By Lisa Singer, Inventor of the Backyard Botanical Gardening Systems, avid gardener, mom, wife, entrepreneur and former lawyer

What better way to teach your children about healthy living than growing your own vegetables together?  Kids are natural gardeners.  By the time they’re about 4 years old, they’re eager to help and ready to learn about growing veggies. Plus, children are more likely to eat – or at least try – vegetables they’ve grown themselves. Here are a few ideas for getting the kids involved:

• Plant seeds together.  Peas, beans, corn and sunflower seeds are larger than most plant seeds, and are easier to handle.  Just poke a hole in the soil and drop in the seed.  Other veggies that are also very easy to grow include carrots, beets, zucchini and radish.
• Buy a couple strawberry plants and teach your child how to transplant them.
• Use white plant identification stakes and let your child color them with permanent markers.  If the child is old enough to write, have him write the name of the vegetable on each marker.  Otherwise, a drawing will do the trick.
• Let your child help water the garden.
• Harvest the veggies together.  Sometimes beans and peas blend in among the leaves and it’s hard to spot them.  Let the kids join in your hunt for veggies.  See who can find the largest one.

Growing vegetables is fun and rewarding for the entire family.  Of course, the experience is much more satisfying when the garden is successful.  To make sure your garden thrives, pick a sunny spot and start with quality garden soil.  Raised beds will reduce weeds (which can be confused with seedlings) and a critter-proof design will also help ensure your success.

My kids and I recently baked a few fun and unique recipes that everyone enjoyed.  Oven-Baked Carrot Fries are delicious (www.williams-sonoma.com) and were a huge hit (and the kids got a serving of veggies).  Many children are weary of eating beets.  However, when they’re in a cake, the neighborhood kids come running.  My daughter and I baked a Chocolate Red Beet Cake (www.farmfreshtoyou.com).  We make this cake every year. It looks like an ordinary chocolate cake and you can’t really taste the beets.  My kids trick their friends into eating it, telling them it’s just chocolate cake.  That’s until everyone has eaten their piece – then my kids will say “You just ate beets!”No matter how you introduce your children to the garden, the experience is sure to be rewarding and beneficial for all in the long run.

To watch Lisa’s garden grow, learn tips about gardening, and find out what recipe she and her kids try next, visit Backyard Botanical, and start following her at @Gardens2Gro on Twitter. To purchase an Oasis garden for your backyard, visit your local Sam’s Club or Sam’s Club online.

Play Categories: Advice, Experiences

By Jim Silver (follow me on twitter)

In the early evening on May 27, Toys R Us announced that they purchased the FAO Schwarz stores, their online store, and catalog. This is good news for toy shoppers.

As of right now, Toys “R” Us says that they will be keeping FAO running just as it was, which is both good news and smart. If you don’t follow business news, you might not know that the store was close to shutting down, and unless you’ve been to NY or Las Vegas, you’ve probably never set foot in a FAO Schwarz store.

But you probably have heard of it. The store, which opened in 1862 has long been considered the ultimate “old-fashioned” toy store. It’s a top destination for tourists, and featured in countless movies and TV shows (The piano scene in “Big” jumps to mind.) In fact, when we were growing up, a box from FAO Schwarz for a kid was the same thing as a box from Tiffany for an adult.

 FAO always was the place that offered a unique shopping experience, with toys you wouldn’t find anywhere else. That’s not going to change. In fact, we’re predicting that the only things that are going to change are things that you’ll never see related to how the business of the store is run. Think of it this way, both Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s are owned by the same company—Federated Department Stores—but they still have unique merchandise and even different personalities. 

That’s what’s gong to happen here. So that means that the FAO experience will still be here for you and your kids—and most likely theirs.

Play Categories: Industry News

By Christopher Byrne (Follow me on twitter)

A lot has changed since I was a kid. You probably don’t want to know this, but we had ready access to cherry bombs, M-80s and other things that blew up. A pack of matches, the gas can out of the garage and a bucket of army men was enough to entertain us for the afternoon. Left to our own devices, we had many a wonderful day, and without ongoing parental supervision, well…let’s just say it’s a good thing we all have all our fingers and toes. But it does strike me as alarming that with all the constant mini-explosions going on in our neighborhood (53 kids under 13 spread out over two city blocks), that no adults ever seemed to be worried. “Be careful,” “Outdoors with that,” and “Not near the cat,” were the most dire warnings we got. We were turned outdoors after breakfast, expected back for lunch and had to come in after the street lights came on.  It’s not like that today.

One thing, though, was that as “wild” as we were—we were good kids—but we were active! Bikes, sports, climbing, racing around, playing “war” and generally being on the go from morning till night. (We also took time to read and relax, but that’s next week’s column.) We ran in groups of 4, 6 or more, and games of hide and seek that involved a dozen or more kids were common. (We actually played in the Mount Salem Cemetery at the head of the street and called the game “Graveyard Creeps.”)

That, as they say, was then.

Today’s kids have fewer options to be as active, and don’t have a ready-made gang of kids out the back door as often. Organized activities take up more time, with camps, school programs and the like. And the computer and video game consoles are time suckers. It’s hard because many parents are caught between the desire to tell kids to get out and play and the desire to keep them well supervised.

But kids also need to get out and play, particularly with their peers. They need the physical activity, and they need the opportunity to resolve issues and share experiences with their peers. They need to have an argument or two, to test boundaries because all of these begin to give them a sense of themselves both in the context of their world and as themselves.

I recently had the chance to talk to the famous decathlete Dan O’Brien. O’Brien took gold in the decathlon in the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta, and won many titles after that. Today, he is an outspoken advocate for kids’ fitness, and recently teamed up with Crayola to break the world hopscotch record. (Bet you didn’t’ know that existed?)

While O’Brien made his name in organized athletics, he believes that kids need open-ended play and they need to be imaginatively engaged in order to stay active.

“There’s a lot of structure out there to sports and play, and that’s when kids lose interest.” O’Brien say. Organized activities, he adds, can often have too much structure and too many rules and doesn’t allow space for the children’s imaginations.  “Get them outside and they make up their own games and their own rules,” he advises.

He says, that a goal should be to all kids “to be present and be in the moment and finding ways to be creative, but we often take that away from kids and expect them to get in shape and get better.

“Kids are going to have fun if you let them be creative, and that was the one thing I learned from Crayola. There were 30 kids who showed up and they were given a whole bunch of sidewalk chalk and they were told to go for it. They had written on every level surface, and they were running around. Some were athletic, some were artistic, and every kid found something to do. I really could see that it was just letting them do what they wanted to do instead of just what they should do.”

That pretty much describes the experience of my peers and myself. We made up all kinds of games. We argued and made up. We were mortal enemies and best friends—sometimes in the same afternoon. Without adults telling us “how” or “when,” we filled the days with activity.

Years later, my mother admitted that her heart was in her throat when she came outside and saw my friends Nina, Jim and me climbing around in a tree 20 feet off the ground, but she also trusted us to get down safely, which we did, and which we never doubted for a second.

It really is about calculated risks, and there may be some bumps and scrapes along the way. Even a few broken bones. Those all heal, but what’s built instead is a sense of confidence and an ability to create one’s own fun that lasts a lifetime.

However, I really do recommend keeping the gas can and matches locked up.

Play Categories: Advice, Experiences, Opinions, Summer Semester

by Jeff McKinney (follow Jeff on Twitter)

Back in February I mentioned the new LEGO video game, LEGO Battles, from Warner Bros. Interactive. LEGO Battles puts you in control of LEGO’s most popular building themes, Pirates, Astronauts and Knights, in a strategy battle format. Last week I met with Warner Bros. to check out the game in person and it looks great.

Today. I’ve got a special treat for everyone – the game’s trailer! Now you can see what I’ve been blogging about for the past three months.

LEGO Battles will be in stores this Summer for the Nintendo DS and DSi. We will have a full review on TimeToPlaymag.com when the game arrives.

Play Categories: Video Games

by Jeff McKinney (follow me on Twitter)

Back in March we mentioned a few new ideas for what to do with your used video games and now it seems that a new option is entering the market. Wal-Mart and Ohio-based kiosk operator e-Play, are currently testing a new vending machine that will allow you to trade-in used games.

Simply take your used games to one of the e-Play videogame trade-in machines and scan the barcode on the box, which will locate the game title and current worth. If you choose to sell that game, the machine will take it, check for damage and as long as it is in good condition, pay you for the game by putting money on a credit or debit card.

The machines are currently being tested in select stores in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. I haven’t seen one yet but as a sucker for gadgetty goodness, I’ll do my best to locate one of these machines and test it out. Stay tuned for results.

Play Categories: Video Games

By Jim Silver (Follow Jim on Twitter)

There’s a new radio control toy hitting the shelves, and this one will have people talking. It’s called Duck Hunter, and it’s exactly how it sounds. I first got a chance to play with this toy when I visited Interactive Toy concepts six weeks ago. There’s a radio control duck that flies around and you use your infrared shooter to first stun the duck, and on the third hit, the ducks wings will disengage and the duck will fall to the ground.

This toy is sure to be controversial. I’ve never hunted, nor will I ever probably. However, I got a charge out of playing with this toy as I enjoy most blasters and shooting toys. I’m sure many people will be offended by a toy that simulates duck hunting, with the duck falling to the ground after the third hit. We live in a country that has different opinions and views on many subjects, and hunting is one that generally has people on lining up on different sides. This toy isn’t for everyone, and it isn’t meant to be. Many people will think this toy is awesome, and many will be offended by it. It’s up to you to make your own decision for what’s right for you and your children. As they say, different strokes for different folks.

Play Categories: Industry News, Opinions, products

By Angele Sionna, National Early Childhood Parenting Columnist, Examiner.com

The decision is one of the hardest, yet most important you’ll ever make – what to name your baby. It seems easy and straightforward, right – I mean it’s just a name. We all have one. How hard could this be? No pressure – but your decision will impact and influence their entire life.

A person’s name says a lot about them and is the first impression to their future teachers, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, you name it. It can influence how people treat them and even a career choice. And a name can go a long way. Studies have shown that the names of things and people influence how they are seen, from strong to beautiful.

So the first and best gift you can give your child is a good name. A name that reflects your hopes and dreams for them. A name that reflects who they are and where they come from in balance with where they are going.

For my husband and I, names are a big topic of conversation, bordering on obsession. We turn to maps, dictionaries, name books, street signs, you name it. We analyze each word, what it means, what it looks like and would it compliment our last name. We make list upon list of words and places that we like in both English and other languages. We look through photographs we’ve taken on our travels together. Anything is a possible source of inspiration.

Then it’s a matter of refining as well as discussions on how to spell the name for maximum impact and nickname tests. (Potential negatives weigh in heavily in our decisions. Are the nicknames ones we can live with and they can too?) We want the perfect balance of strong, passionate, independence, classic, European-esque and for girls femininity and boys manliness. Nothing too weird, but nothing too common.

Of course, you can’t predict name trends and if you love a name there’s nothing wrong with using it just because it’s popular. That’s what happened with our daughter Ava’s name. We loved the name for years. It went well with our last name but then it got really popular. We debated how much that mattered to us and realized that if paired with a really cool and unique middle name, it wouldn’t matter at all. And Ava Sionna was born.

For our second daughter, we wanted a name that went with her sister’s name but wasn’t sing-songy or the like. We went back to our original list to see what still felt right, but we ended up with a whole new list and no repeats. We decided we loved the English boys name Ellery, but we wanted to make it more feminine and wanted to honor our favorite grandmothers. My grandma’s name was Valerie and my husband’s was Lois. We decided the L aka “el” from Lois mixed with the “erie” from Valerie would become Ellerie. And we ended up with another beauty – Ellerie Ireland.

Our third (and final) child is currently “in the oven,” due this summer. This time – a boy. We’ve decided on a name that reflects part of our heritage and our getting married in Scotland and is on the top 10 list for boys in the UK but in America doesn’t even scratch the top 1000 list. He will be named Callum. His middle name is still up for debate as we continue trying to balance the traits, places, history and ambitions we want to reflect in his name and honor him with. After all, we still have a few months to go and wouldn’t want to cut his options short. Time now to go hit that stack of maps, dictionaries and family tree and finish up this most important decision.

Did you like this post? Check out Angele’s Baby Name of the Day feature on her parenting column for more name discussions. You can also read her parenting tips, product reviews and more on everything from pregnancy up through elementary school with new articles everyday at Examiner.com. Start following Angele on Twitter @AngeleExaminer.

Play Categories: Advice, Experiences, Time to Play Guest Blogger

By Christopher Byrne (Follow Chris on Twitter)

When I would crash my bike or fall out of a tree, which happened a lot as I was a really active kid, my parents’ admonition was always, “shake it off.” (Not that I didn’t get proper medical attention when broken bones and concussions were involved.) I learned to do that, and later, coaches would admonish me to “walk it off” if I got the wind knocked out of me playing sports. It’s great advice. I learned that my spirit was stronger than any injury, and I learned how to avoid that horrible epithet—”cry baby.”

When I would get bullied or come home with some other inevitable personal hurt that comes from being in middle school around other kids, the admonition was always, “laugh it off.” Now, it’s not that my parents didn’t care that I was upset, and they always spoke up when something truly egregious happened—like when our Latin Teacher called my friends David, Ben and me “stupid” in front of the class—but they also knew that learning how to deal with the myriad buffets, hurts and disappointments of day-to-day life was as important as the other lessons we were learning. What this taught me was perspective and an ability to understand what battles were worth fighting.

Name-calling is going to happen. Painful things are going to happen, and it’s important. Difficult as these events are for parents to watch, it’s also important to let kids figure things out for themselves. A strong sense of self and self-esteem don’t come from children being told their wonderful or getting trophies for showing up. It comes from the inside, from facing down challenges and learning to know when something can be laughed off.

Does it work? It did for Marlon Wayans. The wonderful actor plays Ripcord in the upcoming movie “G.I. Joe, The Rise of Cobra” that comes out in August. I had the opportunity to speak with him, and since his character really brings the comedy to the action/adventure film, I asked him what does a good sense of humor teach kids.

Wayons said that “humor got us out of the projects,” adding that an ability to laugh at the difficulties of life not only helped establish the distinctive Wayons brand of comedy, but as a kid it helped him to deal with the difficulties and challenges of life. Even though serious things were happening, learning not to take it all so seriously and keep it in context gave him and his family hope and inspired them to try to do more—something they’ve clearly achieved. My full interview with Wayons will be posted soon; come back and check it out. He’s an amazing guy.

Today, many parents want to protect their children from every slight, every injury and every difficulty. Not only is that impossible, it is also a disservice to kids. Just as muscles get stronger with use, so too do our spirits and our self-esteem. Learning to laugh off a playground taunt helps kids understand their own power in a situation. (Remember, the old response, “I’m rubber, you’re glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you?”) It gives them confidence to take the (hopefully metaphoric) slings and arrows that come at us in life and most importantly gives them resilience that they’ll need later in life.

Helping children understand what’s important and what isn’t, what’s real and what isn’t, is one of the greatest gifts we can give them. It’s a process, though. The child has to perceive the slight, feel it and then realize that it can’t truly hurt him or her. Then, he or she can laugh it off. It may be difficult to watch initially, but I guarantee the pride of watching your kids learn to deal with life as it happens appropriately and with confidence far outweighs a momentary challenge.

And remember, your kids learn as much from your behavior as what you tell them. When tough times come to you, can you laugh them off? Things always seem easier to deal with after a good laugh. Try it. You’ll see.

Play Categories: Advice, Experiences

by Jeff McKinney (follow me on Twitter)

The game Spore, created by Will Wright (the guy responsible for The Sims) exploded onto the scene in 2008 and quickly became one of the most popular games of the year among gamers of all ages and skill-levels. This online game for PC and Mac allows players to control the development of a species from it’s single-cell beginning through to it’s emersion as a space-traveling culture.

Yesterday, we learned that Spore will be spreading to the DS and Wii this fall with two new and unique titles. In Spore Hero, players will create a character and embark on a journey to save their homeworld in an action-adventure game for the Wii. Found throughout the game are more than 250 items to collect that can be used in the Spore Creature Creator.

Spore Hero Arena for the DS is a follow-up to the first DS game, Spore Creatures, and will place players in a 3D arena where the creatures they have created will battle enemies and collect new parts and abilities. Spore Hero Arena will also feature a multiplayer option allowing up to four people to battle over a Wi-Fi connection.

Look for both of these games in stores this fall. Spore, the original online game for PC and Mac plus Spore Creatures for the DS are available now.

Play Categories: Video Games