Advantages: well made, simple to play and fun
Disadvantages: none

...Before we went away on holiday I bought a few games and small toys suitable for travelling and playing with on rainy days. One of these was a game manufactured by Orchard Toys, called Shopping List. It proved an instant hit and was such a simple idea that I thought I’d share it with you! Shopping List is a game for 2 – 4 players ideally aged between 3 and 7 years. The object of the game is to be the first one to fill up your ‘shopping trolley’. Each player takes a shopping trolley board and another card with a list of shopping on it. Then the 32 tiles with the pictures of the food on them are turned face down on the table and shuffled. Each player then takes it in turn to lift up a tile and see whether it is on his/her shopping list. If the item is on the list then it is placed on the players own ‘shopping trolley... Read review

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Advantages: see op
Disadvantages: see op

...of converting an idea into words and decoding is understanding what the words mean, children get much of their understanding from toys, for example the names of the toys. Hainstock (1978) feels that "the learning of language is truly the child's most remarkable intellectual achievement and yet it is accomplished in a very short time span." The Early Learning Centre (1995) believes that "sequencing and matching games such snap or dominoes assist later literacy skills." Piaget said that "the child's active exploration of a wide variety of objects is an essential precursor of late verbal and cognitive understanding" (Tizard & Hughes 1984). Intelligence is one of the main subjects of the nature v nurture, with many arguments as to whether genes or environment have the biggest influence over a person's intelligence. Spock B (1966) writes... Read review

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Advantages: learning without knowing it
Disadvantages: none

...mostly about play and toys up to seven yrs. The first years of life and play is so important for physical , emotional developmentand.Give your child different opportunities and experiences, you do not have to pay a fortune on the latest toy. Computer and computer games have become popular but spend some time away from the computer and TV playing more traditional games. Types of play Well to begin with a child will play on their own solitary not relating or playing with others. He will then play happily alongside another child, (parallel play) not joining in with but happy to be beside someone else. Then at around the age of three he will join in with others playing co-operatively with other children. There are different types of play: EXPLORATORY PLAY Exploring the world. By taste, touch seeing and hearing... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Takes gaming to the next dimension
Disadvantages: You'll feel knackered playing it !!

...The Sony Playstation 2 is an excellent piece of gaming hardware, but is occasionally criticised of not being interactive enough, and causing kids (and adults) to spend hours sitting in front of a TV screen, and not getting enough exercise ! The "Eye Toy" is Sony's answer to these critisms - it is a small piece of hardware that takes gaming to the next dimension. Basically, the "Eye Toy" is a USB Camera that plugs into the USB port in the front of the Playstation 2. The original package comes with the camera, and a package of games called "Eye Toy - Play", and together, these put YOU into the game ! Setting up the equipment is easy - plug in the camera, stick in the disk and off you go ! Upon loading, you are presented with a short video, informing you on how to set up the camera and how to interact with the games. This video... Read review

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Advantages: Unbeatable Prices, Bright Colours, Strong Designs
Disadvantages: Limited Ranges in Each Age Group, Quickly Adds Up

...Tesco make and stock various different toys and games aimed at everyone from newborns to families. There are some holes in their ranges still (for example older children and teenagers) but they appear to be in the process of extending their ranges to fill in this gap by including such products as craft kits (eg Crystal Growing, Paper FX and Make a Teddy) and electronic gadgets (eg Data Max and Pixel Chix Mall). Tesco seem determined to gain monopoly on as many markets as possible so is their toy range a shameless publicity stunt to encourage more shoppers to spend all their money in store - or are they genuinely offering us value for money? Well as far as brand name products go, the jury's still out as far as I'm concerned. Tesco have cleverly employed the "97p technique" in a thinly-veiled attempt to make us believe their prices... Read review

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Advantages: Great selection...
Disadvantages: ...of overpriced, poor quality goods

...You walk through the door and you are greeted by the sound of the tannoy machine which absolutely no-one can understand. You venture deeper in to the store, and decide to explore. And you have ventured in, you are trapped, you can not escape... Your mind is overwhelmed by all the toys that they have for sale – the shelves are lined with games, Action Men, Scalextric kits – you’re in heaven – you’ve found utopia. You beg your mum to buy something but she shakes her head. And then you leave utopia. Okay, so that’s not quite ToysRUs to me, but my kids quite like to check out our local store (guess where – in grand old Woking!). They often beg me to go in, and I always say a blunt no. And then my wife has this look of pity on her face – ‘Oh OK then.’ Competitors... Read review

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Advantages: Great for parties or simply going crazy!
Disadvantages: you need a good lighted room to play.

...Imagine a computer game that needs no controllers, has YOU on the screen, and gives you vigorous exercise every time. Impossible? The new Sony Eye Toy technology makes it possible for you to be the on-screen controller. That’s right! Move your arms, head, or any other part of your body to select and play loads of amazingly fun games! I currently own the Eye Toy camera, as well as Eye Toy: Play and Eye Toy: Play 2. the first version has 12 games for you to play, including kung foo (fight away your multiple enemies by punching them etc.), knockout (box with enemies), Mirror time (an incredibly frustrating game where you have to touch the green logos as the screen is flipped upside down, split four ways etc.) and a footie game (header the football as long as you can and use it to bash enemies which pop onto the balconies... Read review

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Advantages: Superbly Stimulating -- TOYSSSSS
Disadvantages: NONE... maybe prices lol

...STUDENT OF THEY YEAR --to super impose over your own photographs. they have an extensive range of cameras, tripods and all sorts of developing processors ] ] 6. JACKS .. ahhhh.. I loved the jacks set. These are horrible [if you step on them barefooted] little hard, metal asterisk shaped pieces, or snowflake shaped pieces and one small red rubber ball. You bounce the ball and see how many jacks you can pick up before you catch the ball back again . [well you throw the jacks [metal pieces up in the air before you bounce the ball. The object of this silly game was to see if you could pick up ALL the jacks before you caught the ball again. There were about six or eight jacks in a set. This toy comes in ALL sizes, though the originals were small. I liked this toy because it's kind of a mindless fun type of game. After all... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Reliable in size, Excellent in performance, etc
Disadvantages: It has a long disturbing wire.

...“Eye Toy” Hi to all my friends and other Ciao members with my latest review on Sony Eye Toy. This review is on “Sony Eye Toy “which is small digital camera that sits on top of your TV and plugs into your PS2. It is the excellent thing which Sony developed. And also it gave the other way to playing the games. You stand in front of this small cam and then you can see your image in the TV and can easily play games to move your arms, legs, head….. In fact all parts of your body to play the games. And hens your all parts of body are busy in playing the game. It is very amazing. “Design” Its design is very impressive and beautiful. And it is also very lightweight and small. It has a lens in its front and through this lens it can capture the image from outside. “Features” It has many qualities and functions. One... Read review

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Advantages: Quick fun that will keep you fit.
Disadvantages: Not so great once the novelty wears off.

...Virtual Reality – it’s a daunting prospect isn’t it? Some may even call it frightening. To actually fully experience a game by plunging your mind into a virtual world sounds incredible, but also the stuff of sci-fi films or the distant future. Until now. Okay, so it’s still a long way off and we’re only really touching upon the phenomenon, but Sony have taken an important step towards achieving this dream with the Eye Toy – a camera peripheral for the Playstation 2. The images it picks up are shown on your television screen in a small, interactive area – which can be used for anything, from a mode-select menu to a mini-game stage. And becaus