Sylvania PalPODzzz LED nightlight - Keeping kids in their beds and monsters in the closet

As any parent of a three year old knows, nightlights are essential to keeping not only kids that age happy but also their parents. Something tells me if we didn't have the appropriate light to darkness ratio in my daughter's room we'd be seeing her a lot more in the middle of the night, and we don't want that to happen. No, that would be bad. Very bad.

Chicky has been thrilled with her Sylvania PalPODzzz ladybug nightlight. The PalPODzzz is this sweet detachable/rechargeable nightlight/flashlight LED doohickey (Okay, so no one will ever hire me to come up with professional descriptions for new products. I think I'll live.) either shaped like a ladybug or a spaceship. The thing she likes the most about it is that the ladybug itself can come off of its "leaf" charger (which also lights up) and she can keep the flashlight portion either in her bed or on the floor next to it and she knows she can use it whenever she needs to. I like it because it's rechargeable, so after I dig it out of the blankets every morning I pop it back on the charger and it's ready to go for that night.

Another plus is she now has her own flashlight to play with during the day when she wants to go exploring. No more stealing Mommy and Daddy's emergency flashlights. It's not fun to find out during a major ice-related blackout that your preschooler has been playing with the flashlights too much and now none of them work. Trust me on this. The flashlight itself is not super powerful - which is good since it always seems to be pointed in the direction of the baby's eyes - but it's the perfect strength for, say, couch cushion spelunking.

Also, not too bright to shine in one's own eyes. If you're into that sort of thing. Bonus.

She's playing with it right now, as a matter of fact. There is a missing toy and she's playing "detective" to find it. Carry on, Sherlock.

As a nightlight, I do wish the PalPODzzz was a bit more powerful. The light up leaf is a little dim for my daughter's liking (she likes her nightlights pretty bright) but as an emergency keep-the-boogie-man-away device the PalPODzzz seems to be working out just fine.

All in all the PalPODzzz is a pretty nigty product at a good price (just $19.99). So may we recommend the Sylvania PalPPODzzz portable LED nightlight for keeping those pesky monsters under the bed where they belong?

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This is a review for the Parent Bloggers Network.

VTech V-Motion - V-ery Interesting

I'm convinced that all children are one part spastic animal beast, bouncing off of walls and climbing furniture every chance they get, and one part couch potato, zoned out and drooling in front of the television if allowed.

How the two co-exist in the same body, I'll never know.

What I do know is I'd like to harness the energy of one and rouse the other from its stupor. If only I could get the two to work together in harmony I might have a happy child. Maybe there would be less whining. Maybe there would be less manic meltdowns. Maybe Republicans and Democrats will start playing nice. Maybe my cat and dogs will start peacefully coexisting. Maybe...

Anyway. PBN asked me and my daughter to review the VTech V-Motion video game system - sorry - Active Learning System...

Can I just take a moment to shake my head at video games for a moment? They're either labeled "learning" or "educational" or they're Grand Theft Auto. Whatever happened to just having fun without a pop quiz or bloodshed?

But I digress.

... I was pretty excited to get my kid all learned and stuff while burning off some of that unrelenting preschooler energy. The V-Motion system is described as

"a brilliant breakthrough gaming console that combines wireless, motion-activated play, web connectivity and educational gaming into a system that plugs directly into your television!"

Great idea right? A sort of Wii for kids?

Sort of.

There is actual learning involved in VTech's V-Motion learning system (geared toward children ages 3-7): Counting, colors, shapes, and in more advanced games spelling, math and science. Once Chicky understood what was expected from her she really started getting into sorting colors and counting numbers. And as for the motion part, children are expected to think on their feet. Literally. The wireless controller is motion activated. The child playing is supposed to be an active participant in the game, encouraging kids to get off the couch and move around while using the motion-activated joystick.

However, before you rush out thinking this is something akin to Wii Fit, it's not. The movement needed to activate the controller was minimal in the games we played (the included game Action Mania), barely amounting to more than gently moving the controller from side to side. And if the kid really wants to veg out, he can just set the controller to joystick mode.

With all that said, the VTech V-Motion was a lot of fun even if the included game was not the sweat-inducing activity I was hoping for. Action Mania was a little challenging at first for my three year old but after playing it a few times she started to catch on to the more simplistic games (it does have a beginner and an intermediate level) and she really got into it. And my husband and I did see some actual learning happening; Chicky got much better at rattling off her numbers in correct order where before she would have to stop and think what came after the number 11.

(Of course, if she were older I would tell her that there is nothing after 11. That's as far as it goes. Because it's 11. But she's too young for This is Spinal Tap references.)

I'm curious to see if she would fare better with one of the other video games VTech offers with characters she would recognize - like the Wonder Pets, for example - but at $24.99 a pop per game cartridge (sorry, Smartridge) she'll have to wait for a special occasion, like Christmas. I liked that the VMotion has a cool web connect feature that allows the user to download bonus games. I also like that the controller is wireless and the system is very easy for a young child to maneuver through on her own.

I think with the V-Motion active learning system we'll have to wait and see how our daughter does with it in the future as right now she seems just a bit too young to get everything out of it. I have a hard time recommending this for a three year old but if you're looking for a gift idea for your favorite nephew or neice (the V-Motion system is $69.99, a little on the pricey side so make sure you really like the kid you're buying this for) who is older than, say, four years old the VMotion might be something you'll want to consider.

"Ready for.." books. Positivity at its best.

"Are these books for her or for us?"

That was my husband's question upon reading "Ready for the Day" and "Ready for Bed" to our three year old daughter. And he was right; the books are just as much of a reminder to parents to be positive while dealing with the more challenging aspects of their toddler's or pre-schooler's personality as it is life lessons for children.

The two stories are interesting for kids, tackling topics that any boy or girl in that age group could easily understand - brushing teeth, deciding what breakfast food they would like, etc. - and speaking from our experience with the books, they were very engaging. The illustrations are colorful and the story held our daughter's attention and she often asks for them.

Okay, let's be honest. I've read each of these books 15 times in a row on some occasions. Easily.

But the underlying theme of positivity is what really stuck with me. Bedtime and first thing in the morning are probably the two most difficult times of the day in our house, with constant battles over mundane details (to me anyway) like what book to read and what clothes to wear. "Ready for the Day" and "Ready for Bed" reminds both me and my husband as well as our daughter about compromise and making correct decisions to cut down on the amount of drama in our lives.

After just one reading of "Ready for Bed", for instance, Chicky was much more willing to "take turns" brushing her teeth. Which really amounts to her asserting her independence enough to make her happy and me being able to brush dinner from between her tiny teeth. A win/win situation, if you ask me.

The situations in both books will be very familiar to any parent of a preschooler. Sometimes a gentle reminder to keep things positive is all both parties involved need to be successful and these books help with that. I'd say that "Ready for Bed" and "Ready for the Day" are books I'd have no trouble recommending to friends.


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This was a review for the Parent Bloggers Network.

Meet the Sight Words Review - Repetition Repetition

It's no exaggeration when I say that my daughter would rather sit on the couch and have book after book read to her than play with a room full of toys. Which is great for her but a little tiring for the person reading the books - Me. It will be a happy day when she learns to read a book all by herself because maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to read my own books again.

To further along the process I agreed to review the DVD "Meet the Sight Words" with Chicky. This DVD features sight words like "of", "in", "you", "he" and more. Each word is repeated about eleventy billion times as it turns into a recognizable cartoony-like shape things. Yeah, I'm no expert and I'm not sure how it works. All I know is Chicky was into it and she was repeating right along with the DVD. After watching it a couple of times she was recognizing words like "and" and "play". Kinda cool if you ask me.

If you're one of those stickler types and really want to know what sort of science is behind this teaching, you can go to their website to learn more.

Would I recommend "Meet the Sight Words" to a friend? Probably. From an adult's point of view, I was ready to stick a fork in my ear if I had to hear the word "for" repeated again. The repetition was driving me up a tree. But Chicky seemed to like it and like I said, she was starting to recognize words after just two or three times watching. That's got to count for something, even if I wanted to claw my own ears off.

The things we'll do for our kids. Sheesh.

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This was a review for the Parent Bloggers Network.

Can I get a High Five?

There are certain magazines I need to have in my home at any given time - People, Real Simple, and Martha Stewart Living (not that I'll ever be Martha-ish but I dare to dream) are a few examples. I'll bring in the occasional gossip rag like US magazine too, but none of these are the types of reading materials I want my impressionable almost three year old to pick up and thumb through. Though she has, on more than one occasion.

"Who is that funny looking girl, Mama?"

"That's Paris Hilton, honey. Never, ever end up like her, okay?"

Now my little Chicky has a magazine of her own to read and I never have to worry about her seeing pictures of nearly naked 20-somethings passed out after a night of binge drinking. Unless we go visit my cousins.

Highlights magazine, in cooperation with the Parent Bloggers Network, sent us three copies of their newly launched magazine specifically designed for kids age 2-6 years old - High Five - and it was a HUGE hit.

When we received them my daughter and I sat down with the three issues and I don't think we read them less than four times each in that sitting. The "Find the hidden pictures" page was instantly Chicky's favorite. I was thrilled because it was more interactive and more of a learning experience than just sitting and listening to the same board book over and over again.

The stories in High Five are accompanied with brightly colored artwork that really catches my daughter's attention and prompts her to ask questions or draw her own conclusions about the story. And some of them are written in English and Spanish so we're both learning a new language!

There are also suggestions for activities to accompany some of the stories in each edition. Which is great for a mom like me (read: In desperate need of suggestions to keep my kid interested in keeping busy and away from the television).

I loved Highlights magazine when I was a kid so I'm thrilled with how quickly my daughter took to High Five. And I'm really looking forward to seeing her face when she realizes something came in the mail just for her. What a treat!...

(...Wrapped up in something educational. Shhh, don't tell the kids. They just think they're having fun.)

I will without a doubt be recommending High Five to my girlfriends with kids my daughters age. At just under $30 for a one year subscription it's well worth the price.

Want to win your own subscription to High Five or Highlights? PBN is having a blog blast this Friday, March 7. Check out their website for more details.