Review: Shred Sled Shox Scooter

Almost a year ago, our now 6-1/2 year old son tried out his first scooter. It was during the middle of fall, so he did not get to ride his new scooter very much before the snow and ice came along. Luckily his new Shox Scooter from Shred Sled was better-timed and arrived for late summer, so our son will be able to enjoy riding his shock absorbing scooter throughout the next three months.

Shred Sled, the creator of the original jointed 4-wheel in-line caster board, is a name that is associated with extreme sports. Since I had to put my foot down that our son was too young for a Shred Sled, he was utterly thrilled to be able to ride a scooter created and designed by the same company.

Our son is not a hardcore biker or skateboarder, so he had to start off slow. That being said, he did travel much faster on the Shox Scooter than he did with his previous traditional scooter.

I have to say that this scooter seems very structurally sound. It is made mostly of aluminum and steel. The Shox Scooter actually only weighs about 7lbs, so it is easier for a child to handle. I like that the deck has good traction because I do worry about my son's foot slipping, which could cause him to have an unwelcomed fall. I also like that the foam handles are thick and easy to grasp.

There is a foot brake at the rear wheel that can be activated with the heel, if necessary. The polyurethane wheels seem to be extremely durable.

The handle height is adjustable. We did have a slight problem where the handle was jammed too far in during packaging. My husband had to pound on the handle repeatedly before it would allow him to extend the height. Luckily, this did not damage or affect the scooter's performance in anyway.

I was very pleased to find that our son grew comfortable on the Shox Scooter right away. Because he weighs under 50 pounds, he really could not feel the shocks at work. He would really need to go airborne and land before he would feel the bounce. He is working up to that, but is not quite there yet. The scooter does fold compactly in half, so we can easily fit it into our already packed car for trips to the park.

The Shox Scooter retails for $59.99 and can be found on ShredSled.com, as well as at major toy retailers, such as Toys R Us and Amazon.com . You can also find out more about this product by visiting The Shred Sled on Facebook.

Thank you to The Shred Sled for sending us a sample product free of charge to base this review upon for this Team Mom campaign.

Review: Playmobil 1.2.3 Large Farm

The international toy brand Playmobil has done it again! My children's first experience with a Playmobil building set was an extremely positive one with the 4+ African Wildlife Collection. Although our twins are almost 4 years old, I still thought there were too many small parts for them. That is why I was thrilled to be able to try the Playmobil Large Farm from the Playmobil 1.2.3 line for children 1.5 years old and up.

Yes, at first I was concerned that a toy recommended for children as young as 18 months would not be engaging to my preschoolers, but that was not the case at all. In fact, even my 6 year old son enjoyed playing with the farm.

I have found that some toys that are suitable for toddlers, may seem limiting to older children. This does not apply to Playmobil at all. All three of our children enjoyed playing with the Playmobil 1.2.3 Farm as much as they did with the Wild Life Care Station for ages 4 and up. As a parent, I like the farm better because there are no sharp parts or choking hazards.

My children's three favorite parts about the Playmobil Large Farm are the animals, the horse-drawn wagon, and the working pulley. They all have an innate desire to care for animals, since we have a pet-friendly household. The various farm animals and house pets, really tap into this desire. The wagon encourages interaction between the Playmobil figures. There is a seat on the saddle, a seat in the wagon, and then a third figure can be waiting to take whatever the wagon is delivering.

Of all the features, I think the pulley is the most enjoyable. We do not own any other toys with this feature. Our children have had so much fun transporting objects and figures up and down. The only thing lacking with the design of the pulley is a hook to secure the end. The objects are often too heavy for the lift to stay once it has been raised, so it just falls back down to the ground unless a child is holding the end of the cable.

There are a few other things I would like to point out about this playset . . .

• The grids on the ground are very easy to use. A young child can easily snap the furniture into place.
• All the windows open and close for realistic play.
• In addition to all the animals, this set comes with 3 figures, which kept the playing dispute-free.
• The Playmobil 1.2.3 figures are similar in size to the regular Playmobil figures, so my children can play with them altogether without too much noticeable difference.
• Best of all, everything fits right inside the farmhouse securely and both sides of the house fold up and snap shut.

The Playmobil 1.2.3 Large Farm retails for $54.99 and can be purchased right on the Playmobil Online Shop or at other major toy retailers, such as Amazon.com and Toys R Us.

Thank you to Playmobil for sending us a sample toy free of charge to base this review upon.

Review: PLAYMOBIL Wild Life Care Station

For the longest time, I had stayed away from PLAYMOBIL building sets because, although they are recommended for ages 4+, they looked so detailed that I did not think our oldest would be able to use it as it was meant to be used, which was to take part in the building aspects of the toy. Now that he is 6 and has displayed quite a bit of proficiency when it comes to using small building kits, I thought it would be the perfect time to test the waters with PLAYMOBIL.

We opted for the PLAYMOBIL Wild Life Care Station because it looks like something our twins could play with as well after their big brother and I construct it. The theme of this set seems like it would prompt imaginative play since there are so many different accessories to give them ideas of new storylines.

Below you will find all the parts we needed to build the Wild Life Care Station plus the abundance of accessories and animal figures that came with this set. This set only comes with two figures, so we will most likely purchase another small kit from the African Wild Life series so that each child can have one to play with.

Some of the assembly requires use of the included tool seen below. Once we figured out how to use the tool, it turned out to be pretty handy. We only needed to put a connector onto the tip of the tool, then my 6yr old son used the tool to push the connector into place. Once the connector was in place, the tool seemed to release it easily.

Although my son was anxious to start the assembly portion, I urged him to follow the instructions because we did not want to use the wrong piece, nor did we want to put a piece upside down or backwards. Then we would have to take it apart and rebuild. I personally recommend putting all the connectors where they need to go per the instructions and then assembling each section of the building all at once. For example, we prepared all the parts for the platform before we began to assemble it. We did the same for the building. I also recommend that you put all the small parts in a big bowl, except for the connectors, before you begin.

We had to take a dinner break in between the building. I want to say that it took us almost 3 hours to finish assembling everything, including putting together all the accessories and applying the decals.

This is the front of our Wild Life Care Station . . .

Although building the Wild Life Care Station was an enjoyable activity for my son and I to do together and we felt a great feeling of satisfaction once it was finished, the real fun began when we started to furnish the building inside and out.

(Click on any image to enlarge)

I was so impressed by the detail put into this building set. At the same time, I was nervous at all the tiny parts that could be lost. You would really need to be careful about misplacing any of the small accessories because they could be choking hazards for a small child or a pet.

It is clear that a lot of thought was put into every part of this toy. Each section seems like a story waiting to be told.

Once built, this set can be taken apart, but I do not believe it is meant to be. We leave ours out and keep the small parts in a box away from the twins. All three of our children love to play with this PLAYMOBIL set and I love listening to them act out the stories that develop in their heads.

I do want to point out that this set comes with tiny little casts for the animals to wear, thus the "wild life care" theme. It also comes with decals that are bandages, but we opted not to use those. I was hesitant to use stickers on anything that was not meant to be permanent.

Our 6yr old said that his favorite part of the set are the two figures. I cannot say that I blame him. The figures can hold so many things, including a walkie talkie, a flashlight, a pistol, rifles, maps, a cup of coffee, and more. I think this toy is perfect for a 6 year old. I do not think a 4 year old child would be able to actively take part in the building process, but he or she would enjoy playing with the set after it has been built.

Can you guess what my favorite accessory is? . . . Why the tiny little laptop, of course!

You can purchase this and other PLAYMOBIL toys on PlaymobilUSA.com and from other major toy retailers, such as Toys R Us, Amazon.com, and Target. This particular set retails for $69.99, but there are smaller sets from the African Wild Life series that are priced starting at under $10.

Thank you to PLAYMOBIL for sending us this sample toy free of charge to base this review upon.

Review: Little Tikes Teeter Ball

During my search for unique Kid Driven Toys, I came across this most unusual teeter totter made by Little Tikes called the Teeter Ball.

Although this toy is recommended for children 3 years old and up, it can hold two children up to 60lbs each. In fact, I think this toy is more suitable for children 5 years and older because it is a very physically demanding toy to operate. In addition to using their legs to push their side of the teeter totter up, each child must have enough arm and upper-body strength to keep the the Teeter Ball from tipping over. Our 6yr old son is able to do this, but our 3yr old twins are not.

Another feature that makes this teeter totter unique is the maze that is built into the base. There are two yellow marbles and two purple marbles that can be moved by the two riders rotating and teetering the Teeter Ball. The goal is to get the marbles that match the color of the handle on each child's side to land in the center of the maze. This game is much too hard for younger children, but our 6yr old and his friends had fun attempting to get their marbles into the center first.

The only way our 3yr old twins can ride on this toy is with their big brother on the other side. Our daughter sat opposite of her big brother once. The second her feet left the ground, she decided that this toy was not for her. Her twin brother, however, was much braver. He was unsure at first and tried to keep one foot on the ground. After his father offered to hold onto him to keep him steady, he began to really enjoy going up and down.

After awhile, our 3yr old son was able to ride opposite his big brother without the help of his father. He actually had a huge smile on his face the whole time. The only problem with this arrangement is that his big brother is doing all the physical work of making the toy teeter back and forth and of keeping the toy from tipping over. Although it is a tiring activity, it does give our son a great workout.

We tried using the Teeter Ball both indoors and out. I found that using this toy on the grass is steadier, but is not the best choice if the children want to bounce and rotate. A smooth indoor or outdoor surface is better for rotating.

Although this toy is tons of fun for the children, it was not easy to put together. My husband is very skilled at assembly and it took him 45 minutes to finish assembling this toy. He recommends using a powered screwdriver (or at least a ratcheted screwdriver) because the majority of the screws are very long. This toy does come with a pump to inflate the base, which was convenient. Once assembled, this toy is sturdy and durable like most Little Tikes products.

You can purchase the Teeter Ball right on LittleTikes.com and at other major retailers, such as Toys R Us.

Thank you to Little Tikes for sending us a sample Teeter Ball free of charge to base this review upon.