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

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

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

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful