Product Reviews for Parents

Pop the Pig Game: A Review

January 17, 2011 By Robert Leave a Comment

My kids, ages 8 and 5, had seen the ad for Pop the Pig by Goliath at least a half dozen times before Christmas. Thinking that it would be an entertaining family game for the four of us, I picked it up at Toys ‘R Us for about $20.00 (that’s not cheap, either, in my book) and gave it to them before the holidays even came around. The kids were excited to play it and as we opened up the baggie of little plastic hamburgers, we all exclaimed, “Awwww!” because they were so cute. We were off to a good start. I consulted the directions to make sure we were setting things up correctly and we began a game.

How The Game Works

Here is how the game is supposed to work: with each turn, players roll the die, feed the pig a burger and then press down on his chef’s hat the number of times shown on the bottom of the selected burger. The pig’s stomach (which actually has a balloon-type devise underneath it) is supposed to get bigger and bigger with each press of his hat, until he finally “pops,” causing his belt to open. My kids thought this concept was hysterical and could not wait to see the pig “pop.”

“Popping” The Pig

Unfortunately, there were a few problems with getting the pig to pop, the first of which is that his hat is very difficult to press down, especially for my littler one. But with two hands, he was finally able to do this. I can’t imagine any child younger than 5 being strong enough to pull this off. The second problem is that the growth of the pig’s stomach is so negligible that it is hardly noticeable at all. We kept peering and peering at Pig’s stomach, thinking we may have detected a slight change, only to wonder if we were just imagining it! Eventually, we were able to get Pig’s belt to pop open but the stomach never really got big at all. “Are you guys sure the belly is supposed to get big?” I asked. “Look at the picture,” they said. And sure enough, the image on the front of box shows good ole Pig with a big, inflated stomach. “This game is stupid,” my daughter said. “It’s junk,” my son said. Obviously, neither of my kids have a tendency to mince words.

What Others Are Saying

“Maybe ours is defective,” I said, opening up my laptop to check the reviews on Amazon. While some reviews were positive, many echoed our same concerns. The average rating was 2 ½ stars out of 5 (with 73 customer reviews). Some said the hat was too hard for their children to push down (we agree). Others said the stomach never grew (yup). One pointed out that the big explosion their child was waiting for was first just the belt opening with a click (our experience too) and that after a few games the “explosion” became reduced to clicks only with no belt popping at all. I guess we should be happy that our belt does manage to pop open. The bottom line? This game is nothing like what it looks like on the television commercial and while the concept is charming, Pop the Pig fails to deliver “pops” or laughs.

Have you played this game? What has been your experience?

Review of Groupon and Tips for Using It

December 19, 2010 By Robert Leave a Comment

I have known of Groupon for awhile now but until recently, it wasn’t available in my local area. I used to check out the site and see what deals were available in Philadelphia, which is about an hour and a half from us, but with two kids, work and a very tight budget, we don’t get the opportunity to go into the city as often as we used to. I was pretty excited when Groupon starting offering deals right in our town and it looks like it plans on launching sites for many of the surrounding areas very soon. The company seems to be growing at an amazing pace, hopefully the people behind it are able to manage that growth so they don’t become the next dot com fatality but only time will tell.

Groupon Deal of the Day

For those of you that don’t know, Groupon is a “deal of the day” web site that provides huge savings in your local area. I have seen the savings range from 25% to 75% off with most being close to the 50% off range. Each deal has a tipping point that activates the offer. In other words, if enough people don’t buy it, then the deal is null and void. Most of the time, more than enough people jump at the deal. The deals can be for almost anything. In the short time it’s been available in my local area I have seen discounts for restaurants, local stores, flying lessons, spa treatments, and more. It’s part of the attraction of the site, every day brings something new and you feel compelled to read the emails, check the Twitter feed or view the site to see what the days deal is. It’s the perfect execution of a viral marketing plan.

It’s hard to see how some of the companies that use Groupon actually make money. To keep the math easy, let’s say a local restaurant offers a $100 meal for $50 (a pretty common deal on Groupon) the restaurant doesn’t get $50. They split that money with Groupon so Groupon get’s $25 and the restaurant get’s $25. After selling that particular deal, they still have to offer the $100 meal that was advertised. It’s not unusual for hundreds of people to jump on a deal like that so if you do the math, it’s quite a lot for a small business to absorb. Talk about eating into your margins!

Despite all that, there seems to be no limit to the number of companies interested in offering a huge discount on sites like Groupon. So, how do they make money or at least hope to make money, offering such huge discounts? I have a few thoughts this:

It’s a service or product that has huge margins and they can afford to offer big discounts in the hopes of gaining a new customer
The company knows it will lose money on the deal but hopes it will make up for it by the increased exposure and the chance to capture new and repeat customers
As with most coupons/gift certificates, a certain percentage of people will buy the deal but will never actually use it. When that happens, it’s pure profit for the business offering the deal.

The only negative press I have been able to find online is from companies that have used it and failed to turn a profit on their particular deal but is that really Groupon’s fault? They seem to be pretty up-front about what they have to offer companies but I have no first hand experience. I am sure I am missing some strategies that businessmen smarter than me have been able to take advantage of and I would think that a good portion of the companies that use it must make out alright for the company to be growing as fast they are.

How to use Groupon

Okay, so enough about how Groupon works for the businesses that use it, let’s take a look at the customer, the end user for the service. Can you really save that much using Groupon? Absolutely! That I know for certain. The deals they offer are legitimate and easy to cash in on. Before you give them your credit card number and start buying up discounts and special offers, we do have a few tips on how to best use the Groupon site:

As with any coupon, don’t get sucked in by the deal and spend money on something you didn’t need or never intended to buy in the first place.
You can get $10 just for referring other people to Groupon who make a purchase. I signed up and referred my wife, my sister and my parents. If they opt into any of the deals that come along, I will get $10 to spend on any deal I want.
The site can be fun and addictive, don’t let that overrule your own common sense. If you can’t really use it, it doesn’t matter how good of a deal it is, don’t spend your money on it
If you do buy it, make sure you pay careful attention to the expiration date. They are counting on a certain percentage of people buying into the deal but never getting around to actually using it. If you aren’t sure you will be able to use it before the expiration date, don’t buy it.
Take a look at what other customers have to say about a particular deal before you purchase it by clicking on the “Jon the Discussion” link.
I never buy into the deal the first time I look at it. I typically check out the Groupon site first thing in the morning before work. If I am not interested, I don’t go back until the next day. If I am interested, I wait a few hours and go back to the site on my lunch break. It gives me time to think about whether I will really use or need the offer and helps to remove some of the emotional excitement from the transaction.
Make sure you read the fine print so you know exactly what you are getting and what the restrictions are.
If you are interested in the service, make sure you register and create a profile, it will make it a lot easier to purchase deals and keep track of what offers you have available to you.

I highly recommend Groupon, if you can exercise a little self control, it’s a great way to save a LOT of money. You can check out their web site and sign up by going to Sign Up with Groupon

Do you use Groupon? How do you make it work for you?

Filed Under: Discount Sites, Money and Finances Tagged With: Coupons, Daily Deal, Groupon, Saving Money

Review of Large Building Blocks from Smart Monkey Toys

December 10, 2010 By Robert 2 Comments

Review of Smark Monkey Toys large blocks The other day we received a 16pc large red building block set, in the mail for a product review. These are by Smart Monkey Toys and I have got to tell you; even before I started assembling the blocks, I could tell they were going to be a hit with my boys.

16 pc Large Red Blocks by Smart Monkey Toys
Price: $25 – $36

When the kids saw the picture of the blocks on the packaging, they got super excited and immediately asked if they could play with them. I wasn’t crazy about trying to put the blocks together with two very impatient 3 year old boys, buzzing around me like a swarm of bees.

Assembling the blocks

Anyhow, they were really keyed up and kept saying “please Mommy” in a cute non-whiney kind of way, so of course I had to finally concede. I’ve got to say, the first block took me a little bit to figure out — but once I decided to pull out the helpful and easy to follow instructions that were enclosed, it was a piece of cake. I was able to put all 16 large building blocks together in about 15-20 minutes. That is record time for getting anything done while my children are awake.

Kid tested, mother approved

As soon I was finished, the boys immediately began playing. They worked together to build a large firehouse. Then they decided to see how tall they could stack the building blocks. I was very impressed with how flush, the blocks fit together. We have an older, cheaper set, by a different company and those blocks always tip over before the stack gets too high. The blocks from Smart Monkey Toys are also much sturdier than the others we have. I know this, because the boys later decided to use them as ice skates.

They are made of lightweight corrugated cardboard so if they fall over, or if – and this would probably never happen – one brother accidentally flung a block in the direction of the other brother, no one would really get hurt. Nice! Despite the fact that they are light, they are very well engineered and will hold a lot more weight than you might expect.

Another thing you can absolutely love about these blocks, is that they are made of recycled materials.

So, in case you haven’t figured it out already — YES; I would definitely recommend these blocks. They are wonderful!

These blocks are available from these fine retailers. The prices listed below are what they were being sold at when we wrote this review

Amazon – $26.42
Kazoo Toys – $25.52

Have you seen these blocks? What do you think of them? Would you buy them for your children?

Filed Under: Shopping, Toys and Games Tagged With: Building Blocks, Cardboard, Recycled Materials, Smart Monkey Toys, Some assembly required, Toys

Review of Owly Volume 1 by Andy Runton

November 17, 2010 By Robert Leave a Comment

Owly Volume 1 As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have loved and enjoyed comic books for most of my life. Most people that have never been truly exposed to the medium lump them all into one category, childish superhero fantasy. While I am a big fan of superhero comics and find most modern superhero comics to be anything but childish, the point of this review is to show you that the medium of comics can and does tell a wide variety of stories.

Comics, in the simplest terms, are stories told with both writing and art. They cover a huge variety of genres and are aimed at an equally wide number of audiences and age groups. Owly is an independent comic book that is both written and drawn by Andy Runton. There is very little text in Owly. Mr. Runton uses expressive imagery to tell very emotional and heart warming stories.

Who is Owly?

Owly vol 1 is the first comic book I bought for my children. Harrison was 3 and Sean was 1. Both were too young for it but they have grown into it since. Owly is not in the typical comic book format, it is shaped more like a standard book and much thicker than a comic. The first volume includes two stories: The Way Home and The Bittersweet Summer. Owly is an adorable owl who knows what it means to be human. He is a reflection of the sweet and innocent child in all of us. In the first story, Owly is lonely and in search of a friend. He is misunderstood by the other animals around him but he perseveres and in the end he learns the meaning of friendship. In the second story, Owly needs to learn how to let go but he also learns that goodbyes aren’t always forever. Both stories teach a valuable life lesson to children.

As I mentioned previously, there is very little writing in Owly, it’s done almost entirely in black and white pictures but that is the beauty of it. The art is so expressive that it’s easy to take your child through the story and talk about what is going on in the panels. The book also allows your little one to express himself through the images, to create his own dialogue and explain to you what is going on. It let’s them use their imagination to tell a story that matches up with the images in front of them. My wife had a hard time with this book at first. The first part of the first story is heart wrenching, poor little Owly just wants to be friends but is rejected at every turn in the beginning. The art is so expressive it nearly brought her to tears the first time.

If you can’t already tell, I highly recommend Owly. I reviewed vol 1 simply because it’s a good starting point but there are 5 volumes that I know of. Owly is published by Top Shelf comics and may be available via your local comic book store. If you can’t find it locally, Amazon has it at a great price. Check it out for yourself at Owly Vol 1.

Filed Under: Books and Magazines, Comic Books Tagged With: Andy Runon, Comic Books, Owly, Review

Choosing a Crib for Your Baby

November 10, 2010 By Robert Leave a Comment

A crib is one of the things you need to buy when expecting a baby

Photo on CAPL

There are many baby items that are perfectly safe to buy second hand. Unfortunately there are a couple of items, such as a car seat and a crib, that are safer for baby if bought brand new. New cribs can be very pricey but you do not need to spend a fortune to keep your baby safe during sleep time. The least expensive crib on the market can be perfectly safe for baby as long as it meets the government safety requirements and is assembled correctly.

If you do purchase secondhand, make sure it is from someone you know and trust. Regardless of where you purchase, it is important, for the safety of your baby, to always keep an eye on current baby product recalls at www.recalls.gov (in the United States) and http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/home-accueil-eng.jsp (in Canada). In my experience, most of these recalls are easily fixable and often the company ships you a small repair kit, free of charge to you, complete with instructions. It is only in more drastic cases where you would actually have to discontinue use of the product you have purchased. When buying new, many baby items come with a registration card that you mail to the company and they will mail information concerning recalls directly to your home.

Statistics show that although 4 million babies are born in the United States each year, only 1 million cribs are purchased. In the United States, 26 infants die each year and another 11,500 are hospitalized in crib related accidents. Unfortunately, many of these accidents occurred in older-style cribs that do not meet current government safety regulations. In the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Commission states that only cribs made after 1991 are likely to meet all current safety standards. In Canada, all cribs made after September 1986 are likely to meet all current safety standards. Health Canada states, “Using a crib manufactured before September 1986 poses potential hazards that may result in serious injuries, including death.”

Crib Safety Standards

Crib safety standards in both the United States and Canada include:

Crib slats must not be more than 2 3/8 inches apart so as to prevent baby from slipping through them. You should not be able to pass a pop can through the slats. If you can, then the slats are not properly spaced.
There should be no broken or missing crib slats or any other missing or broken parts of the crib.
Hardware should be properly installed on both the crib and the mattress support, according to instructions. Only use original hardware for both. Hardware should not be loose or damaged.
The crib mattress must fit snugly inside the crib with no more 1 3/16” (two fingers) width between the mattress and the sides of the crib. If the mattress is not a tight fit, the baby could become wedged into this space and become trapped.
There should be no decorative cutouts in any part of the crib, including the headboard and footboard, where your baby’s head or body become trapped.
Corner posts should be no higher than 1/16” (US), 1/8” (Canada) above the end panels of the crib. Your baby’s clothing can hang off of them if they are any higher. This includes decorative knobs and posts.
The crib mattress support should always be set so that your baby cannot climb out of the crib. You can use the highest setting for newborns but as soon as your baby is able to push himself to his knees you need to set it to the middle setting (usually around 4 – 6 months) and when she is able to pull herself to standing, the crib setting should be at its lowest setting (usually between 8 – 12 months).

For more detailed safety standards please visit http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/regsumcrib.pdf (USA) and http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/H46-2-03-332E.pdf (Canada).

Crib Types

The standard crib is by far the most popular type of crib. It features stationary sides, dual drop sides or single drop sides. For the safety of your baby, however, it is recommended to always keep the sides of the crib to the highest setting. In fact, many crib manufacturers are now doing away with drop down sides. So if you are buying a new crib, it is best to buy one with stationary sides, even though drop down sides are very convenient. If you are buying or using an older crib that has drop down sides, it is best to leave the sides up at their highest setting at all times.

Convertible cribs offer all the features of a standard crib but convert into a toddler bed. Some even then convert into a double bed. This means that you pay one time for a bed that will last your baby well into his or her adulthood!

Other types of cribs available on the market include round cribs, canopy cribs and portable cribs. Round cribs are fairly new to the market. Canopy cribs are available in standard rectangular shapes or as a round crib. Portable cribs are about one-third smaller than a standard crib and fold up easily for travel.

Whatever crib you choose for your baby, just remember to keep safety at the top of your list!

What type of crib did you use for your baby? Where did you get yours?

Filed Under: Baby Stuff, Furniture, Safety Tagged With: Cribs, furniture, Recalls, Safety

Send Us Stuff!

October 17, 2010 By Robert Leave a Comment

One of the areas of this site that we really want to develop is our review section. We want to be an honest resource for parents and part of that is providing product, site and resource recommendations. Unfortunately, as we previously wrote about, we are parents with very little money so it makes it difficult for us to go out and buy merchandise just to write a review on it. That is why we are hoping that companies out their that serve the family market will help us out.

Products Accepted for Review

If you or the company you work for provides any of the following, please keep us in mind:

Toy Manufacturer/Retail Store
Children’s Books or Magazine Publisher
Baby Equipment Manufacturer/Retail Store
Web site providing services to Families and Children
Manufactuer/Retail of other Children’s Merchandise

We can provide reviews and post press releases to our site if we think the content serves our community. We can also provide you with a personalized review of your product or service in exchange for a free copy of what you want us to review. Please bare in mind that our reviews are honest. If you send us something for free but we don’t think it’s a good product, our review will reflect that opinion. If you are willing to take the risk, please contact us or send us your sample.

You can reach us via our contact page.

Do you have a children’s or parenting product you would like reviewed?

Filed Under: Reviews News Tagged With: Products, Reviews, Send us Stuff

Reviews Coming Soon

October 1, 2010 By Robert Leave a Comment

Parents are a hot demographic. Meaning, companies want to get there message in front of parents because parents buy a lot of things. They buy things for themselves, they buy things for their spouse and they buy things for their kids. With all of this brilliant marketing and advertising being directed at us, it can sometimes be tough to tell the good products from the bad. We will do our best to review as many products as we can and post those reviews in this section. Our reviews will be honest and will reflect that reviewers honest take on the product.

What kinds of products would you like to see reviewed?

Filed Under: Product Reviews for Parents, Site News Tagged With: Parenting, Products, Reviews