I’m on the topic, let me mention that I just previewed an adorable duckling from Hasbro’s Furreal Friends line - it’s too cute for words. Just like me, it seems like everyone enjoys seeing animated animals nowadays!

8. Iron Man Toys

HasbroHasbro has a fantastic line of action figures based on the Iron Man. This is another movie franchise for this year which is going to be popular with Marvel fans.

9. Green Toys

It’s no wonder that everyone is focusing on healthy and safe play this year. The “green” theme is predominant with many toy firms promoting their eco-friendly products. One toy manufacturer which I really liked was Plan toys from Indonesia which had a wonderful lineup of natural wooden toys. There were some toys made out of recycled milk bottles from a company called Green Toys. They had tea sets, gardening sets and beach sand sets on display which looked very appealing. I also noticed the Kapla line of wooden construction planks which falls into the “green” category as well. 12. Classic Toys - Lots of Anniversaries!

10. The Incredible Hulk Toys

HasbroThe Hulk was at a lot of places at Toy Fair 2008. I specially loved the Kid Designs line of Hulk laptops and learning toys. Hasbro has a fantastic lineup of Hulk toys including the much awaited Hulk Smash Hands, a plush animated Hulk toy, conventional Hulk action figures, a Hulk power glow electronic mask, a Hulk dart blaster and much more. Looks like “green” is popular in more ways than one!

11. Musical Toys

KID Designs For the last couple of years, toys based on musical instruments have really grown in popularity. Remember Piano Wizard, Piano Made Easy, I Can Play Guitar, Guitar Hero and the other toys on similar lines? This, along with musical toys based on celebrities like Hannah Montana and hit TV shows like American Idol practically dominated the musical toy scene. This year, the trend continues with some more Hannah Montana toys, new DVD games based on American Idol (KIDDesigns has an awesome American Idol DVD game) and much more. Stay tuned. (pun not intended)

12. Keyboard for toddlers, Wallcrawler Spiderman

The portable DVD player is made to withstand a kid’s abuse. It features a 3.2-inch color TFT screen, rechargeable batteries with a two-hour lifespan, an anti-skip buffer, grip handles and a stand for hands-free viewing. The player, which plays DVDs and CDs, comes with a battery charger and wall power unit, a video output jack, and a headphone jack.

13. Wall Crawler Spider-Man

“Wall Crawler Spider-Man” is a standout innovation from Hasbro. The remote-controlled Spider-Man toy, which incorporates vacuum-pump technology, actually crawls ups and down walls.

Last, but not the least, classic toys are very much in the forefront. This year, many classics were celebrating their anniversaries. Hasbro’s My Little Pony celebrated their 25th anniversary with a lovely birthday party at the Hasbro showroom, complete with a cake cutting! Cabbage Patch Kids celebrates it’s 25th anniversary as well. The LEGO brick celebrates its 50th anniversary with a commemorative gold brick. Other brands celebrating this year include Scholastic’s Clifford, the big red dog, the Toy Company’s Wham-O and Mary Meyer (who is turning 75 this year). We’ll wind up with congratulating Hasbro’s Mr Potato Head who is turning 80 this year. Way to go!

A W asked:


Hi, I am in a playgroup where kids often snatch toys away from my son and moms seldomly correct their children. My son has learned to be selfish as a result and now refuses to share or cries when his things are taken from him. How do I teach him to share under such circumstances?

anonymous asked:


Copyright (c) 2008 Charles Carter

It is difficult decision

Simply we love it, we like to wear and feel good about it. Somehow it seems to enhance our appearance and appeal a great deal. Our eyes are so conditioned that the people in designer clothing seem to look smarter and more energetic than those in modern regular outfits.

It is a straight forward decision in case of parents and elders; they go in for custom outfits even if they are a bit more expensive. But it is essential expense in the context of social living. But when it comes to making decision with regard to buying custom clothes for children we are confused and the decision swings between yes and no indecisively. Parents do want their children well dressed and presentable. Their smart looks among the kids of friends is a pleasure to watch. When appreciated by high-end society friends it is almost an achievement leading to the ascending steps of social recognition. But the utter uselessness of buying designer clothes for children too cross the mind because soon the children will grow and leave behind the costly designer clothes smaller in size as unusable. So it becomes a hard decision to make.

Some reasons to buy designer clothes

If the values of social standards weigh more than the value of money in your life, you should go for designer clothes for children.

If the parents have friends in the circle who notice what their children wear and evaluate, then it is imperative that they buy specially made clothes for their children even though they might feel the pinch of the expense a bit.

Above all there is one reason which makes most of the parents go in for designer clothes for their children. That is the magic of love, they want to see their children in the best set of clothes and they wish to provide their children with the best.

Some reasons for not buying high end clothing

One major reason for not buying designer clothes for children is the cost of them. They are surely very expensive when compared to non-designer fashion wear. In recent times as the cost of living has risen to touch the sky, for many parents it is not an appealing idea to go in for designer clothes for their children.

And the second deterrent faction is simply a biological reason. The way children grow in fast pace these days buying expensive high end materials is a risky affair. You wont know for how long the clothe would remain fit in size. When children out grow the size of their dress they abandon it as though they are something that the cat has brought in.

The reason parents easily could attribute to decide against kids suits is that the children are not aware whether they wear custom patterns or other fashion wear. And the children actually do not care what brand of wear they adorn themselves with.

The basis for a decision

In the ultimate analysis the decision to buy or not to buy personally designed clothes for children depends on the parents. If you wish to see them in designer clothes, go for it but be sure that to your children those are just clothing and they are going to use them as they use the clothes they wear at home because it does not matter much whether they are in modern outfits or some other.

But it is also an irrefutable fact that the present world is highly fashion conscious and fashion, social standards and social prestige go hand in hand and all complement and enhance each other supportability. And what you or your kids wear is actually the life-style statement you make, a statement that expresses your attitude about life. To be in the lime light of fashion is imperative in the present world.

Designer clothes are affordable

All the discussion about buying or not buying personalized clothing for children is because of its exhaustive price. Walking into any designer showroom makes you a bit jittery even if you have a million dollars in your pocket when you see the price tag. But this is no more the case with on line shopping.

You can now buy online the best of designer wear at cost that you can afford. The online shopping turns out to be less expensive because there are no overhead expenditure, no showroom cost and so on and all these benefits are shared with the consumer and so online shopping is less expensive.

mist asked:


Aslaamualkum. umm i having a little trouble finding games for ages are 5-7 and 8-11 seperately. i have to go to a local masjid and babysit the kids with a few helpers. Also the games must be related to islam.
jazakaallah for ur help. I have very few games that I decided but soon or later the kids will get bored.

dammit asked:


I am stumped by the amount of homework my kids bring home. Especially on holidays and weekends. I don’t ever remember getting that much homework when I was a kid. My kids’ school has stairs so a book-bag on wheels would be a bit of a hassle, but I’m afraid we’re raising, yes, smart kids but also over-worked ones with bad backs.
Perhaps this is only in a few places. My kids are straight A and B students and the sign when you drive into our town says one of the top 100 schools in the United States. I think perhaps they are trying to keep on that list. My kids barely have time for extra- curricular activities. And yes, they are elementary students. And I am an involved mother who helps them with their homework. A lot of the parents in town have had the same complaints.

Isis Is: I SAVED ANOTHER! asked:


to help make a point, i once knew a woman who wanted to get a dog that would take any treatment her 4 and 6 yr olds would dish out. i asked her, do you think your childrens IQ’s are lower than a dogs? wouldn’t it make more sense to teach a child right from wrong? you did good. i’d have hit the kid.

Kenneth Scott asked:


Forcing your child to study or show learning of concepts that they are not ready for are a guaranteed way of creating a hatred for learning. The best way to let kids learn is to provide them learning games and let them set their own pace. As and when kids get curious about things they will indicate in some way or the other that they would like to know more. Your task as a parent at this stage is to expose them to a myriad of options starting from picture books to shapes and blocks that they can plug together. Allowing a comfortable pace at this stage and not being pushy about learning right from the very start helps kids become creative, develop exploratory skills and are more involved as students later.

As your child grows older the educational needs of your child change and so do the educational toys or games. At this stage your child may need to develop skills in math or science or maybe reading skills. One of the games that have been developed for increasing math skills is a variation of Bingo, in which you call out simple mathematics problems that may require mental addition or subtraction to start with and the kids strikes off the number that is the answer. This can prove to be a very interesting game that can be played among friends as well without intervention from you. The kind of problems that you set as questions can be made to be relevant to the age of your child and so this is one game that does not make itself useless to fast. Older kids may like to play with games that can demonstrate the practical aspect of science and the manner in which it can be used in normal daily life.

It is important to note that there may be some children that may take to learning easily and enjoy the activity as is but there are some who do not take to it so easily. For these children, especially the educational games are a boon and allow them to learn while having fun. The benefits of using these games do not stop at learning skills but they also associate a sense of fun and enjoyment with learning of any kind. Your child is less likely to desist from acquiring new skills if the process has been smooth in the past.

Earnestworker asked:


Several years ago, I decided to embark on the road of spititual enlightenment. Not satisfied with my life as it was nor at ease with the condition of society and very ill at ease about the global situation, I felt I had to at least do my part in making the world and my life better. Since I was already deeply interested in the study of world religions and personal development, my shift consisted mainly with devoting more time to those areas.

As I became more involved with the task of changing myself, a whole new world of information and pathways opened for me. It was very early i realized; “No easy job is this”. My first discovery was that I was more messed up than I had thought and that the causes were not as pointed as I had believed and the ability to make any changes would not be easy. I was familiar with the theories of “wounded inner child” “learned behaviors”, but the deep rooted, complex, habitual effects I was not prepared for.

I discovered we all live in a world that is designed (largely by accident) to put us in a state of sleep and keep us there beginning from birth. As my efforts to awaken and enliven my consciousness progressed, I found out that most of my inner resources needed to accomplish my mission were either damaged, or under/undeveloped themselves. How does one build a house without tools? The tools have to be constructed first. For the next few years my time was spent studying the writings of several different spiritual enlightenment systems. I extracted as much as possible from all of them, and noted any areas they had in common. Without realizing it at the time, my transformation had began.

There is a lot of information online to assist anyone that seriously wants to change their attitude and outlook. Although there are many systems available to facilitate change, some are not feasible for every individual. Personally, I found most to address issues from a similiar viewpoint and acknowledge basically the same solutions, the difference in programs was with the method advocated to bring about advancement. There are people that claim all one has to do is listen to some CD’s or visualize or some other one-step process. These things are just ONE part of a whole that must be practiced as a whole to gain real, lasting results. There are no quick fixes; you can’t jump the fence, you must come through the gate.

To be that loving, kind, consideration, at peace person we all want to be and that some of us “know” is buried somewhere inside of us requires diligent, hard work and a great deal of sacrifice. I studied and practiced using my intuition as my guide and realized an expansion of intellect, some shift of view, and a gain of confidence. After some time, I felt I had traveled as far as I possibly could on my own. It was time for a teacher.

So began the next on my journey to the gate. Once again, relying solely on intuition, I started my search. Schools are plentiful. But they all seemed to offer instruction aimed at one portion of the problem or another. My experience had shown me that in order to become whole, my fragmentations had to be reconciled with a system that could unite me physically, spiritually, and mentally. Buddhism, yoga, mysticism etc. only address one of the sides only. Meanwhile I knew my growth was pretty much at a standstill.

Finally, one evening, as fate would have it, I discovered two systems of instruction; either of them alone offering what I was looking for. They are Pathwork and Fourth Way. Fourth Way in particular I am excited about. It is the most complete system of instructions for the development of the individual as I have seen.

I am settled in now, and ready to begin the down and dirty work of self transformation. How far have I traveled in 8+ years? I have taken one step on my path. Am I discouraged or unhappy? No way; the journey is as exciting and rewarding as the destination and I know that I am spending my life as I should.

Earth asked:


What are the characteristics of a child genius?
Who said I have a child? I don’t.
Seriously, why bother answering if you’re going to get personal?