MarloElaine » Toys

Review: Scatterpillar Scramble Game

Elaine — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:25:51 +0000

Hasbro’s Elefun and Friends just came out with a new game called Scatterpillar Scramble. The makers of Elefun, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Gator Golf, and Giraffalaff Limbo have another winner on their hands. This game would make an excellent Christmas gift for a preschooler. Keep reading for a chance to win this game!

Scatterpillar Scramble is a cute dancing caterpillar with four sets of hands. The game is for 2-4 players, ages 4 and up. Each player has a color coded set of tongs and marbles. The goal of the game is for each player to place all of their marbles into the caterpillar’s hands before their opponents.

My 3 1/2 and 6 year old children love the game, but they find it discouraging to play the game according to the directions. My husband and I even have a difficult time placing all the marbles while the caterpillar gyrates around to lively music. My kids like to race to place the marbles when the caterpillar is still, then turn it on to do a celebratory dance for the winner. The kids like to laugh and join in, then play again. They also like to play with their grandmother and anyone else who comes to visit.

This game would be excellent in a retirement home or rehab setting for people trying to improve their fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. It would also make for an interesting time at a college party.

What games or toys do you like to play with your preschooler or school age child? Please post a comment below for a chance to win Scatterpillar Scramble AND Giraffalaff Limbo. Special thanks to MyBlogSpark and Hasbro for giving us the opportunity to review this game as well as providing a set of games to a lucky reader. The winner will be announced on Monday, November 16th. Thanks for reading!

How to make your own Spot the Dog puppet

Elaine — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:35:50 +0000

Sammy and Sophie love the Spot the Dog series of books by Eric Hill. Their favorite ones are the lift the flap books like “Where’s Spot?” and “Spot Goes to School.” When our local public library announced that Spot the Dog was coming to visit, they were so excited! Sammy gave Spot a big hug, but Sophie was happy to just wave from across the room.
After reading Spot books, visiting with Spot, and taking lots of pictures, the wonderful librarians helped the kids make Spot puppets.

All you need to make your own Spot the Dog puppet is a square piece of yellow paper, a popsicle stick, tape, and a black or brown crayon to provide hours of fun for the kids!

First, simply fold the square down the middle diagonally to make a triangle. Position the triangle in front of you so that the folded side is on top. Fold the two top corners down to make ears. Draw on a face and color as desired. Finally, tape on the stick to complete the puppet! Enjoy!

Thomas & Friends Replacements Finally Received

Elaine — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 02:30:05 +0000

After over four months, we finally received our Thomas & Friends replacement vehicles. We received Skarloey, Sodor Mail Car, Water Tanker, and Hook & Ladder Truck in the mail today. They look just like the ones we sent back, but seem brand new and smell like paint. I hope there is NO LEAD in the toys’ paint this time! I wouldn’t be surprised, given the fact that RC2 knew about the lead on the Toad engines that they sent out as replacement gifts, but then waited a month before recalling them. We will no longer purchase anymore Thomas & Friends toys made by RC2. They have lost our trust and loyalty.

We were thinking of testing our children’s toys for lead ourselves, since we can’t trust the manufacturers to do it for us. Thingamababy lists step by step instructions on how to use the home testing kits. It sounds like it would be very expensive to test all your children’s toys, since each color on each toy needs to be tested separately.

Unfortunately, a new study released yesterday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission claims that the home testing kits are not reliable. The CPSC says “Testing by a qualified laboratory and trained personnel is the only way to accurately assess the potential risk posed by a consumer product that may contain lead.”

Sammy and Sophie both recently had their blood drawn and tested for lead. Thankfully, their levels were normal. We don’t know if that means they are lead-free or if they just have an “acceptable amount” of lead in their bodies. Luckily they are no longer putting toys in their mouths as much as they used to. We are trying to be more vigilant in asking them to wash their hands before meals and snacks, to minimize the risk of lead particles entering their bodies.

We will be very conscious of where toys are manufactured during this holiday season. We plan to avoid purchasing toys that are made in China.

RC2 Thomas & Friends Recall Update

Elaine — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 05:20:20 +0000

Thanks so much to all of our readers who have shared their Thomas & Friends Recall experiences with us. Unfortunately, most of them have been negative. Many people are vowing to stop purchasing RC2 products all together. Others suggest getting their Thomas fix from Ebay or Toys R Us clearance to minimize RC2 profits. Almost everyone is extremely unhappy with the way RC2 is handling the recall, especially the postage reimbursements.

Recently, we received an e-mail from the company stating that the four items that we returned due to excessive levels of lead paint will not be replaced until late October. We shipped them on June 18th! Luckily, our son seems to have forgotten about his once beloved trains. He is still a huge Thomas fan, but he loves all kinds of trains and motorized vehicles now.

Here’s a copy of the e-mail:

Thank you for participating in our recent recall of certain Thomas & Friends wooden train toys. We want you to know that the status of your replacement order is now available to you online. Please visit http://recalls.rc2.com and follow the easy instructions. Your Reference Number is CTXXXXXX. Please keep this handy for your reference as you access the site.

As you may know, we have significantly expanded our toy quality assurance, inspection and testing programs. This applies not only to incoming materials but to the finished toys themselves. The implementation of these additional safeguards has resulted in some delay in shipping replacement orders. While we deeply regret this delay, our top priority is and always will be toy safety. We appreciate your patience and assure you we are working hard to ship your order as quickly as possible.

Please allow 10 days from the Scheduled Ship Date of your replacement order for your product to arrive. Do not respond to this email. If you have any questions, please email us at mailto:recalls@rc2corp.com or call 866-725-4407 from 8 – 5 CT Monday through Friday.

Please verify that we have your correct mailing address:

ELAINE XXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX

Email us at mailto:recalls@rc2corp.com with any corrections.

Regards,
Consumer Service
RC2 Corporation

While we were at the doctor for Sammy’s annual checkup, we mentioned to her that our children were exposed to poisonous amounts of lead from recalled toys. We agreed to have both kids’ blood drawn and tested for lead exposure. We pray that the tests come out normal.

Thomas & Friends Shipping Reimbursement Received

Elaine — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 05:47:09 +0000

We recently received our shipping reimbursement check from RC2, the makers of the recalled Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys. On June 20, 2007, we paid $5.25 to ship four trains via USPS Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation. Last week we received a $4.60 check along with a short letter.

I was disappointed that we were not refunded the full amount, but after reading some of the comments on our other Thomas & Friends recall articles, it seems like we were lucky. Many people are very upset about the way RC2 is handling the reimbursement process. Our reader Jill received a check for $1.81, even though it cost her $3.03 to ship 4 items. Carolyn received $5.30 after paying $8.23 to return 9 recalled items while Jeff was reimbursed only $1.81 for about $5 shipping fees for 3 items.

Carolyn and Jeff both shared with us their negative experiences with RC2 customer service when they called to complain. The RC2 representatives seem to be unsympathetic and uncooperative. They were unable to give the customers explanations as to how the shipping amounts were calculated or when the replacement trains would be shipped.

I plan to call them myself to complain about the fact that no matter how many recalled items were returned, only one free gift was shipped. I could have easily sent my son’s trains in four separate packages with different return addresses. We might have ended up with 4 Diesel engines, but at least he’d stop asking when his beloved trains would come back with their “new paint job.”

Have you received your free gift and RC2 refund check? If so, let us know in the comments section below what you received and how much you paid for shipping.

Thomas & Friends Recall Gift Received

Elaine — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 01:18:22 +0000

We received our Thomas & Friends Recall Gift in the mail last weekend. While we’ve heard of many people receiving Toad and a few getting Diesel, Fergus the Traction Engine is the newest edition to our Thomas & Friends collection.

The package included a note from RC2 stating that they will send a check to reimburse the postage. It is not clear how much or how will they accurately determine the amount of postage paid. I scanned a copy of the letter for those who have not yet received their free gift.

I was a bit disappointed to only receive one free gift for returning the four trains. I can’t help but think what if we had sent all four separately.

Sammy is anxiously waiting for the new coat of paint on his beloved trains. Hopefully he doesn’t have to wait too long!

Have you received your free gift? If so, let us know in the comments below which one was sent to you.

Fisher Price Recall Update

Elaine — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 01:18:12 +0000

We have received new information since our last article “More Toys Recalled for Lead Paint.”

Fisher-Price Consumer Affairs e-mailed me after I completed their online request form. The e-mail contains a link to an eight page brochure, a merchandise return label, and detailed shipping instructions to return recalled items. The brochure has a list of all the affected Fisher-Price toys. The merchandise return label has been pre-filled with my name, address, and a delivery confirmation number.

Below is the entire e-mail.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: FP Consumer Affairs (CATS)
Date: Aug 4, 2007 5:51 PM
Subject: In Reference to Case Number: 13######

Thank you for contacting Fisher-Price regarding our recall program for painted plastic toys with a possible lead paint hazard. We apologize for any disappointment or concern this may have caused and thank you for allowing us to remedy the situation.

Please follow this link to download a detailed color brochure that will assist you in determining if you own affected product. You will need to print, complete, and return the last two pages of the brochure, along with any affected product.

http://service.mattel.com/us/recall/FPPaintProgram.pdf

We have included a traceable, pre-paid United States Postal Service mailing label for the return of your affected product(s). The value of your return will be carefully assessed and a voucher for the value will be sent to you within 6 – 8 weeks. The voucher is redeemable at most national retailers and is good toward any Mattel or Fisher-Price manufactured product.

The maximum size of the package must be less than 108 inches total. The total is calculated by doubling the package height, plus double the package width, plus the length. The length is the longest side of the package.

To ensure your package is received by us quickly, please take your package to your local post office to receive a round date stamp on your merchandise return mailing acknowledgement or online e-label record (included on bottom half of mailing label). This confirmation stamp is provided by the postal service at no cost to you. Packages dropped at a mailbox or collection box are not scanned prior to delivery and may delay the return of your package.

Please return the package – including the last two pages of your brochure – to us within 14 days. Upon receipt of your returned package, a voucher will be sent within 6 – 8 weeks.

In closing, we would like to apologize to everyone affected by this recall, especially those consumers who bought the affected toys. We realize that parents trust us with what is most precious to them – their children. And we also recognize that trust is earned. Our goal is to correct this problem, improve our systems and maintain the trust of the families that have allowed us to be part of their lives by acting responsibly and quickly to address their concerns.

Sincerely,

Mattel, Inc.
Consumer Relations