Kids say the darndest things, probably because their imaginations are running wild during this delicate age. Now your Sim children can exercise their creativity the way real children do. Enter the original childhood activity of make believe, complete with imaginary friends. Kids can pretend to be a princess or even an astronaut, and luckily for them, the castle or spaceship has evolved, too. Sim kids can be seen playing their games in the brand new tree house or the bunk beds they share with their siblings. If that is not enough, the kids also enjoy time spent at the playground, which boasts new equipment, such as a see-saw and sandbox. When the weather is beautiful, as it always is in the Simverse, kids can play on a waterslide in their backyard. Talk about an upgrade, kids lives are fuller than ever with all the places they can play in this expansion. The new features in childhood are fun and fairly harmless, though the same cannot be said for the new lives of teenagers, thanks to the expansion.

Since when have any teens you know monotonously, yet happily, gone on their merry way to school each morning, plopped down to start their homework in the afternoon, and gone to bed without a fight? Well, never, unless the only teenagers you know live in the Simverse. If the teens had really wanted to shake it up, they might have gotten a part-time job, which of course, they would excel at, given that their angelic lack of autonomy never let them skip a shift or steal from the cash register. Sim parents are in for a real treat with this new expansion pack. Pranks and holding house parties while their parents are away are key features during this age group. Look out if your teen inherits the new rebellious trait. You will be subject to pranks such as adding hair dye to the shampoo bottle and doorbell ditching. Though, it is not all bad. The creators of The Sims 3: Generations were aiming to really fill out the life experience, so they created fun, non-rebellious activities as well. Teens can ask their peers to the prom, attend school dances and after quick four years of hard work, bask in the glory of their high school graduation. Sim parents also have the pleasure of teaching their growing children how to drive, which is sure to be a good time.

Adults also get to enjoy some new features in this game, other than watching over their suddenly naughty children. Adulthood focuses on relationships with others and family. Dating is back and adults have the opportunity to nervously ask out their neighborhood crush. If they decide to tie the knot, no longer are they forced to walk down the aisle without a final bang. Bachelor and bachelorette parties are options for the spouses-to-be, complete with an entertainer to keep the good times rolling.  Speaking of good times, adults have new places to get their woohoo on, such as the tree house and the shower. No word yet on the entrance of a therapist, should the children be in the mood for a game of pretend in the tree house, when Mom and Dad are in the mood for something else.

Elders now do more than hang out at home post-retirement. In this latest installment, they reminisce about the golden days and watch as their children become parents. Elders particularly enjoy watching their grandchildren grow up, and if they are asked, they will be happy to share a bedtime story. That old stoop in their back is still there, but now elders can employ the use of a cane to alleviate their slow steps.

Each expansion pack manages to make the Sim’s life all the more realistic, but The Sims 3: Generations really packs a new game. Sims have the opportunity to live lives that are growing frighteningly similar to our own. Prom dates, daycare centers and bedtime stories give the game a brand new, yet familiar feeling. Look for The Sims 3: Generations, in stores, June 3, 2011.

More information or to buy: The Sims 3: Generations

Space available.
If you are a person who hoards music, and has tens of folders worth on your computer, then you are not going to be happy to have only a few megabytes worth of space, and perhaps should aim higher, into the twenty, thirty, or even sixty gigabyte range. There is a trade off for this extra space though, price goes up and so does weight, which is no good if you want to take your player out jogging, or to an environment where you may easily lose it. Then again, if you only want an audio player that you only want to put, say, motivational songs on, and you are happy about losing it, then about a gigabyte should be fine.

Ruggedness.
How much wear do you think you’re going to put your player through? If you only use it occasionally, again, cheaper is better, but if you want one that will stand the test of time, you may want to invest in some of the pricier options available, as these are far more likely to be able to stand up to constant use without breaking down. Remember, a rugged player can be good for places such as the gym and the workplace, where you are more likely to drop it while moving about, it’s just wasted money if all you are going to be doing is relaxing at home.

Price.
Price is a big factor in deciding what audio player you finally buy, and with some available from less than $15, you really have to take the above factors into consideration before buying. Remember, the more features you choose, the more you will have to pay. Consider this: You buy a new, top of the range, $250 mp3 player. You don’t use any of the features, but you figure that you may need them eventually. The very next morning, you set out for quick jog in the park, only to lose it among the bushes. You overcompensated. Have a good idea of the features you need, and are likely to use constantly before buying. This way, you can have an expensive one you use for the home, and a cheap, small one that you can afford to lose for activities such as exercise.

Look.
This is only going to be a small paragraph, and one that should definitely only be considered once the points above are out of the way. If you are a flashy sort of person, who enjoys showing off, a shinier and overall better looking portable audio player may be more along your street. But if you just plan to sit at home, or keep it in your pocket, there is virtually no reason to get a weaker, heavier but better looking one over a smaller, lighter but slightly blocky one.

Choose wisely, and good luck!

> A Nintendo DSi
> A Wireless router
> An Internet connection (Broadband is recommended, but a Dial-up connection will also work)

By connecting your game system to the Internet, you’ll open up a whole new world for yourself. You’ll be able to play Wi-Fi enabled games against other players around the world, search the web, perform system updates, and much more.

Setting up the system is actually quite easy, and only requires a few technical steps. This tutorial will be broken up into two sections, which covers setting up your DSi using the main menu or by using a Wi-Fi enabled game. Which ever method you choose will produce the same end result.

Note: A lot of restaurants, hotels, and stores are now providing free Wi-Fi access, so if you are any of these places and can find a connection, go for it!

Connecting your DSi (Regular method)

1. Power on your Nintendo DSi.
2. After the Health and Safety screen, you’ll be greeted by the DSi menu.
3. Find and select the “System Setings” icon. If you haven’t adjusted the order, it should be at the extreme left.
4. From here, press the over arrow 3 times (or tap the “3″) to navigate to the 3rd menu. Click on the “Internet” option.
5. Now, simply choose “Connection Settings”.
6. Select any connection that you would like to use (1-3). If it says “None”, then you can set up a new connection by tapping that option.
7. Select “Search for an Access Point”.
8. If there are any Wi-Fi connections within range, it will find the connection. Select the appropriate connection (most likely your router’s name) to connect. If your router uses a WEP key, then the DSi will prompt you to enter it.
9. It will then test the connection, checking for internet availability.
10. If everything goes right, then your connection will be confirmed and then you’ll be able to connect to the Internet from your DSi. Congratulations!

Connecting your DSi (Wi-Fi game method)
1. Power on your Nintendo DSi.
2. After the Health and Safety screen, you’ll be greeted by the DSi menu.
3. Insert a Wi-Fi enabled game. Examples include Mario Kart DS, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Tetris DS, …
4. Within the games main menu, go into the game settings and then select “Nintendo WFC Setup”
5. This menu will allow you to set up your Wifi settings similar to the regular method.
6. Follow steps 6-10 from the Regular method listed above in order to connect your DSi.

You can see the top toys for Christmas (and other holidays of the winter season) here: Amazon’s Top Picks in Toys 2009.

Hyperdash has been selected in many toy lists each year, and it’s no wonder. We love the game that has kids thinking on their feet–literally. It’s an Edutaining Kids Top Pick as well, as it fits perfectly into our expectations for a quality “edutaining” toy. Hyper Dash puts a new spin on the term “active learning”–it promotes listening, memory, and math skills, as well as giving kids a little workout. Intense fun! For more information about this fun and educational toy, see Wild Planet Hyper Dash.

Zhu Zhu Pets are one of the most wanted toys this Christmas, but their scarcity has led to toy stores upping the prices. There are many other alternatives to be found, thankfully.

Some of the toys that appear on both Amazon’s list and our Edutaining Kids Holiday Gift Guides include Crayola Glow Dome which allow kids to draw on a dome and have their drawings projected onto the ceiling in full glow in the dark glory, LeapFrog My Pal Scout and LeapFrog My Pal Violet (cute little stuffies that actually say your child’s name after they’re programmed, LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table, and more.

Kids learning to read often find the task daunting, frustrating, and anything but fun. It’s even less fun if the other kids read better or if adults have to help them too often with the words. Karaoke is a really fun outlet. Not only are the words highlighted on a screen as they roll by, but they are words to songs with which your children are familiar. Start out with the tracks that include the singer’s voice. Seeing the words on a screen and hearing a musician they love pronounce those words correctly in a flow that makes the words mean something as they string together in a times beat will help improve your child’s recognition of words, ability to pronounce those same words when seen in other venues, and allow them to hear the proper pronunciation of those words without feeling stupid for not having figured it out themselves. It’s a fun way to learn, in a format where children have no idea that they are learning. In time, you will be able to use the music track while your kid sings the words back without the aid of the musician and in so doing, they will read the screen better than they have ever read anything before.

Most people have trouble speaking in front of others, no less singing in front of others. Karaoke offers a venue for this to happen in a way that is non-threatening, and in a way that will help your child build confidence. Our voices are like instruments. In time, all but the most tone deaf will learn to play those voices with confidence. One doesn’t have to be good at karaoke in order to have fun doing it, and the process of doing our best in a creative venue is good for self confidence. A kid that can sing karaoke will have an easier time standing to deliver a book report to the class.

Along the same lines, your family members will have varying degrees of talent when singing karaoke. It’s a good thing for kids to see that there is no shame in the variance of talent that is experienced by all of humanity. If they are better than you, say so! That’s another great ego booster for a kid. As a parent, you don’t need to worry about your kid’s ego being too big. If their heads get too big their friends will have your back. It’s your job to make sure that you are the one person who is always their biggest fan!

Kids also find themselves learning and appreciating music as the result of karaoke. There is a difference between knowing some songs and having music in your life. You know the difference instinctively, so I will not labor point further than to say, it’s your job to lead your kids to music.

If I were to ask you what the best day of your life was before your kids were born, there is an 80% chance you would relate a story of a time that you spent quality time with your mother, your father, or both parents. Even now your heart has been warmed by a memory. We spend enough time keeping our kids from killing themselves and each other, screaming, barking orders, etc, that karaoke becomes a nice reprieve. It’s a family activity in which even feuding family members can lose their frustration, if only for a couple of hours. It’s impossible to sing and be upset at the same time. Even sad songs feel pretty good in a placed down deep. Songs bring us back to our humanity and they touch the core of our being…even for those of us with limited musical inclination.

A karaoke player costs about a hundred dollars, and you can usually find low cost ones at a local store. Discs run anywhere from $8 to $30. The benefit of including karaoke into the lives of your kids and your family is priceless and worth every penny you will spend, one hundred times over. If you have never considered adding karaoke to your life, now is the time. May the lives of all of your family members be enriched by the addition of more music in your lives.

by Harry Widdifield

For an affordable Karaoke machine: Singing Machine SMG-137 CD+G Karaoke System

The Hasbro U-Dance Game is a plug-and-play unit for the TV featuring an all-in-one
sensor system that detects motion. Donning special foot tags, as kids dance, their steps appear onscreen–no special mat to dance on, and nothing to hold.

Let your feet do all the talking! Kids learn and practice authentic dance moves as they dance solo or in a “dance-off” with a friend. There is an option to add some fitness to the mix via a “treadmill” game. Such fun, and truly innovative!

The U-Dance is a new addition to EdutainingKids’ Holiday Gift Guides: For Kids Ages 9-up. See all top toy selections for tweeners.

[For more information, user reviews, or to buy: U-Dance at Amazon.com]

The list of most wanted, wished for, and hottest toy ideas is categorized into children’s age groups and interests. This year’s list is a little more Web 2.0 with its video component and sliders–great fun!

You can see the top toys for Christmas (and other holidays of the winter season) here: Amazon’s Holiday Toy List 2008.

Hyperdash is selected as the number one holiday toy for 2008, and it’s no wonder. We love the game that has kids thinking on their feet–literally. It’s an Edutaining Kids Top Pick as well, as it fits perfectly into our expectations for a quality “edutaining” toy. Hyper Dash puts a new spin on the term “active learning”–it promotes listening, memory, and math skills, as well as giving kids a little workout. Intense fun! For more information about this fun and educational toy, see Wild Planet Hyper Dash.

More toys that appear on both Amazon’s list and our Edutaining Kids Holiday Gift Guides include Fisher-Price Smart Cycle, EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles,LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table, and more.

GOAL IS MORE IMAGINATIVE, MAKE-IT-UP-YOURSELF, BELLY-LAUGHING PLAY FOR KIDS AND EASIER SHOPPING FOR MOM AND DAD

Toys don’t get much better than these. If you’re a kid just wanting to have fun, or an overworked parent looking to keep holiday shopping simple, check out the one expert-selected holiday toy list that cuts through all the heavily-hyped electronic razzmatazz in favor of safe, creative toys with staying power.

The hot-off-the-presses 2008 Best Toys for Kids list released today by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) gets back to the basics. It features toys for make-it-up-yourself, belly-laughing play that’s safe, fun for kids and supports their physical, cognitive, and social development. These toys are a great reason to bypass the hordes of anxious, exhausted shoppers at the usual big box stores and try smaller toy stores with better selection, good service, and a priority on toy safety.

“Many toy shoppers are surprised to learn that there is a whole world of engaging, unique, well-made toys that they never see in huge, impersonal, one-size-fits-all stores. These are the toys you will find on the 2008 Best Toys for Kids list and in your local neighborhood toy store,” notes Kathleen McHugh, President of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association.

“The people at your locally-owned toy store are from your community. They hand-select a wide range of safe, highly creative toys you don’t see advertised,” continues McHugh. “These toys may not be the ones your kids bug you to buy them, but they will be the ones they play with over and over.”

Toy store owners who are toy and play experts have selected the 2008 Best Toys for Kids (listed below). The list includes toys for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and older children, and guides parents to toy selections according to different types of play. Details about each toy can be found at www.astratoy.org.

INFANT (Ages Birth-12 Months)

1. Busy Bee Discovery Flower (ALEX) Ages 6 months+

2. Together Tunes Too (Neurosmith, manufacturer & Small World Toys, vendor) Ages 6 months+

TODDLER (Ages 1-3 Years)

3. Wheely Bug (Prince Lionheart) Ages 1.5+ Prince Lionheart Wheely Bug (small size), and 3+ Prince Lionheart Wheely Bug (large size)

4. Dexter the Digger (WOW Toys, manufacturer & Ravensburger, vendor) Ages 1.5+

PRESCHOOL LEARNING (Ages 3-6 Years)

5. Magna-Tiles: 3-D Magnetic Building Tiles (Valtech Co.) Ages 3+

6. Magnetic Mosaics Kids (The Orb Factory) • Ages 4+

Preschool Pretend & Play (Ages 3-6 Years)

7. Road & Rail Play Set- Railway Station (Plan Toys, Inc.) •Ages 3+

8. Stablemates(TM) Red Stable Set with Two Horses (Breyer Animal Creations, Div. of Reeves International, Inc.) Ages 4+

CONSTRUCTION

9. Circus Ring (Playmobil) Ages 5+

10. Excalibur Castle (Le Toy Van, manufacturer & Hotaling Imports Inc., vendor) Ages 3+

11. 24-foot BluTrack Challenge Pack (MJ Sports dba BluTrack(R)) Ages 3+

ARTS & CRAFTS

12. Sticky Mosaics Jewelry Box (The Orb Factory) Ages 6+

13. Wikki Stix Tons of Fun (Omnicor Inc. / The Wikki Stix Co.) Ages 3 – 11

MUSIC

14. Schoenhut 44-Key Baby Grand Piano (Schoenhut Piano Company, Inc.) Ages 5+

15. Learn-to-Play Piano (Melissa & Doug) Ages 3+

Games FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN (Ages 3-7 Years)

16. Zingo (ThinkFun, Inc.) Ages 4 – 8

17. Qwirkle (MindWare) Ages 6+

Games FOR OLDER KIDS (Ages 8 Years+)

18. SET Cubed, a Curious Game of Clever Connections (Set Enterprises, Inc.) Ages 8+

19. Bananagrams (Bananagrams) Ages 7+

SCIENCE

20. Wind Power — Renewable Energy Science Kit (Thames & Kosmos) Ages 8+

21. Geyser Tube (Be Amazing! Toys) Ages 8+

ACTIVE

22. The Original Flying Turtle (Mason Corporation) Ages 3 – 12

23. Mini Super Sports Disk (OgoSport, LLC) Ages 4+

TOYS TO WOW KIDS!

24. Multi-colored Ball of Whacks (Creative Whack Company/US Games Systems, Inc.) Ages 8+

25. Karito Kids World Collection (Karito Kids by KidsGive) Ages 3+

The 2008 Best Toys for Kids list, along with an easy-to-use Toy Store Finder for locating independently-owned toy stores, can be found at www.astratoy.org.

About the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA)

With more than 1000 members, the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) is the largest association for companies in the toy and children’s products arenas. ASTRA and its member companies promote the growth of the toy industry by delivering products that serve children’s best interests. For more information, visit www.astratoy.org.

It’s best to start with a basic or starter set and then build upon it with a special parts set. If you know your child is going to be especially fond of the rollercoaster set (called the iCoaster), go for that set. It has plenty of nice features, and actually adds cool sounds to the creative mix. There is a girls’ Magnext set also available–it’s the same system, but with pastel colors.

Recommended for kids ages 6 and up.

Magnext System

GelaSkins are artist-designed skins designed to protect and spiff up laptops, iPhones, iPods, PSPs, Nintendo DS Lite, select cell phones, and Touch. They truly are delightful to look at, and extremely functional at the same time. They peel off and stick on, so that you can reuse them; and, if you have more than one GelaSkin, you can change the look of your device whenever you’re in the mood.

The designs are a must-see–truly creative and inspiring. GelaSkins Inc. has recently added a line of gorgeous wallpapers for the iPhone, Touch, and PSP that you can use on the screens of these devices, downloadable for free at the GelaSkins website. There is a selection of GelaScreens designed to match each GelaSkin.

GelaSkins include a wide variety of styles and artwork. While some are straightforward (such as Golfer), most are alternative. Teens are sure to find something they like. In fact, they’re sure to find many skins they love! You’ll have to take a look at the GelaSkins gallery in order to get an idea of the sheer quantity and impressive quality of skins available. Skins can be purchased offline, but the best selection can be found at the GelaSkins site.

Because we’re talking art–and a lot of it–it’s probably best to let your teens decide which ones they like best, so if you’re planning on giving GelaSkins as a gift, your best bet is to buy a gift card, also available at the site.