While perusing the latest technology news in my role as a professional technology writer, I came across something interesting, a company called Toygaroo that bills itself as the Netflix of toys. Apparently, the online toy rental company was featured on a TV show that I haven’t seen called Shark Tank. The idea behind the show is that entrepreneurs pitch their ideas and then investors decide whether or not to invest in the company.  Two investors, including Mark Cuban, chose to invest in the company.  I mention this, because it reduces — but does not eliminate — the chances of this being a fly by night scam.

I have not signed up for Toygaroo yet, but it is an interesting concept that I will definitely dig into more deeply. Basically, you sign up for a toy rental plan, and then like at Netflix, you put toys into a “pouch” or queue. They send you the first shipment of toys on your list and then every two months, you box up the toys and ship them back. At that time, they send you the next available toys on your list.

The prices are not cheap, which is why I need to look more in-depth before I would feel comfortable giving parenting tips about using this toy service.

The cheapest Toygaroo plan is called the Joey Package an gives you four toys at a time. This toy renting package costs $24.99. Shipping is free both to your home and when you ship the toys back. There is also a Flyer Package with six rented toys at a time and a Boomer Package that offers eight toys at a time.  These are priced at $32.99 and $42.99, respectively.

Is Toygaroo a Good Value?

To get a good deal out of Toygaroo, you need to pick the right toys. More specifically, you need to not pick the “wrong” toys.

For example, there are some Melissa and Doug chunky puzzles offered. These are good toys for kids. They are wooden puzzles with thick pieces you can play with on their own if you ever get bored of just putting the dinosaurs in their spot, for example. But, you can buy the Melissa and Doug Dinosaur Chunky Puzzle for just $9.99 normally, and less if you find a sale or Melissa and Doug coupon. In other words, for the price of renting four such puzzles, you could actually OWN two.

Is Toygaroo a Scam?

Of course, there is no reason you have to rent four puzzles and that is sort of the point. If you pick the right toys at the right time, Toygaroo can be a great deal. If not, then Toygaroo is not a good deal. Either way, Toygaroo is not a scam, and one certainly wouldn’t say Toygaroo sucks, however, you would want to manage it properly to make sure that you are getting the most value for your money. Otherwise, you will be better off just looking for good deals on toys and buying them yourself.

Toygaroo Online Toy Rental originally published at Undefeated Daddy

Want to get some big savings on toys for Christmas, but don’t want to hassle with fighting crowds on Black Friday?

Some retailers are hoping to both blunt the madness and increase their own sales by offering Black Friday sales BEFORE the Friday after Thanksgiving. Today and tomorrow over at Toys R Us, for example, there are “Door Buster” specials for in-store savings and coupons. You can find the printable Toys R Us coupons online and check out their sale online too.

Just head over to toysrus.com and click on the 2-Day Only Mega Sale. I would link to it, but its done via Flash or some other nonsense, so I can’t actually find out where to link. I would think that would be a bad idea for retailers online, but who knows.

Anyway, good sales on Melissa and Doug Toys, Zhu Zhu Hamsters, and a Lego table like the ones they have in some doctor’s offices, or in the Carter’s Outlet store in the Park Meadows Mall (although this is regular Legos, not the big toddler-sized Duplo Legos).

Don’t forget to check Amazon.com for prices before heading out to buy. If you signed up to get your free Amazon Prime two-day shipping as a “Amazon Mom” (even if you are a Dad!) everything ships free, even if you don’t spend over $25.

Happy Holidays, and good hunting for toy deals and more online and off.

Christmas Toy Deals With No Black Friday Hassles originally published at Undefeated Daddy

Ever since selfish cowards began poisoning or otherwise tainting Halloween candy, it seems that kids just can’t catch a break when it comes to dressing up in a new costume and reveling in the surprise and delight of neighbors, friends, and family members at the sight of children in Halloween costumes. Each year, parents need to be smart and play it safe. This year, it seems that a couple of candy recalls before Halloween trick-or-treating starts are playing spoiler.

Fortunately, one of the recalls is not dangerous to most kids, although it can be very dangerous to those who are allergic to nuts. The other Halloween candy recall for 2010 is concerning for everyone and should be taken very seriously.

It seems that certain bags of Nestle RAISINETS Fun Size Bags in 10 ounce size may contain peanuts. The candy bags already say that they were made on machines that also process nuts, so kids with peanut allergies so severe even food made on equipment that handles nuts is not safe should already be steering clear of RAISINETS. But for those with serious, but quite that serious, nut allergies undeclared peanuts can be a big deal. A severe allergic reaction can mean a trip to the hospital, or worse. (Picture is NOT a sample of recalled packaging.)

The good news for all other children without peanut allergies is that there are no other health problems associated with candy from Nestle, or Raisenets in general.

For Halloween 2010, kids with no nut allergies who get Raisinets in their trick-or-treat bags can safely eat even the packages being recalled. For those children who do get Raisinets and have a peanut allergy, it’s probably best to throw them away, or trade them with friends for non-nut containing candy.

For full details on the Nestle Raisinets Halloween Fun Bags candy recall, visit the FDA’s website at FDA.gov (remember to use GOV and not COM).

Halloween Candy Recall 2010 – Nestle Raisinets originally published at Undefeated Daddy

Just in time to make savvy parents even more concerned about candy from trick-or-treating on Halloween, there has been a recall of a popular brand of lollipop Halloween candy.

Mega Pops brand lollipops are being recalled for the vague and ominous reason that there may be “foreign particles” in the candy. If that doesn’t make you feel all warm and fuzzy, I don’t know what would.

Like most food product recalls this candy recall only affects certain bags of the suckers. These are all of the bags processed during the time that there was a problem. Customers need to compare the lot numbers on the bags of candy, or the UPC Code numbers. The catch to that, of course, is that kids getting Mega Pops suckers dropped into their trick-or-treat buckets or bags aren’t going to get a good look at the serial numbers on the bags.

If you have a bag of Mega Pops lollipops at home, then by all means check first to see if your suckers are even on the recall list. If not, then you can use them freely. You may want to think twice about giving them out as Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters though, considering that a lot of parents will be following the next bit of advice, as well.

If your child gets Mega Pops lollipops — or the any of the recalled Raisinets — it’s probably safest to just throw them away. If your child is old enough you can use this as a way to teach them that it is better to be safe than sorry. However, lessons make for very poor Halloween candy (the kind you should get your house TP’ed for) consider allowing your kid to swap out the suspect lollipop with one of the pieces of candy in the bowl your house is handing out to trick-or-treaters.

That way, children can learn a valuable lesson at Halloween without feeling like they lost out, and at the same time, they will learn that while Mom and Dad will never compromise on their health and safety, they also are not out to ruin a good time or cheat kids out of any Halloween candy.

(We do that after they go to sleep.  Hee, hee. — What? I walked around in the dark and cold too, some of that candy should go to me.)

Update: There is another Halloween candy recall for Nestle Raisinets. Fortunately, this one only affects those children who are allergic to nuts.

2010 Halloween Candy Recall Mega Pops Lollipops originally published at Undefeated Daddy

As mentioned earlier, Amazon has started a program that it calls Amazon Mom. Despite the name, it is open to Dads, Grandparents, and frankly, anyone. All you have to do is go to amazon.com/mom and fill out a form. No proof of being a primary care giver for a baby or toddler is required. As long as you care about being a good dad or mom (or pretend to) that’s all that matters.

The key benefit of Amazon Mom is that you get three months of free membership in the Amazon Prime program, and that means that you get free shipping on any size order (no $25 minimum is required). More importantly, it is free 2-day shipping. That can make the difference between getting a Christmas present ordered on Amazon in time for Christmas Day or not.

The Amazon Mom program also offers discounts on diapers and wipes, but you need to subscribe to regular orders to get the 30% discount on diapers and baby wipes.

Don’t forget, Amazon free super-saver shipping is available on orders of $25 and above. However, that kind of shipping has a time frame of 5 to 7 business days, and it gets slower with the Christmas rush as the holiday draws closer. That makes the free Amazon Prime 2 day shipping such an important part of finding good online deals for baby stuff and Christmas gifts for kids.

I’m bringing this free offer up again now because we are officially within the window where those three months of free 2-day shipping include Christmas (and New Years if you care.)

Go sign up now while you have plenty of time and aren’t rushing to make last minute shopping decisions. It will be sitting there waiting on your Amazon account come December 17th when you really need it.

Free Amazon Shipping for Parents Through Christmas originally published at Undefeated Daddy

The guys over at Slickdeals have noticed that you can get a free Amazon Prime membership for “parents and caregivers”. The main benefit of Amazon Prime is that you get free 2-day shipping. Unlike the free standard shipping you get when you buy more than $25 worth of something, this eliminates the possibility of having to wait 2 weeks or more for something you buy from Amazon to show up.

This is an especially good thing for parents who have a child’s birthday coming up and want to save money by buying toys online but are worried about whether or not their kid’s presents will show up in time for their birthday. With free 2-day shipping, you can eliminate all the worry and guesswork about whether or not it is too late to order from Amazon.

Make sure you set a reminder on your calendar though, because if you don’t cancel the free 3-month trial before the three months is up, you automatically get charged to buy a full one-year Amazon Prime membership.

If you can hold out, wait to sign up for a free Amazon Prime trial until there is less than 3 months until Christmas. That way, you can get free 2-day shipping for all of your Christmas presents that you buy online from them.

Free Amazon Prime For Free 2 Day Shipping originally published at Undefeated Daddy

Savvy parents know that Melissa and Doug make some pretty great toys, especially those quality, wooden toys like you had when you were a kid. Alex brand toys are also good high-quality children’s toy makers, but I didn’t really see them on sale.

Anyway, many Melissa and Doug toys are on sale at Amazon.com. To find them, navigate through Toys and Games menus until you can choose the brand. Then choose eligible for Free Super Saver Shipping to screen out all of the scumbag retailers that think it’s cute to list a rock bottom low price with a high shipping charge. I hope Amazon wakes up and bans these sneaky retailers, but until then, it’s your job to not get suckered. Watch out for companies that have a toy priced $9.95 with a $7.95 shipping charge when all of the legitimate retailers are charging $16.95 with free shipping.

Even if the high shipping cost retailer has the lowest price by a buck or two, you are better off sticking with the honest retailers that are straightforward and upfront with their customers. You can be that any online store that is willing to try and dupe shoppers with phony low prices is not going to be the best Internet retailer to deal with if there is a problem with your order or you need to return something. Weasels are weasels.

Have a great day and hope you find some top kid’s toys for your child’s birthday or occasion, or even just for fun.

Melissa and Doug Toys On Sale at Amazon.com originally published at Undefeated Daddy

One of the best parenting tips out there comes courtesy of the adult shopping world. Just like regular department stores like Macy’s and JC Penny’s, as well as clothing stores like Gap, Land’s End, and so on, start changing over their catalog of clothing to fall clothing lines during the summer, kid’s clothing stores like the Children’s Place and others start switching over to their Back to School clothes and winter clothing lines at the end of summer. That makes late summer (like now) a great time to get good deals on kid’s clothes.

For example, the Children’s Place store is having their “Last Chance” end of summer sale right now. Many items are just $2.99 ranging from t-shirts, to shorts, to pants, and even some shoes are available online for girls, boys, toddlers, and baby.  That is a great way to stock up on children’s clothing for cheap.

Add Children’s Place online coupon code BTSA7A (expires 9/1/2010) and save even more. That coupon code for Children’s Place knocks those $2.99 items down to $2.54.

Shipping is a flat rate of $5 during this sale, so if you buy more than two or three things and use the discount code to save on your order, that should add up basically covering the cost of shipping, so it’s like getting free shipping on your Children’s Place kid’s clothing store order.

Watch for sales like these at your favorite kid stores to find great discounts on child shoes and clothes, which is an important parenting skill considering how expensive buying kid’s stuff can be, and how fast the little kiddos outgrow it!

What are your favorite kid clothes and kids shoes websites to save money buying baby clothes and toddler shoes, as well as for those older children who have moved beyond the “T” sizes.

Good luck finding your own great deals.

Children’s Place Summer Sale Plus Coupon Code originally published at Undefeated Daddy

As a thank you to the Denver community for funding they receive as part of the SCFD District in the metro Denver area, the Denver Zoo offers free admission on 8 days throughout the year. The 2010 Free Days at Denver Zoo are listed below.

• January 9
• January 18
• February 7
• February 16
• October 13
• October 21
• November 7
• November 13

Don’t forget that members get discounted admission to Denver Zoo for special events and get general admission free every day of the year.

Finding online coupons to Denver Zoo is not likely. They don’t really promote themselves that way. If you go searching all over the Internet chances are you’ll just find a bunch of kid event pages or free stuff for kids type websites that have a page that says online Denver Zoo coupons, but won’t actually have any coupon codes for the Denver Zoo.

Denver Zoo coupons can be found occasionally in various magazines but are not very common. This is one of those locations that people are already planning to go to and they aren’t waiting around for a coupon to give them discounted admission to the Denver Zoo, so why give out coupons?

You can find good coupons for other Denver attractions and fun places for kids in Denver.

Have fun visiting all of the animals at the Denver Zoo

Denver Zoo Free Days 2010 originally published at Undefeated Daddy

I bit the bullet and updated Undefeated Daddy to WordPress 3.0. That took out the old theme that I had installed, so I’m going with the default Twenty Ten theme for now. Please let me know if you experience any problems while using this parenting skills and tips resource.

Also, feel free to check out my freelance writing blog at Arctic Llama if you are considering trying to be a work at home dad by starting up a freelance writing business out of a home office.

Parenting Skills Blog at Undefeated Daddy Updated originally published at Undefeated Daddy