My kids love their electronics. If they were given a choice it would be video games 24/7. For a parent, this is extremely irritating. Imagine a house that is topsy turvy, stuff everywhere, and four kids glued to a monitor somewhere, oblivious to the mess that surrounds them. Sound familiar?

I have tried all kinds of rules, time limits, coupons, you name it. And they all do work, as long as I am ready to monitor it and be the “electronics police”. Somedays, I just don’t want this job.

We always have had a no electronics on the weekdays policy which works well, but then the weekends turn into a techno free for all. This past weekend was extremely busy for us and I did not want to fill the few hours of down time with video games and tv. It is always so hard to pull the kids away when their time is up.

So I did something shocking - I said no to electronics for the weekend. And a funny thing happened - my kids played the old fashioned way! They made up stories, they took out the art supplies and created beautiful art projects, they read books, and generally got along with each other.

The house became even more disorganized - there were newspapers spread across the family room floor as the children glued and painted and tried not to get any on the carpet. But it was so much better than being plugged in, that I really didn’t mind.

I will definitely do this more often!

What are you getting grandma for the holidays?

Have you consdered a Nintendo DS Lite? What - grandma playing video games? You bet.

Actually, my mom is a big Sudoku and puzzle fan. She recently picked up her own Nintendo DS Liteand Brain Age 2 (which is a game that contains tons of Sudoku puzzles and other mind challenging activities).

And the rest as they say, is history.

Now when I when issue the parenting command, “Enough electronic time, turn it off!” I also have to add, “That includes you, grandma!”

Hasbro’s newest addition to the Littlest Pet Shop Familyhas arrived at LittlestPetShop.com! Introducing Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s!. Hasbro gave me the opportunity to try a Littlest Pet Shop VIP for free so I gave these a whirl - and I liked what I saw.

What are the Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s?
For starters, VIP stands for “Virtual Interactive Pet”. You get to play with it online. The Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s are cuddly stuffed animals that come with a secret code on their collar. After you purchase the stuffed animal, you log on to LittlestPetShop.com, create an account, and register your secret code. Now your cute stuffed animal has come life online.

What is the Littlest Pet Shop VIP virtual world like?

The Littlest Pet Shop VIP virtual world is a fun place to be. The best part, of course, is the games. Choices include

• Flying High Hang Gliding,
• Super Sundae Maker,
• Leaping Lily Pads,
• Wildest Water Tubing, and
• Sporty Skateboarding.

Just to name a few - there are many more that I have not mentioned. And it appears that even more games are going to be added soon.

The games are fun for older kids, yet simple enough for younger children to have success with.

When you play a game you earn virtual dollars so your pet can go shopping. As of now the shops include:

• Supermart (here you can buy food to feed your pet),
• Pet Boutique (purchase the latest clothing and accessories for your pet), and
• Department Store (selling furnishings for your pet’s home).

These shops are located in the Village area of the Littlest Pet Shop VIP world. The VIP world is divided into six areas:

• Village,
• Get Better Center
• Playground
• Adoption Center
• Forest and
• Your House

Each area has lots of activities to do. Navigating around the Littlest Pet Shop VIP world is easy. At the bottom of the screen there are icons to help you during your visit. There is an interactive map that shows you where you are and allows you to jump from place to place. There is also an icon with a list of the shops and games, so you can click to go directly to any activity.

Social Interaction and Internet Safety
At this point your pet is the only pet in your Littlest Pet Shop VIP world.

In the interest of internet safety (very important!) Hasbro does not include the option to interact with other people’s pets. Most parents will appreciate this feature. However you can register more than one pet on each account.

There are also a few creatures that come with the Littlest Pet Shop VIP world that your pet can interact with. These are computer generated. For example there is one creature that will play a scavenger hunt with your pet.

Give it a Try - FREE
Still not sure if this is right for you? You can try out the Littlest Pet Shop VIP virtual world for FREE. Just create an account at LittlestPetShop.com, and in the adoption center click on Borrow. You will be given the opportunity to take the dalmation through the Littlest Pet Shop VIP world and play the games. I love this “try before you buy” feature.

I have to stress that the online world is NOT the only part of the Littlest Pet Shop VIP experience. Actually owning the stuffed animal is just as much fun. My son (who is 7) loves his stuffed penguin and actually takes it to school in his backpack everyday! And my 9 year old son is coveting the turtle (maybe a holiday gift?). Obviously, it’s not just for girls.

How do the Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s compare to Webkinz?
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Webkinz. After all, the two seem very similar. But it truly is comparing apples and oranges - they are not the same. Webkinz has been around for a while so the online interface is more mature. But the Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s are from the wildly popular Littlest Pet Shop line, so the stuffed toy itself is a cool toy. If you are already a Littlest Pet Shop fan then the VIP’s are a must have. If you are new to Littlest Pet Shop, then the VIP’s are a good place to start. They are fresh, they are fun, and they are not as common as Webkinz.

Where Can I Buy Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s?
The VIP’s are available at HasbroToyShop.com and Amazon.com and at major toy retailers in New York City. After the new year they will be in major toy retailers around the country.

The Littlest Pet Shop VIP world at LittlestPetShop.com is a fun, safe place for kids to play online. It appeals to all ages - from kindergartners (even some tech savvy preschoolers) through tweens. Just in time for the holidays, Littlest Pet Shop VIP’s will be turning up in stockings everywhere!

Ok, I admit it - I am a closet Nintendo DS Lite user. Or at least I would like to be. Parents are busy people, after all. Who has time for video games?

Ever since the kids got their Nintendo DS systems for the holidays my interest has been piqued. Of course, while playing Mario or Lego Star Wars II may be fun, I can’t justify the time involved in mastering such a game.

Enter Brain Age. A friend mentioned it to me and, hey, I am all for anything that can improve my brain function and possibly reduce my incidences of “senior” moments, which seem to be occurring more frequently these days! Parenting will do that to you, I guess.

BrainAge tests your brainpower by giving you various tests to determine what they call “brain age” (thus the name …. no rocket science required here!). The younger score you get the better, with an age of 20 being the best. The tests are fun to do and don’t take much time at each sitting. Some expamples are simple multiplication, something that resembles a dot to dot but you have to do it in a certain sequence, counting puzzles, and reading aloud. There are also brain exercises to do on a daily basis.

But for me, the best part about this game is that it includes sudoku! I recently began doing the puzzles in the newspaper but never had a long enough stretch of time to complete them. Before I finished the puzzle, the paper would be in the recycling. In the Brain Age game the sudoku is included as a separate unit so you can play it apart from the other tests. Also, you can save a game in progress and quit at any time. This great thing to do if you spend a lot of time waiting for your kids while they participate in extracurricular activities. And the game even has hints and tricks for solving the puzzles so I can actually experience a bit of sudoku success.

This morning I had to take the kids to the eye doctor. As we waited and waited they played away on their DS’s. After fruitlessly asking nicely for a turn, imagine the surprise of the other waiting patients when I exercised a parent’s right of eminent domain and seized the unit for my use! I think I need to get one of my own.