Musical Moms Take Note!

I love music and I want my child to love music. He's been enrolled in music classes since he was just 3 months old. Even then his face lit up at the sound of an instrument, so ... I thought I'd treat him to a few. One day as we strolled through town, he spotted a Schylling guitar. Now at 3, he is no Clapton, but I'll take what I can get. Since he'd turned every kitchen utensil in our house into a Gibson, I thought he deserved to try the real thing and so, like every good mom who wants her child to have every opportunity, I bought my son his first guitar. Again, the price, $30. I had visions of our family gathered around the fire one day, as my talented young son took requests. But by the end of our 15 minute walk, I was ready to throw that guitar into the fire!
Why? Because I handed my son the instrument as we walked out of the store. For about a minute and a half he sang his little heart out and strummed along, the object of onlookers whose faces said it all: "adorable." But the adorable little boy turned into the devil in disguise as one string popped after the other.
The thing that really sent me into a spin is that the company who made this guitar also makes a little baby grand piano that stood nicely in my son's room before it collapsed on he and a friend. Now .. I wrote to Schylling and they were nice enough to replace the piano with a new and improved version which is made so that it can't collapse on a child, but I mean really? Did a piano for a kid really have to be made so that it couldn't hold up to a kid in the first place and is there anyone out there taking a look at this stuff? On that note .. I sign off for now.

Toys Not For Tots

If you're tired of taking home toys that fall apart or sick of finding lost limbs from the bodies of superheroes, then this blog is for you!
Add to that the need for a closet full of batteries and DVDs that can't take a lickin' and keep on tickin' -- we want to hear from you.
I've taken home one toy too many to put up with the poor quality I get in return for my hard earned bucks and I'm sure you have too.
Now we all have a place to list the toys that can't stand up to our kids - so join me in getting the list going!!!

The latest toy on my list comes from MightyWorld. We've had the K9 car set for 24 hours and so far 2 pieces broke and the one policeman that came with it lost a leg. Price: $29.99
Frustration level for me and my child: 100%.

Next I'll tell you about the guitar that doesn't have a string to stand on!