Toy Tips. A Parent's Essential Guide to Smart Toy Choices

Customer Reviews

Great guide for advice

2005-11-14
I picked up this book after listening to a radio interview with the author, Marianne in Canada. I never thought I would need a book like this because I thought I knew all there was about toys- what my kids ask for I buy. But, then I realized I am going about this all wrong. I bought this book hoping to find a new strategy and maybe learn a tip or two on how to shop a little wiser. This book is great. She writes stories about her research, provides information to arm you but not overwhelm you with the best kinds of toys to buy and best of all and my favorite part-was a whole chapter on the health and safety of toys which we sometimes as a parent are a bit lax about. As a health care practitioner as well as mother to 4 children under 11, I recommend this book for anyone who buys toys for kids on a regular basis. My kids may not get everything they want anymore but I know I will be picking and choosing toys that are better for their needs and skills.

Best Guide for Toys Out There

2005-08-18
This book is awesome. It really helps guide you through the world of children's toys and gadgets. It has stopped all of my buy/break/return trips. It gives you a piece of mind to know other parents have tested the items in the book. I have recommended to several other parents and grandparents. Don't go shopping with out this book.

Great book to assist parents in making choices

2005-07-24
This book was recommended to me by a librarian I met on an airplane. I am a mother of 5 children and am fed up with all the top toy lists I read in magazines. I have bought many of those toys, all too soon to have those same toys NEVER played with by my kids. This book really tells the truth on how to buy toys and leaves it up to the reader to make personal choices. I love that! There is no bias from any toy company or any of these made-up "toy tests" you see on television. Hats off to the two authors who have fabulous credentials, are both moms themselves and have a well-written book. I have been to the toytips.com website to read toy reviews and am proud to say that now I can actually feel good toy shopping and feel I have made better, more developmental toy choices for my children, Chloe, Gwen. Charley, Matthias and Lilly!

Wonderful learning tool for parents to choose the best math toys

2005-06-30
This is a wonderful book. Filled with great information on how to educate yourself to buy toys. Until finding this book, I didn't realize that toy-buying is almost like a science. Gone are the days of going into Walmart and Toys R Us bedazzled. After reading this book, I can confidantly say it is much easier to shop for birthday presents for my kids. I especially enjoyed the chapter on technology toys and the authors' take on the subject. It is very enlightening to know the experts focus on traditional educational toys rather than all the fancy buttons and bleeps that the toy industry seems to be saturating into the consumer's mind. Great book for any home schooling parent.

Review from a child psychologist

2005-06-06
I am a child psychologist, university professor and mother of 4. As busy as I am, I feel it is my job to keep up and read as many parentig books that I can. I suggest great finds to the parents of my patients and my students on a daily basis. I think this book is the best of the bunch as far as toy advice goes. I've read them all but this one leads the pack! The authors are very credible and the content is truly independent. The style is fun to read and the chapters are loaded with information to remind us how important toys are in the growth of our children's social and emotional develpment. I'm ordering one for graduate students and every new mom I meet! This is the best parenting tool I have read about toy selection EVER!

A great find

2006-05-19
I received a tip about this book from my daughter's preschool teacher. They use it for school and when I picked it up, I expected this to be a teacher's manual. It does have lots of education material and should be a class! My husband and I enjoyed the funny little stories and I really got some great tips on the kinds of toys to buy for our preschool daughter and her newborn sister. Already, we have more toys that we probably need but this is a great guide to help us as the girls get older and then ask for everything. It really helps you put a value on the dollars you spend on toys these days. This is a great book for first time parents to read before they start toy shopping. There is a great chapter about technology toys.

I just love this book!

2006-03-19
I can't stop reading this book! Each chapter is better than the previous one and there is SO much I learned about toys. I'm pregnant with my first child and my mom bought me this book as a gift. She told me that I need to know everything about toys now so I do not make the same mistakes as my siblings who bought way too many toys that my nieces and nephews rarely play with. This is an amazing resource for preschool and kindergarten teachers too and the best part is that this book does not dictate what toys are the best. The reader is left to decide that based on what the authors have taught you. It's really a parenting book and class all in one! They have a website too.... toytips.com lists tons of toy reviews based on research for you to review. I LOVE that! I've looked at other websites that have reviews and opinions of a few parents and their experiences with specific toys but this is so much better than that! Great find. Great buy! Thanks, Mom!

From an Emergency Room Nurse

2006-01-24
I read this review from Fagan (below) and have to add to it. I am an emergency room nurse and we see many toy-related injuries. Most could have been prevented. I think if parents took the time to understand the importance of buying age-appropriate toys and then took the time to play with their children, we might see less accidental injuries. I bought a copy to keep at the hospital for our health care workers who will benefit from reading this book. It's nice to see two authors who care so much about what they write about. Thank you to Ms. Marianne Szymanski and Ms. Ellen Neuborne.

Excellent, Excellent Book

2006-01-21
I am a pediatrician living in Ireland. A friend of mine in the United States told me about this book that he uses as a reference to help his patients with toy-related questions (categories of toys appropriate by developmental age, safety, etc.) He bought me a copy for Christmas. After reading this book, I realized that not only is this book helpful to parents but also to physicians. Toy safety and selection is not a course that is taught in medical school and this book is ideal for all pediatricians. I am familiar with other toy-rating and toy-suggestion books published and none come close to the detail and amount of research put into this book. If anyone is looking for a gift for their pediatician, this is IT!

Review from a dad

2006-01-11
I'm a stay at home dad who bought toys for my 5 kids this Christmas. I bought this book to learn how to choose and what kinds and types are better to buy. This book gave me the confidence I needed to figure out what toys were best for Lilly, Max, Zoe, Kate and Nick versus what they asked for (Xbox and Ipod, Barbie and My Little Pony) I made some good choices and I was pleased that they actually play with them. It seemed we have so many toys from last year that are just sitting in the playroom. I really like the chapter that talks about family board games. I never really thought about this before and now we play games every friday night (weeknights are out because of homework, ballet practice and swimming!) My wife thinks I am a genius and I'm never telling her this book helped me but I think it can help other guys like me so I felt compelled to write this review for all the other dads out there like me!