I’ve had the idea to do legitimate toy reviews from real parents here on UndefeatedDaddy.com for a long time. However, I wasn’t sure exactly how to go about it. Now, I’m going to start doing real toy reviews of the toys my own kids get, play with, and enjoy (or don’t). That way, the readers here will know that they are getting real non-fake toy reviews that are not designed to gather a 5-star rating on Amazon or whatever.

Leapster 2 Touch Screen Problem

This article is not a Leapster 2 review. That will be coming soon. However, the short version is the this. My kids love the Leapster 2. However, they do not have a Wii or Xbox or iPad or anything like that. Thus, this is the first and only kids gaming system we have, other than those aimed at younger children.

That being said, do not buy a Leapster 2. They are being phased out to make way for the Leapster Explorer. That means your Leapster 2 will be out of date in no time and there may not be any new games for the Leapster 2. We didn’t know this at the time, but we plan to take advantage of clearance sales to stock up on Leapster games from eBay and elsewhere online to make it last until we are ready for a new game system.

I bring this all up because we got a Leapster 2 game handset for Christmas that developed a bug where it would ask us to touch a flag to choose USA or Canada, but nothing happens when you touch the screen. It’s only a month old, so you can bet I was on the phone ready to be outraged.

Check out my article about whether there is a Credit Karma Scam.

It turns out that this is a rather common problem with Leapster and Leapster 2 game sets. Fortunately, there is a very easy fix.

Fix No Response Touch Screen on Leapster 2

To fix a broken Leapster 2 touch screen, you have to recalibrate it. To do so, you need to enter an undocumented (or poorly documented) configuration mode. To get into the system mode on the Leapster, hold down the ? (Help) button while turning it on.

Keep in mind that you have to already be pressing the ? button when you touch the power button and you have to keep holding it down until a configuration screen shows up.

Once you get to the config screen, press the A button to calibrate the Leapster touchscreen. The unit will display little red circles with a cross. Just touch each circle with the pen. They will appear in the four corners of the screen and then in the center.

When you’ve done that and are back at the configuration screen just press the power button or the down arrow until the unit shuts off to reset. Now, when you start the Leapster 2 and it asks you to select USA or Canada, it should actually work when you touch the American flag.

Leaptster Screen Freeze Touch Broken originally published at Undefeated Daddy

Here is an update about the current Happy Meal toys. The latest toy in McDonald’s Happy Meals are Hello Kitty watches for the Happy Meal girl toys and Transformer action figures for the boy Happy Meal toys.

There are several of the Hello Kitty characters offered including the bunny rabbit and the black cat, in addition to the most recognized Hello Kitty face. These are cheapo kids watches, of course, but they seemed to go over just fine with my four-year old. A quick parenting tip, however, if your child wants something to play with get the boys toy.

The Transformers action figure Happy Meal toys are standard quality figurine toys one would find in a McDonald’s Happy Meal. However, since the entire point of Transformers is that they change into something, it is curious that the Happy Meal Transformers don’t actually transform. The black one we got has a little lever on the back that you are supposed to click back and forth in order to pump the machine gun arms in and out. It looks pretty cool, but the switch is small and hard to work for young kids. It would take an older child to actually be able to use it.

According to the bottom of the box, the next Happy Meal toy is Bakugan for the boys Happy Meal toys and something like cutest little pets. I don’t remember the exact phrasing. If that rings a bell with anyone let me know so that I can get it right on here.

Current McDonald’s Happy Meal Toy originally published at Undefeated Daddy

Getting a toddler to sit still through a full-length movie is enough of a challenge as it is. Without a movie screen full of color and action, it’s a lost cause. That’s why a top parenting tip is to know how good a movie is for toddlers and young kids above and beyond whatever rating the movie gets.

Movie ratings like G and PG and PG-13 are all based on what is “appropriate” for children. The criteria for a G rating or PG rating are fuzzy at best and arbitrary at worst. Either way, just because a movie has no violence, swearing or naked body parts doesn’t mean it’s a good movie for kids. There are a lot of more important things for savvy parents to worry about when taking their kids to see a movie that they have not seen before.

Is Tangled A Good Movie For Small Children or Toddlers?

The good news is that the new Disney movie Tangled is a good film for kids in many ways. It is bright and colorful, as well as full of action. As an added bonus, there is consistent screen time for two lovable cartoon animals, which often go over better with younger kids than the main human characters do.

<Spoiler Alert — This discussion includes plot points and gives away the end of the movie>

The only violence in MOST of the film is “cartoon violence” and consists primarily of falls, tackles, and an occasional punch. There are two big exceptions. The important one is at the end where the false mother that has imprisoned Rapunzel stabs the main character and he dies before being brought back by a magic tear. Of course, the stabbing happens off-screen and blood soaked clothing is shown only momentarily.

The other main violence is smacking various characters in the head with frying pans who, of course, are none the worse for the wear after being woken back up. The reason this matters is that most homes have a frying pan and some kiddos might get the wrong idea. If you already have your youngsters fully on the no hitting train, then this is probably not going to shake them up. If you have trouble with little Johnny or Susie grasping the concept of not hitting people with sticks and toys, then there is the suggestion that hitting with a pan is both funny and not harmful, so you’ll need to have a talk after that.

Good Guys and Bad Guys

The trickiest part about Tangled is the concept of good guys and bad guys.

Many younger kids and certainly toddlers are just beginning to get their heads around the idea that not everyone is good (in the movies at least). This is part of growing up and a critical component of true trust. However, most young kids are comfortable with one villain who they can write off as the bad guy.

Tangled makes this tough because the lead male character, Flynn Rider, starts the movie as a thief having robbed the palace of what turns out to be the crown worn by the missing princess Rapunzel when she was a baby. That means he is an outlaw and chased by soldiers and by one of the soldier’s horses, Maximus. (He’s one of the two animals.)

Rapunzel is good through and through. Her mother is evil and selfish, and the actual bad guy for the movie. However, young children will have trouble with the soldiers who they are likely to lump into the “bad” camp because they are chasing Flynn.

Older kids will be able to catch the subtlety that Flynn is not a bad guy and that he really isn’t a thief at heart. He even admits as much during the film. For younger kids who want Flynn and Rapunzel to be the good guys and everyone trying to stop them that’s a tough distinction to grasp, even with plenty of help from Mom and Dad. Be prepared to have to let it go. Kids this age don’t need to be confused further about who is good or bad.

Is Tangled Any Good?

If you’re an adult looking for a movie, Tangled is not for you. This isn’t on the level of The Lion King or Beauty and Beast, and certainly not of the Finding Nemo or Monsters Inc. caliber.

There are plenty of funny one-liners, the movie never really gets slow, and the dialog and story are fine enough to keep adults from rolling their eyes. However, this is a long Disney Channel cartoon more than anything.

The most bothersome part of the movie is that the characters blurt out into song (it’s a musical) in very artificial and an almost forced manner. For adults who know how movies (and even musicals) are supposed to flow, it is very jarring, but youngsters won’t notice. In addition, these are not the lovable, catchy tunes from Beauty and the Beast. Your four-year old won’t end up singing any of these songs unless Disney mounts a multi-year campaign to force them into every CD, TV series, Disney on Ice performance, and musical special they produce.

That may actually be a good thing

Take your kids, they’ll like it and you will like taking them to it. Just don’t round up your friends for a night out to see Tangled. It’s for kids, not for kids of all ages.

Tangled Movie Review for Toddlers and Young Children originally published at Undefeated Daddy

We ordered this baby books collection boxset for our newborn son because it was on a huge sale and we figured if just one or two of the things were worthwhile it would be worth it. Turns out that this is a really great high-quality set of various kinds of books and cards for reading to young kids. As it turns out, this is very important as latest parenting tips suggest that the more words you say to your baby, whether talking or reading, the smarter they are likely to be. (See the book  What’s Going On In There)

I find that the most useful reviews are those that make it more clear exactly what you get when you order something and what makes those things useful or worthwhile instead of some vague notion of how we loved it or our kids played with it for hours, or whatever.

What you get inside of a sturdy cardboard box that can be reused, but is too complicated to close for a young child, is six different types of reading books. One is called First Words and is a standard board book made of thick cardboard. Each page has a single picture and a word (or two words). This is a great way to read to babies who don’t want to sit and listen to actual page text. One page is “Chair” and then “Ball”.

The next book called Colors is a fabric book made of cloth. Again, each page has a single item and word.

The book Baby Animals is a touch-and-feel board book. Heavy cardboard with a picture of an animal where part of the animal is fuzzy or something.

The ABC book is a cardboard board book with a bead filled plastic area that serves as a rattle and two rubber “ears” (the orange and green things on top) that can be chewed on. The book opens up-down instead of left-right like a steno pad, so it is a new experience for some babies who end up looking at it sideways like a “normal” book.

Bathtime has plastic pages that can be gotten wet. Again, each page has one word like Duck.

Finally, there is a set of 10 laminated cards attached to a ring. The ring can be opened but only by an older child. The different sensation of cards as opposed to pages is another new way to interact with pictures and writing. On one side of the car is a numeral with its word — 4 and four, for example — and on the other side is the same number of an object and the name of the object printed on the card.

All six pieces have proven as durable as any other childrens books and the simple pictures and words are perfect for baby reading. The day I watched my son pull out the First Words book and “read” it by making sounds that matched my cadence “chair, ball” … “ehhh, ahhh” I knew that we made a great buy.

Bright Baby Book Box Priddy Books originally published at Undefeated Daddy

My daughter loves seeing the pictures we take on the back of the camera and on the computer. In fact, the toughest thing about getting pictures these days is that I can only snap two or three pics before she is jumping up and asking to see them on the LCD screen on the back of the camera.

She also love playing with her pretend cameras. She points them at me and says click (for the ones that don’t click) and then looks at the back, whether there is a pretend screen there or not and then says things like, "Oh, that’s a good one," or "Oops. Your eyes were closed."

A very important parenting skill is encouraging your child’s creativity. Not surprisingly, we are thinking about getting her, her own kids digital camera for her birthday present. I started looking at digital cameras for children online and noticed some things right away that I thought I would pass along to Moms and Dads looking to buy a child digital camera for their son or daughter.

First, watch out for the Megapixels rating of the camera. While it is true that the digital camera specification wars have all but made megapixels meaningless as a way of judging quality on adult cameras, they are a very useful tool for weeding out junk toy cameras sold as real digital cameras for kids.

Let me put it this way. My five year old cell phone has a camera that takes 2 megapixel pictures. They aren’t the world’s greatest pictures, but from a cell phone that old, they are good enough. Just don’t ever plan on blowing them up or printing them out as anything other than a little 4×6 snapshot and it is all good. So, why in the world do some of these kid’s digital cameras come with the ability to take 0.3 megapixel pictures?

That is 0.3, not 3.0. In other words some digital cameras like the Little Tikes Kids Digital Camera takes pictures that are not half as good as my cell phone pictures, not one-quarter as good as my cell phone, but almost 1/10th as good as my cell phone! In other words, total crap. The only thing a 0.3 MP picture is good for is looking at on that tiny 1-inch screen on the back of the camera.

Look, we all know that these are kids toys and that they have to take a beating. We also all know that for $50 we aren’t going to get Canon’s top of the line digital camera. However, I think we can expect that even a child’s camera should come with a camera at least on par with the cameras you get in the free cell phones that companies give away to get new customers.

In other words, leave the 0.3 megapixel toy cameras rotting on the shelves, and find one that has at LEAST 1.0, and realistically 2.0 megapixels. If you can’t afford that one, wait for a sale, because the other one is a waste of money, and you and your child would be happier just using your imaginations instead.

Good Digital Camera for Kids originally published at Undefeated Daddy

Good parenting skills are key to avoiding things like temper tantrums, sulking, and most importantly of all, disappointed children which leads to disappointment for parents too. As a dad, good nutrition is important to me and my kids, primarily because I know how important getting the right foods helps kids stay healthy and grow strong.

On the other hand, having fun is very important to me too. And, as a fully grown adult who not only got an occasional McDonald’s meal when I was a kid, as well as one who ate there waaaayyyy to much in his twenties, I know that a Happy Meal here and there isn’t going to hurt my kids. When you way the fun of a trip to McDonald’s to get a Happy Meal against any nutritional detriments, fun comes out way ahead.

The catch to the whole thing is that the toy in a McDonald’s Happy Meal is an important part of the fun. Nothing puts disappointment on a little kid’s face like a crummy Happy Meal toy. That’s why I always like to know in advance what the current Happy Meal toy is.

Here during July, 2010, the current Happy Meal toy comes from the movie The Last Airbender. Chances are that if you have seen the reviews, then you have not seen the movie. Chances are also good that this flick will not end up on the list of good movies for kids.

However, that does not necessarily mean that the current Happy Meal toys are no good. The cat with wings doll, for example, would probably be a big hit with my daughter.

Trick To Get Better Happy Meal Toy

If you have a younger child and the McDonald’s toy sucks when you go, there is a trick you can use to get a better Happy Meal toy free and easy.

The main Happy Meal toys are almost never “suitable” for children under 3. So, if you have a kid who is under, or even near 3-years old, just ask for the “under 3 toy”. This is a special Happy Meal toy that all McDonald’s restaraunts keep on hand for parents who have young kids that don’t meet the official age requirements for the main Happy Meal toy. Don’t worry about making anyone grumpy, they have to have those toys anyway, and it is all the same to them, as long as you aren’t trying to be a weasel and get two toys out of your Happy Meal.

Have a fun day with your kids.

Current Happy Meal Toy Latest Update originally published at Undefeated Daddy

Recently, I started thinking about how many movies I’ve tried to show my now three-year old daughter, and how many of those films she just never got into. It isn’t that these aren’t great movies, they are, it is just that for a young toddler with a short attention span, and love for action, color, and fun, some movies just are not well suited to kiddos.

So, I’ve started compiling a list of the great movies to show children, as well as a listing of what movies from Disney classics, to Pixar movie cartoons, belong in the home library of every parent with small children.

You can see the current list here: Best Movies for Kids

I also recently wrote up a page at another website detailing the Disney movie, The Emperor’s New Groove, which is one of the best kids movies for toddlers thanks to a fast-pace, fun characters, and plenty of action. In addition, the villain, while plenty scary and evil for those of us a little older and more comfortable with those topics, is surprisingly non-frightening for youngsters who find her more funny than scary.

Good Children’s Movies for Toddlers and Young Kids originally published at Undefeated Daddy

When it comes to being a great dad, one of the important tasks is keeping all of the children’s toys, electronics, mobiles, music makers, and games stocked with working batteries.  Nothing makes this job easier than rechargeable batteries.

With rechargeable batteries, the worst case scenario is that your toddler just has to wait a little while for the batteries to charge.  With regular batteries, you might have to explain to your kid that you don’t have the right batteries but you’ll try and remember to buy more next time you have the chance.

Of course, if you forget, then you’ll have to see your child’s look of disappointment that Dad forgot to buy new batteries, and deep down inside, you’ll worry that it seems like you don’t care about things that are important to him.

Trust me, every time you see rechargeable batteries on sale, buy some.  Try to shoot for around $2 per AA rechargeable battery and you’ll always be getting a good deal.

Weak Rechargeable D Batteries and C Batteries

There is one thing to watch out for when it comes to rechargeable batteries.  Major battery companies have decided to be deceptive rather than make quality rechargeable D size batteries and C size batteries.  Whether this near-fraud is due to not wanting to make good rechargeable C batteries because the prices would be too high (maybe $8 or $10 each) or whether it is part of some conspiracy to keep their profits up by making people think that rechargeable batteries aren’t as good a regular batteries, I don’t know.

Look on a AA-sized battery and you will find that most of them have 2400 or 2500 mAh.  That means that there is 2500 mili-Amp hours in the battery.  It sounds complicated, but basically what mAh means is that if you had something that used up one mili-Amp of power each hour, a 2500 mAh battery would theoretically run it for 2500 hours before running out.

Look at a regular alkaline battery and it will be labeled 2500 mAh or maybe 2400 mAh.  Look at the rechargeable AA-size battery and you’ll see a similar number.  There is an exception.  Some battery companies make different power AA rechargeables which means that a cheapo retailer that doesn’t care about their customers can buy the lower power rechargeables for cheap and then advertise their “great price” without pointing out that you are buying the lower power ones.

Stay away from rechargeable AA batteries that aren’t rated near 2400 or 2500 mAh.

Where it really gets sketchy is with C and D sized batteries.

The regular alkaline D batteries are typically in the neighborhood of 12,000 mAh.  But, the rechargeable D batteries are only 2,500 mAh, or the same power as a AA battery!

The worst part is they charge you a lot more even though it is the same battery!  Search online and you’ll find that people have cut open rechargeable D batteries to find that what is inside is a AA battery with an outer case to make it look like a D battery.

Technically the battery companies aren’t doing anything wrong, but they sure aren’t going out of their way to point out that you are getting 20% of the full D-size battery power when you buy a rechargeable D battery.

Save your money and instead buy adapters that fit over rechargeable AA batteries and use them for your C and D battery needs instead.  Or, go over to All-Battery.com and find rechargeable D batteries that have 10,000 mAh or better in them instead of being ripped off by the brand name battery companies.

I’ve had really good luck with the guys at All-Battery.com for my stuff, including the brand of rechargeables they carry “Tenergy” I think it is.  Use the link to try them out.  (Yes, I get a teeny-tiny commission of you buy something, but I could get more money recommending someone else.  I’ve actually used them and never had anything bad happen

Rechargeable Batteries and Baby’s Mobile and other Toddler Toys and Kid Electronics originally published at Undefeated Daddy

I really like shopping at Fat Brain Toys, and I do poke around Amazon from time to time, but I just found this place today and I love them for this Toys Clearance Sale page.  That page of onsale toys that is clearly broken out by not just brand but also individual show or movie is on AllAboardToys.com, a new website that I just found.

Now, don’t get me wrong, today is litterally the first day I have ever been to the site so I have not bought anything from them yet and I am not making any recommendation or comment on their products or service yet.  However, this is THE BEST ONLINE TOY SHOPPING WEBPAGE EVER CREATED.

Why?

As any parent knows, just because your daughter loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, does NOT mean that she loves all things Disney.  In fact, she might HATE certain things like the movie Cars because one time there was a box of cereal with a picture on the front of a little Mickey Mouse toy, but instead it had the tow truck from Cars inside instead.  Kids don’t care about fine print or what is on the back, and they don’t forget either.  Every time we pass a box of that cereal in the store she points and says, “That’s the kind with the wrong toys.”

Note to cereal manufacturers.  You might want to rethink your marketing strategy when it comes to what you include inside your boxes.  You might think that kids will keep asking their parents to buy your cereals over and over again until they get what they want, but actually, they’ll remember that you screwed them over and they won’t like it.  (Again, they don’t care about whether anything was technically accurate or honest, the picture on the front is the truth for them.)

Where does All Aboard Toys fit in all of this?

From time to time I like to buy new things that have her favorite characters or whatever on them.  Generally, I do not buy big elaborate toys but rather smaller ones that can bring joy for a long time AND provide the comfort of the familiar when we go to new places like restaraunts or hotels or whatever.  Thus, a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse plate, or fork, or shirt, is a nice find.  But, I hate the drudgery of going through 823 toys that aren’t right before finding the 3 that are.

All Aboard Toys fixes that problem by sorting not just by a big category like Disney, but by individual shows and movies.  My daughter loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc. but does not like Cars and really doesn’t know anything about any of the others.  So, it is SO refreshing to see an online retailer that gets how their customers actually shop AND that does not change their sorting and categories when they put stuff on sale or in clearance.

On both the regular pages and the clearance pages, you can choose from Finding Nemo, Scooby Doo, Toy Story, Backyardigans, or whatever your child is into and the items pop right up with no extra junk and no shady “used” or “third-party” retailers like on Amazon.

My cart is already stuffed with great things that I didn’t even know were made because they were burried too deep in the rubbish on other toy websites for me to know that there are actually several Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playsets, not just the ubiquitous garage and “suprise” sets that I’m not really a fan of.

Once I trim down my order enough to submit it, I’ll let you know how it goes for the rest of the shopping experience.

Online Toy Shopping, Toys, Toy Deals

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Best Online Toy Store For Great Clearance Deals originally published at Undefeated Daddy

If you went to college during the 1990s, you probably at least heard of a band called, They Might Be Giants .  In fact, you might have been a big fan. (I was.) 

If may surprise you to know that these days the band writes, sings, and records children’s songs .  Turns out that the band members have kids and they like doing it, and since they were apparently smart enough to save some money from their “bigger” days, they can record fun kid’s music .

The cool part is that instead of the dopey or sappy children’s songs you usually get, these are just fun songs for children.  So, you can listen to them too without going crazy.

Check out some of their albums here:

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They Might Be Giants Sing Children’s Songs originally published at Undefeated Daddy