The Toy Review

A few days ago, I highlighted a fun inflatable toy that cost a couple hundred dollars. While I don’t doubt that the Sesame Street Activity Bouncer is one of the ultimates in cool backyard toys, today I want to introduce you to an inflatable jump toy for those of us with smaller pocket books and yards. In fact, this one can even be used in a large room. That’s right: inside! The Madd Kidz Jumpster runs about $30, and it’s for ages 3-7 just like it’s bigger counterparts. It’s just 62 inches in diameter and still holds 165 pounds. And, yes, Virginia, it can be used with the ball pit balls.

Ok, this toy makes me think about wanting to be 5 again! I saw it in an ad, and just thought, “wow, how cool is that??” The Sesame Street Activity Bouncer is a jump toy and a ball pit, and it comes with it’s own inflater. With a recommended age range of 3-7, the $250 price tag beaks down to about 50 bucks a year. If you have more than one child, it’s not a bad deal at all: it holds up to 200 pounds so more than one child can use it at a time.

I’ve been on/in a couple of these inflatable toys, and they do seem fairly sturdy, but I am still not sure I’d trust one around our dogs: I’d be afraid of a puncture or twenty. OTOH, if you have a pet free area to set it up, this could be a summer’s worth of fun several times over.

Today’s plaything: marbles! Did you know marbles have been found in the ruins of ancient Egypt? Talk about a popular toy! My boys were excited to read about them in their history book. And since marbles are beautiful as well as fun, they can be enjoyed all your life, though you may have to stop playing when you can’t get up off the floor anymore. Then you can start collecting them in a jar, like my dad did.

Marbles are a choking hazard, so it should go without saying that young children should be closely supervised while playing with them. That won’t be too difficult, since you will want to be down there with them. Don’t know how to play? No problem! You can find rules for several games at Marble Rules. It will take you just a few minutes to figure out how to play, and much longer to perfect your mad skillz. Enjoy!