The Chronic Consumer

I’m always looking for great toys to buy that will give my 8-year-old son a fun alternative to video games. If the toy incorporates physical activity, that’s all the better — which is why I thought this Nerfoop Basketball Slam backboard and ball would be perfect.

The Nerfoop Basketball Slam is meant for indoor use. It assembles easily (you do need a screwdriver) and fits over most doors. The ball is soft (not spongy soft, but it won’t really hurt anyone) and bounces on most surfaces. The rim is collapsible, which is good for when someone dunks or for when you want to open the door all the way after you’re done playing (you no longer have to take the rim off the door like back when I was a kid).

My son had never played basketball before getting this thing, but he’s hooked now! It has proven to be tons of fun not only for him, but for our entire family. We don’t have all-out games, but we do have free-throw shooting contests and can play HORSE down in the basement, which is good enough for now. My son is way too short to dunk, though. Maybe if we load him up on the best creatine powder, he’ll have a growth spurt that will allow him to get closer to the rim. For now, he’s going to have to settle for working on his jump shot!

Overall, I think the Nerfoop Basketball Slam is a terrific product that kids (and parents) of all ages can enjoy. I found it for $20 online with free shipping, and think it is worth that price. I recommend it for the budding sports star in your family!

My son really loves to go camping, but he only has a one-season sleeping bag. It’s very lightweight which means we can really only go in the summer. We want to be able to go more often than that, which is why we’re thinking of buying one of these Sierra Designs Sleeping Bags. It’s rated to 35 degrees, which would allow us to get out there in the spring and fall, too. I like that this particular sleeping bag has a hood and a tricot toe box for extra warmth and insulation. We don’t need this right now, as summer is just around the corner, but I’d like to have it by September.

If you have young children, then blowing soapy bubbles through those little plastic, circular wands is a warm-weather staple. All kids love bubbles, and colored bubbles are even more fun, which is why Crayola’s line of colored bubble soap has been selling so well. The problem, though, is that the concoction might not be as washable as the company claims. Check out this article from the Wall Street Journal about how a number of parents are complaining that the product leaves children’s hands, as well as household surfaces, stained by the coloring agent.

OK, so apparently the stuff does come out after repeated scrubbings, but that’s not something I want to deal with around here! I’ll stay away from this product until a new, improved version comes along.

I’m getting up into my late 30′s, so you’d think that most of my friends/peers have already started families. But I find that I’m still buying just as many new arrival baby gifts as ever! A lot of my friends either got married late or waited until they were more financially prepared to start having children. As a result, here I am still attending showers, shopping for gifts, and looking at endless photo albums of Flickr streams. I’m not exactly a big fan of this process, so here’s hoping I can say goodbye to this phase of my life soon!

My 7-year-old is showing some interest in computers (beyond video games and YouTube, I mean), so I’m thinking now might be a good time to get him a machine of his own. I wouldn’t buy anything expensive or even new; just something he can practice on until he gets comfortable with typing, navigating different programs, etc. I’ll probably check into some refurbished laptop computers first, and then go on from there.

If anyone has any specific recommendations about computers for kids or must-have software, drop me a line!

I know summer is a long way off, but I’m already looking at ceiling fans because I want to put one in my son’s room. For some reason, the AC doesn’t circulate very well in there, so that room is always hotter than everywhere else in the house.

Anyway, I was checking out a site that sells Hunter fans, and thought this one in the shape of an airplane was very cool! What little boy wouldn’t love this thing?! I need to start saving up so I can buy this in a few months.

I thought I was done buying baby gifts until I become a grandmother. After all, my friends are all in their mid- to late-thirties by now, and those who are planning to have children have more than likely already done so. I figured I’d seen the last of those cute 1st birthday invitations, but I got another one today — from a former co-worker that I’ve kept in touch with sporadically through Facebook.

While I don’t think I could sit through an entire party, I do plan on sending a gift. I was browsing around a bit today and found this adorable little onesie that says “I’m One” on it. It’s affordable, appropriate, and useful, so why not? If I remember correctly this co-worker bought something for one of my son’s birthdays back when we were in the same office. Time for me to return the gesture, I guess!

One thing I absolutely love about the iPad is its capacity for colorful, interactive children’s books. I want my son to derive some real enjoyment from reading, but that just isn’t happening with traditional books. If it takes interactive stories like the Jack and the Beanstalk app for the iPhone/iPad to get him to spend a half hour with a book, then so be it.

This classic story was created in its interactive form by Ayars Animation, Inc. and sells for $3.99, which I think is an absolute bargain for the product you get. Jack’s story of the magic beans is told across more than 30 screens, and can be read by a narrator or not (as you choose). When selecting the on-board narration, the current words and phrases are highlighted to help your child learn to read along — a terrific feature for beginning readers.

The best part of the book is that each page is fully interactive. That means the child can tap different parts of the illustration (or even tilt the iPad) to make various things happen. For instance, the child can “drag” the sun across the horizon to make day turn into night; tap different farm animals (pig, cow, chickens) to hear them make their animal noises; or even play mini games that pop up. The best page is a black & white one that can be “painted” as the child moves his finger along the image. So much fun for kids!

Overall, I think Jack and the Beanstalk for iPhone/iPad is one of the best interactive books currently available. It is well worth the $3.99 price tag, and will keep your child engaged for a long time. I highly recommend this app!