I'm grandma,it's my shop so I can write about anything can't I? I've talked about her before but I want to talk about "The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly". I don't know why I want to - well we won't go there ^_^.

My Old Woman who Swallowed a Fly doll is a splendiforous doll indeed.  Shei s butt ugly but hey, would a beautiful young woman be caught dead eating a fly much less and insect, bird, cat, dog, cow or horse? I think not lol.  No, butt ugly she is and butt ugly she should be.

Visiting children love her. It is fun to tell the story and place the objects down her enormous throat at the right time. The end of the story always ends in emergency surgery as we open up the velcro to reveal her stomach. We then remove the offending objects which, depending on the version you read, either lead to her ultimate demise or cause her extreme discomfort.

Telling the story is always fun. Watching the kids tell the story is even more fun for me.  The kids really enjoy holding the items and putting them down her throat one by one. But they don't understand the hidden benefits of this wonderful toy, they don't reallise how much they are learning:

Each time they hear or tell the story they are improving their memory skills learning to put the figures down her throat in the right order.  Some who struggle with speech are concentrating on telling the story so that others can enjoy it with them, it sometimes leads to clearer speech patterns. Others may just be developing a latent love for story telling and drama.

Yes, my Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly might be butt ugly but she is one of the most beautfiul dolls I know of.  She is definitely something to behold. You can find here.

Living with any disability automatically adds brings with it many challenges and obstacles to overcome. It also brings unexpected happy surprises. One thing families in this situation do know is that mo two days are the same. Routine is something to be hoped for but rarely achieved.

There are days when everything seems to have been totally out of control, when perhaps a quick trip to the local shopping centre turned into World War 3 somewhere along the way and the short trip turned into a long afternoon. Sometimes the planned trip doesn't even get started.

For parents in this situation freedom to live a normal life seems like a pipe dream. Consider the children though. So often they do not want to act this way but seem to have no control over their emotions or actions. Where do you turn for help and advice?

There aremany groups in various countries and each state of Australia which certainly help in this area. It is often reassuring to know that others have been there and done that.  It is also often empowering to learn how other families have coped in similar situations.

I am happy to say that here at Grandmas Toy Shop we have come across a great tool. "Rules of the Game" is a great set of downloadable books which actually do give good advice. Written by a mother with a child who has this challenge in his life, she is also qualified to write from an educated perspective. These books are written in a way which makes it much easier to understand what is in the mind of the child. Armed with that information it is so much easier for the parent to introduce strategies both to avoid potential disaster before it starts (at least some of the time) and also to help the child understand and manage his own behaviour.

I am impressed with what I have read of these books and would be very interested in your opinions should you buy them. Let me know here or by email on the "contact us" page. As usual the money back guarantee applies.

By encouraging our children in their love of the Wiggles and such like, are we in effect teaching them that it is okay to place great store in the current trends in media?  Are we actually saying that to be accepted in the society of tiny people we need to wear clothes which promote the Wiggles? Are we inadvertently stating that without at least some Wiggles goods our children won't be accepted by their peers?

I personally would say that this is not necessarily the case.  Like most things I believe that children need role models as do adults. As parents it is our duty to see that the role models we encourage our children to look up to are worthy of the adulation the kids give them.  Two questions we should ask ourselves are:

      Does the group, person present wholesome values?

      As far as we know do their lifestyles match the values they promote?

Is it wrong then to encourage our young children to watch them on television and purchase their cds and dvds?  My contention is that many children do not naturally gravitate to doing exercise.  In fact there have been many times when I have resorted to sneak tactics to encourage exercise in our family.  My younger children were not exercise oriented, I think they inherited that trait from their mother!  We were fortunate enough to live near the beach, so long walks, beach games and the like were a huge part of our lifestyle.

The girls would often play boppy songs and sing and dance to them.  In early years they would make up dance routines to the songs and put on shows for the adults to watch. They would practice these for hours with their friends and then perform them in the late afternoon.  Those days were exercise filled even though they were unaware of what they were doing. We adults got to enjoy their performances and admire their energetic routines.

The Wiggles stand for wholesome values, good clear songs and tunes that DO encourage people to wiggle to the beat.  The joyful movement and jumping around provide exercise while just having fun.  Products marketed under The Wiggles itile encourage growth in other areas also.  They promote learning through play and this is to be applauded in my opinion.

So go ahead parents.  Let the little ones enjoy their music group and learn as well.  Come to think of it why not wiggle and learn along with them?  Trust me it is fun. You could try the card game set on the link below for starters:

http://www.grandmastoyshop.com.au/page/312738209