Posts Tagged ‘construction toys’

Outdoor Toys

Monday, May 17th, 2010

When I look at toys on our suppliers’ websites, their stands at toy fairs and their brochures, it’s always in the back of my mind, “Would my kids play with that?”. I have to stop myself just shopping for my children. I know that all kids are different and have different tastes, but I think that I cover a good selection amongst my four - the Quiet, Booky One; the Noisy, Physical One; the Inquisitive One; and the Nurturing, Caring One. The trouble is that any one of my kids could be all of these in one day!

With that thought, I want to share my selection of toys that any of my kids and their friends will play with. Bearing in mind that the weather has been so kind recently (just turn the temperature up a bit and we’ll be even happier), I thought I would look at outdoor toys. None of these toys is particularly expensive or sophisticated, but I challenge your kids not to enjoy them:

  • Our fabulous Gunther Kite selection - just add wind (never in short supply in Ireland) and you’ll have rosy cheeked laughing kids in no time;
  • Spring Ball set - once they get the hang of this, they’ll be twanging around the garden (great for the beach too);
  • Disk Balance - it’s egg and spoon racing, but not as you know it;
  • Super Torpedo with Whistle - well, it just makes throwing the ball at each other even more fun; and
  • Our cool Gunther Wind up Planes - excellent competition potential!

All these toys are available in our Outdoor Toy category http://tinyurl.com/mimioutdoortoys

Have a look and let me know what you think www.mimitoys.ie

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Compromise, compromise, compromise…

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

An extended weekend with the family playing together (and obviously bickering too) has got me thinking about an issue that we have to address regularly - when a child gets hooked on a particular computer game. For a while recently we had an absent child - he was there in body, but there was no interaction with us or his siblings and all he could think about was when he could get home to play his game.

We talked to our friends and our family. We tried allowing him to play as much as he wanted until he got fed up (that just didn’t happen). We tried restricting it to specific times (that just caused arguments and resulted in his “killing time” until it was allowed). We tried removing it all together (all hell broke loose and life was unpleasant for everyone).

Finally we hit on something that seems to have worked - we talked to him! Myles and I sat down and discussed with our son what would be a suitable compromise. We talked about how he was missing out on family time by playing his games all the time, that his brother and sisters missed him and how there were many more interesting things that he could be doing. So far, so “in one ear and out the other”, but then we asked him what he thought. Together we drew up a contract scheduling out agreed times for gaming. He signed the contract, content that he had been part of the decision making process.

Three weeks in and things are going well. Our son doesn’t feel punished by having his game time restricted yet the rest of the family see more of him. Of course there are still times when he wants to play outside the agreed times, but he backs down more readily in the face of the contract and we in turn are more likely to concede to those extra 5 minutes!

If you have any more tips for getting them away from their consoles, please let me know! www.mimitoys.ie

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Exciting New Toys

Monday, April 12th, 2010

We have been busy in the last few months looking at our already wide range of toys and furniture and wondering how we can build on it. Myles and I have visited toy fairs and talked to our existing suppliers to find exciting new toys to add to Mimitoys. If some of the toy fairs meant that we had to spend long weekends in hotels in interesting places then we were willing to make that sacrifice for our customers ;)

After much discussion, the odd argument and a lot of playing with new toys (our family and friends make for an interesting and very honest focus group), we have finally added loads of new toys to www.Mimitoys.ie 

My blog is not about just promoting toys that we sell on our website, but when my kids really like a toy I think it’s good to pass on a recommendation. Clics has always been a favourite in our house. They are flexible construction pieces that click (no surprise there!) together to make up lots of different structures. My kids love them because the pieces aren’t too fiddly and are easy to put together, but don’t fall apart when you then play with your creation.

I love it because it has no commercial tie-ins with blockbuster Hollywood movies (ahem!) and the kits are completely open ended when it comes to designing your own toy. Many of them come with instructions, but they also encourage kids to make up their own design.  It’s not just a question of following step by step instructions to build one model that is left to gather dust, get broken up and clog up the hoover…or maybe that just happens in our house?

Have a look at the Clics we offer and let me know what you think http://tinyurl.com/mimitoys-clics  Or if your kids already have them, let me know if they share my enthusiasm!

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