To Sail The World In A Cardboard Box

Here is a suggestion for you to consider: an old cardboard box is the best value for money when it comes to toys. You could be picky and point out that a cardboard box doesn't cost anything, and therefore can't provide any value for money since you haven't spent any on it, but I'm going to ignore that and continue with the hypothesis that you are better off buying your child a cardboard box than you are the thing which was inside it.

Throw yourself backwards to your child hood days, and try to remember the enthusiasm with which you greeted a new cardboard box. Can you recall the excitement? Can you remember why? It was that tingle which started at the back of your neck as you anticipated the worlds which would be created within that space. You didn't quite know what it was going to become -perhaps a plane, or a spaceship or a train that would whisk you off to exotic locations. Or perhaps it would be a castle from which you could defend your crown as you ruled the land before you.

Elmo Live Toy
Cheap Toys

Cardboard boxes often become ships, allowing the child to sail off, pushing away the land and humdrum of everyday life and setting sail on a voyage of discovery, alone, with no map, and nothing to do but discover the rest of the world.

Perhaps you can remember the pure escapism which came with any such game, and often it was compounded with props. A ship would need a mast, and an old walking stick or umbrella would so just fine. Oars? No problem -mum will probably let you borrow a couple of wooden spoons from the kitchen, and your sail blossoms out in the unseen, unfelt breeze, causing your bed sheet to drive you onwards on your adventure. Of course, you wouldn't take an oar yourself; after all, you're the captain. No, those scaly wag teddy bears will be doing all the work, lined up on each side to do your bidding. But you will be a fair captain, and ensure that they will be treated well.

Until it's time to walk the plank of course! Because now, you're a pirate ship -and a quick bit of work with an elastic band and a bit of coloured paper will do for an eye patch, with one hand pulled up into your sleeve and a wooden spoon, no longer an oar, but now serving as your hook, encourages poor teddy to embark on a short journey towards the end of the plank. The plank looks suspiciously like your tall fairy tale book, but this is no fairy tale -ha! See him fall into the blue ocean below.

The imagination used in creating these adventures, and the way in which an understanding of the world around them, the roles people play and the way in which we can all improvise with whatever we have to hand, are lessons more valuable than merely remembering which button to press in which order.

Perhaps next time you're thinking of buying your child a present, consider picking up a couple of large empty boxes from your supermarket. It'll be money well spent.

Unless, of course, you're child's fourteen.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about kids toys, dolls, and video games. You will find the best marketplace for kids toys, dolls, and used video games at these sites for kids toys, ships, pirate outfits, dolls, and used video games.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Victor_Epand

Vintage Doll Collecting - Chad Valley Toys and the Palitoy Toy Company

Palitoy was the name of a British toy company that manufactured some of the most popular toys in Britain, of which some were original items and others were under license. The company, near Leicester, England, grew out of a plastics firm established by Alfred Edward Pallett in 1909 and became one of Britain's leading toy manufacturers. Some of their most famous toys included:

• Action Man

• Action Force

• Tiny Tears Baby Dolls

• Pippa

• Tressy

• Star Wars figures

• Care Bears

British Xylonite bought the Cascelloid Company in 1931 and created the trademark "Palitory" in 1935 for their toy division. Alfred Edward Pallet founded the Cascelloid Company in 1909 to produce celluloid and fancy goods. They produced their first doll in 1925.

Injection molding was developed by British Xylonite in 1941 and was used for the Palitoy toy ranges.

Palitory was sold to General Mills in 1968 and became the Palitory Company in 1980 when Palitory, Denys Fisher and Chad Valley broke away from General Mills. Their business closed in 1984. Hasbro bought the factory, toy molds and copyrights from whom they had been a major licensee.

Action Man

Action Man was a doll marketed as "moveable fighting man," and as with Hasbro's G.I. Joe in the U.S. (of which was licensed copy) no mention was ever made of the figure being a doll. It was unseemly for boys to be playing with dolls in the 1960's.

Action Man was originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom and Australia by Palitoy Ltd of Coalville, Leicestershire from 1966 until 1984. Action Man and accessories were originally based on the Hasbro (US) 1964 G.I. Joe. The first Action Man figures were "Action Soldier," "Action Sailor" and "Action Pilot." They were all available in the four original hair colors of blonde, auburn, brown and black. Their outfits depicted the participants of the Second World War. Action Man was subsequently reintroduced in 1993, based on the GI Joe Hall of Fame figure of that time.

The action figure featured changeable clothes with various uniforms to suite different purposes which eventually created global popularity for this type of toy.

Chad Valley Toys was a long-established brand of toys in the United Kingdom and was one of the UK's leading toymakers for most of the 20th century. It closed several factories in the 1970s and was taken over by Palitoy in 1978.

Chad Valley Toys provided pleasure to eight generations of children, from the present Queen of England, to kids across the United State, Europe, Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand. Early Chad Valley toys are some of the most sought after toys on the world-wide web. Their descriptions often say "well used but in surprisingly good condition for its age." This is due to the fact that there is one common feature applied throughout the company's history and that was to build quality that's second to none.

Chad Valley produced many different dolls. Among the most spectacular dolls of the pre-war years was Snow White, which came boxed with the Seven Dwarves (1937). Every Snow White face was hand-painted.

Disclaimer: The URL address in the resource box of this article is not associated with any of the toy companies mentioned in this article. We do not promote any of the companies. This article is offered as a resource for the Vintage Doll Collector.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box

© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved

Written by: Connie Limon. For more information about starting and maintaining a Vintage Doll Collection visit http://smalldogs2.com/VintageDollCollecting For a variety of FREE reprint articles as well as special sections in U.S. History and the Kennedy Administration visit http://www.camelotarticles.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Limon

Personal Injury Lawyers - My Child's Toys Were Defective Products

All parents worry about the safety of their kids- you protect them by keeping sharp objects out of reach, don't give them candy they can choke on, you make sure they hold your hand. But what do you do when your child's toys are the cause of their injuries? It seems that more and more children's toys are being recalled because they are not safe. Whether it be interlocking zippers on boots that cause them to trip, or lead paint on their race cars, it seems every time you turn around another product is being pulled off the shelves.

Who's Involved?

The name we've been hearing the most about in toy recalls over the last several months has no doubt been Mattel. They have had to recall many millions of toys because of factory defects, lead paint, and poor design. While 65% of Mattel's children's toys are made in China and despite having spent the proper time to heavily test all of their toys, Mattel has admitted that some of the responsibility for the recall is their own. While the lead in the surface paint on many toys came from subcontractors in China, that was not the only reason for the recalls, many had design flaws as well.

While a number of different defects are responsible for the recent recalls, lead paint has been the number one problem. Several hundred thousand items have been recalled because of excessive levels of lead. 150,000 bookmarks and journals, 200,000 toy key chains, 80,000 toy flashlights, and 20,000 wooden toys... just to name a few.

What's Been Pulled and Why?

Many different toys have been pulled off shelves so it's impossible to list them all here, but here are a few examples of toys that have been recalled and the injuries they cause:

1. Fisher-Price recalled about a million Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street products, because they contained unsafe levels of toxic lead in the surface paint. Other Mattel toys recalled for the same reason include the Elmo Keyboard, toy figures of Sarge - a popular character from Disney Pixar's 'Cars' film, and 675,000 various Barbie accessories.

2. Mattel also recalled about 345,000 action figure sets because of unsafe magnets. The magnets were able to come loose and could be fatal if swallowed. If the child swallowed two magnets they could stick together in the digestive track and require surgery to remove. Mattel also pulled nearly 7.3 million Polly Pocket toys for the same reason.

3. Nearly 1 million Hasbro Easy-Bake Ovens were also recalled because children were getting their fingers stuck in the oven's opening.

4. Other recalls include baby swings that were trapping the child, Small World Toys that included small magnets and other choking hazard, and Graco Soft Blocks Tower Toys that contained a plastic cover that posed as a choking hazard.

So, Here's What to Do.

If you feel one of your child's toys could be one that has been recalled, check its product number against those listed in the recall notice. If you're seriously unsure, just throw it out. Discard any and all toys you feel may contain lead or other unsafe parts. If you can confirm that it is in fact a recalled item, take it back to the store where you purchased it. Because of the recall, they will give you your money back.

Check your children's toys for choking hazards. Any small parts that could come lose, pull them off and throw them out, or discard the toy entirely.

Have your child tested for lead exposure! Some children will not show signs of lead poisoning even if they have been exposed to levels high enough to result in learning and behavior problems.

If your child was a victim of a defective toy, seek legal advice. While some of the injuries are more minor- like those caused by the Hannah Montana boots that cause children to trip and fall, others are far more serious. The effects of toxic lead on a child could be life altering. Seek experienced and proven successful Personal Injury Lawyers who can fight hard on your behalf.

Goidel and Siegel : New York Personal Injury Lawyers

http://www.goidelandsiegel.com

Goidel and Siegel handle personal injury cases exclusively, and their knowledge of this area of the law is extensive. They have represented victims of serious accidents and assaults for more than 17 years. Goidel and Siegel are committed to obtaining the highest financial compensation for their clients who have been seriously injured.

They will fight for you in court - against giant insurance companies, landlords, or municipal / corporate defendants. Their record speaks for itself. Since the founding of their firm in 1990, they have recovered tens of millions of dollars in jury awards or settlements for their clients.

Visit our Blog to read more, comment, and/or ask questions about Personal Injury at (http://personalinjurylaw.wordpress.com/)

Submitted by Stacey at NewSunSEO.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stacey_E._Crevoiserat

High Chairs, Bunk Beds and Toys at Kids Zone - Shopping in Hyderabad

What you see - Situated on the first floor of Babu Khan Mall in Somajiguda, Kids Zone looks like any other ordinary shop in a mall. But step inside and you see an entire new world of toys, games and more for kids from 0-16 years of age.

What you get - Kids Zone has a lot that kids would yearn for. Battery operated toys like remote controlled cars and chargeable bikes would delight the young kid. You could even get a toy plane that you can fly with a remote control.

Then there are quite a few board games from Funskool too. For outdoor sports, they have cricket bats, skating boards, lawn tennis and badminton racquets. Interestingly, they even have nice bows and arrows available.

Trains have always been a fascinating object and with the 10-12 varieties of toy train sets that this store has, you are sure to be impressed. Simple laptops to teach basic alphabets and nursery rhymes start from as low as Rs. 349 and can go up to Rs. 1,000 depending on the brand and the features it has.

If you are looking specifically at exclusive international products then Fisher Price toys are there for you. The ubiquitous Hot Wheels cars and Barbie Dolls are right there on display.

There is also a whole collection of interactive CDs like The Jataka Tales, The Panchatantra, Maths, English, Biology, Physics etc. Prices range from Rs. 99 to Rs. 499. Apart from all these things you can find baby care products like diapers, baby creams, oils etc. Prams and strollers, bunk beds, bottles, scissors and nail cutters for infants are easily available here. In fact, for infants there are even clothes, high chairs, rattles, cradles and mosquito nets.

Bicycles, tricycles, children's bike, small billiards table and even X-box and other gaming CDs and DVDs are some of the other things you can get here. All the products here, we are told, are non-toxic.

The verdict - This store just seems to have it all for your child. Your kid may not want to step out of the store before making you buy a thing or two. All kinds of credit cards are accepted and parking space is available free of cost in the basement of Babu Khan Mall.

Shopping in Hyderabad has been written by Pranay who writes for MetroMela

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pranay_Rupani