As a family which always try to spend quality time together, playing games is definitely one of our favourite activity. I can tell you that it is definitely no easy task trying to find a game that a 6 year old can understand and play while a 10 year old or even an adult (us parents!) can also enjoy. Pictureka is a game that makes it possible.

Pictureka by Hasbro is another purchase which I made through Amazon.com and it is basically a visual hide and seek game with a twist. Players compete with one another to collect mission cards in order for them to win. The game is ever changing, so your family will surely enjoy this game, and at the same time, allowing them to make good use of family time.

So, how does one play this game Pictureka? It starts off with all players roll on who goes first. After you distinguish who goes first, each player takes turns to roll a dice to know which color cards he or she picks from. There are 3 color cards to roll for which are red, green, and blue. Blue color allows all players to find that card and whoever finds that card wins the card. Red allows players to bid how many he or she thinks they’ll find a particular card before the timer runs out. Green allows a person or the player to find that card before timer runs out. The overall goal of each player is to find 6 cards in order for them to win. But 6 cards won’t be always being the case, people could choose to increase it to be 9 cards or 12 cards, you have the total ability to pick how many cards to win.

Although, Pictureka is recommended for ages 6 and above, I find it suitable for all ages. As far as a family game goes, Pictureka definitely gets the two thumbs up from me!

Disclosure : I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

We get used to our parents, or even ourselves being absent-minded. We put it down to age, preoccupation with more important matters or simply having too much to do. But when our kids start showing signs of being absent-minded, we start to get frustrated with them and think they are doing it on purpose. In fact we turn into the nasty duchess from ‘Alice in Wonderland’ who claimed:

“He only does it to annoy”

“Because he knows it teases”

Forgetfulness is not just a condition that afflicts seniors. Once children start school and their lives become crowded with school issues and rules, homework and friends, they just lose track of everything else and if organisation was ever their strong point, it certainly won’t be now!

You can’t expect an 8 year old (or even a 15 year old) to think of writing a weekly ‘to do’ list, so it’s really up to parents to help them get into good habits early.

• Try not to fuss or draw too much negative attention to the fault. Be patient and give them a couple of chances, but don’t repeatedly bail them out. If they keep on forgetting homework, sports kit, lunch box etc, then let them take responsibility for it themselves. Its tough knowing your child will go hungry for a few hours, but he won’t die of starvation.
• Little post-it notes left in lunchboxes or next to the cereal bowl or toothbrush, are a great visual reminder.
• Discuss plans positively. Develop the habit of talking about what should be done instead of focusing on what has not been done.
  Develop routines and stick to them. Kids are comfortable with routines and these stick in their minds very quickly. They quickly learn that 9 pm is bedtime, Tuesday is swimming club night, or spellings have to be learnt on Wednesday for Thursday’s test; if these become a regular feature of the week.

Helping your child take responsibility will help you to become a calmer, more relaxed parent. And surely that’s better for all of you?

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Here’s a wonderful triple treat! Thanks to the sponsors below, I will be giving away all the following prizes to one lucky reader. Check out what you can win:

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 $50 gift certificate to Covet Restaurant & Lounge located in Midtown, NY (**gift card is valid for food only). Situated in the heart of Manhattan, Covet Restaurant & Lounge blends old world elegance and new world opulence where guests are easily transported the moment they walk through the door. The unassuming façade of Covet belies its impressive, bi-level interior. Presiding over this new chic upscale restaurant and lounge is the man behind Miami’s nightlife resurgence, Eric Milon and entrepreneur Andre Hnatyszak. This powerhouse team has set a new standard of elegant dining with a world-class menu created by former Bruno Jamais Restaurant Executive Chef John Keller; and has redefined the New York City nightlife experience. For more details, visit http://www.covetlounge.com/

Now, to enter for a chance to win, here’s what you need to do:

• One mandatory entry – Tell me why you want to win the above prizes
• One additional entry – Tweet this giveaway “Triple Treat Giveaway” and link back to this post. You can do this daily until the contest ends. Please leave your twitter ID and tweet URL.
• Three additional entries – Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post. Please leave your post url here.
• Giveaway is open to US shipping addresses only.
• Giveaway ends 24th July 2010 and a winner will be picked using Random.org. I will not be emailing winners, so please make sure you subscribe to my feed or check back here for the winner announcement post.

I have always loved Crayola products and my young daughter has given me an excuse to purchase them once again. In my opinion the Crayola Color Wonder Travel Tote is great for entertaining kids while on the move. Our relatives are spread out all over the state so weekends can be a time when we do a lot of travelling in the car. It can be hard keeping my five year old entertained during these long drives as I need to keep my eyes on the road.

The travel tote comes with all those things that a young artist needs to be creative. I liked the fact that it is possible to store the contents so easily in the case. I don’t know how many hours I’ve spent previously searching for my daughter’s crayons. The set also contains enough interesting activities to keep her engaged over a long period of time. Another great thing about the crayons is that they can only be used on paper; although my daughter has thankfully gone beyond the stage of trying to write on walls. I would imagine that most kids would get a kick out of this product from Crayola. You can easily get this travel tote from Amazon.

Disclosure : I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

For more information, please click the picture above

To honor service men and women in the U.S. armed forces, Human Touch®, the U.S. market leader of innovative massage chairs, Perfect Chair® Recliners, and other wellness solutions, will be running Brave Soldier Contest through July 30.

Service men and women in the armed forces, or their friends and loved ones on their behalf, are invited to share their most inspirational stories about service to their country, in order to enter to win a FREE Human Touch® AcuTouch™ HT-7450 Zero Gravity massage chair (valued at $3,999 MSRP).

Let’s help spread the word.  Together we can provide one well-deserving soldier with this amazing health and wellness tool. If anyone deserves a daily massage, our soldiers do!

My husband and I had a few things in mind when looking for a stroller for our daughter. We wanted something that was easy to push around, good quality, and also reasonably priced. The Graco LiteRider meets all of these conditions and it also has a few other nice touches as well. We have an older child and so I’ve had some experience with strollers in the past. Our first stroller was comfortable enough for the passenger but I would struggle while pushing it. We bought a lighter stroller to replace the first one but it was poor quality and fell apart by the time our first child was barely two. This time we wanted to buy something lightweight but that was also durable.

The Graco Literider seems to be a lot more durable than our previous lightweight stroller. It is very easy to push around and comes with a reasonable price tag. There are also a few extras such as cup holders and a plastic tray. My only complain would be that the cup holders are not big enough for all cups. Overall though we are pleased with the Graco Literider and I would have no hesitation recommending it to others.

Disclosure : I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

I had researched a few options before deciding on the Fisher Price Rainforest high chair. At that time, we were having our first child and so I wasn’t really sure what to look for at first. I thought it would just be the case of picking one that was reasonably priced and looked nice. I read a bit though and found that there is a lot more to consider with this type of item; it needs to be not only comfortable for the child but most important of all it needs to be safe.

During my internet search I came across the some positive reviews for the Rainforest chair. It seemed to tick all the boxes and overall customers seemed very pleased with this product. I also liked the fact that it was made by Fisher Price as this is such a well respected brand name. When the chair arrived we wasted no time and were delighted to find that our son took to it straight away. He usually gets upset when we introduce something new into his life but he liked the look of the Rainforest chair; high praise indeed.

This is a great product but if I had to make one criticism it would be that the tray is a bit large and so needs to be washed by hand – not a big deal. Generally speaking thought it is very easy to clean and overall a great item that I’d recommend.

Disclosure : I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

Whether they are infants, toddlers, teens or just-about-adult, decorating your kid’s bedroom can either be a creative expression of your love, or a source of self-doubting despair. The decisions are endless – as are the costs – and the demand for the perfect bedroom is implacable.

Where to start slaying this beast?

The first step is to decide what the budget for this project is going to be – and promise yourself that you will stay within that budget. Next you need to decide whether you (and your child / children) are going to go with the traditional pink for girls and blue for boy’s colour schemes, or are you a progressive parent that allows other colours into the scheme as well. Will this decision be influenced by the theme of the room? Of course, if it’s a Barbie theme pink will be very appropriate. Then again, a cars (or Cars – the Disney version) will allow for multiple colours, including blue and red.

The theme is also very important. Not only does it help determine the colour scheme, it also needs to be age appropriate to prevent your child seeing monsters under the bed or in the closet. There is also evidence that certain themes stimulate brain activity and others depress the child’s development.

Do some research on the internet to find the most appropriate (and affordable) supplier of the bed, dressing table, wardrobe etc. that suits your theme.

A fun thing to do together is to paint the room together as a family, or let your child paint his / her own pictures on the walls to give it a customized look.

All-in-all, decorating your kid’s bedroom should allow for the child to feel safe, treasured and allow him / her to be able to express themselves.