Busy Book for Little Fingers: Hi Buy Mama

By now a lot of you may know that our little one is homeschooled. Many people have always been asking how we keep our little one "advanced", you can follow us on this series and take some reference on some of the toys, books and stimulation we use so that you can add on to your own curriculum as well. 

I have heard about busy books for the longest time and frankly I couldn't really quite understand the appeal it would have on a child. After watching my son tinkle around with them, I was like wow this thing works. He actually sat for a good 30 mins, ignoring Cocomelon (Well done!) and was just focused on interacting with some of the pages. 

Our Busy Book is from Hi Buy Mama, they basically have 2 versions. One was the Friendly Hedgehog Toddler Busy Toddler ($59.90) which was for the younger kids and the other was the Otterly Fun Busy Book ($76.90). We decided that the Busy Book was more appropriate for him even though he was not even 3 years old because he has pretty much grasped most of the key skills in the hedgehog book.

At about the 22 months old mark, I was planning to inculcate in him a teeth brushing routine, ease him into toilet training, identify colours and emotions effectively. And I felt the Otter Book could help me achieve these aims better. Tip: As parents, I feel we should take the recommended age as a guide and not a firm rule. We need to know what is the current development level of our child and find resources that suits them. 

Our LO definitely had preference on some pages over the others. His favourite include the fishing, teeth brushing and the zipper. If you are training your kid to brush your teeth, I would strongly recommend an interactive book like this. Our LO got so excited about brushing the Hippo's teeth that it was quite effortless to re-start him to brush his own. (Yes, I lost momentum once when I was in first trimester.)

The fishing page with the magnets intrigued him the most. To date, he would still be fishing and "feeding" us his catch. He still haven't quite understand the like and unlike poles of the magnet and would occassionally be frustrated how come he can't catch the fish at times. We have also mastered 2 colours - pink and orange (both in English and Mandarin) and have figured out emotions (this was mainly to reenacting more than the book). Overall, we are pretty pleased with the book and would deemed this as a value for money "enrichment programme".

*

*

*

Note: For our readers only, Quote "FORFUNK8" and you can can get 8% off!

Good Oral Hygiene with Playbrush

I came across this article and was shocked that more than half of the kids in Singapore has one or more rotten teeth by the time they are 7. That seems a lot!!! I think in my lifetime, I only had one rotten milk teeth. Thankfully, after I rid that ugly rotten, black thing off my mouth, I have since maintained nice, beautiful healthy pearly whites. :)

But, naive me, just because it is milk teeth doesn't mean the impact isn't permanent. The bacteria from the milk teeth can also affect the development of their adult molars! I don't have kids myself, but I think what my Mum did right when I was a kid was making brushing a habit. Twice a day, one before bedtime and one when you wake up. It is just a routine that sticks with time.

Nowadays with technology, brushing is made fun. During my time, I remember brushing a model of the mouth, that resembled a lot like the Joker. Maybe that's the reason why most kids and even dentist hate going to dentist. Talk about long-life trauma.

The big kid in me received a Playbrush to have a go. They have it in blue and pink, for both the little boys and little girls. The packaging look both cute and resonates with the inner Geek in me. It really look like some cool gadget yea.

I opened the box and expected complicated wires. But, basically the Playbrush is only made of 3 simple parts. o.O And it is pretty intuitive to use. A bawling child may possibly charge it himself or herself. So you pretty have to charge the bottom white portion using the USB. It will blink red when it is charging and will be fully red when fully charged.

You have to download "Utoothia" on your phone and turn on your bluetooth. To connect the Playbrush to your brush, you just have to give it a few happy flings till the bottom turn orange and you are good and ready to be a brave soldier for the gorgeous Tooth Fairy.

And it has also include some storytelling elements for the children. I tried out the game myself. While killing some monsters, I found myself brushing my teeth the proper way. That's great cos I didn't like it when the dental nurse in my Primary School barked at me to brush Joker's teeth right. Had to brush it umpteen times until she was satisfied. 

The good thing is that the game distracts the child from noticing how tedious it is to brush their teeth. It is particularly useful for kids who detest brushing their teeth. Now instead of this annoying thing they have to do each night, it becomes a mission to clean their teeth.

Game-wise, the graphics were awesome. It is rather repetitive so the kids can get the hang of it fast. But I think this Playbrush could also do a version for adults, simply because I know of too many people who are rather old around me who also don't like to brush their teeth. Particularly guys I know seem to have a thing against good oral hygiene.

For them, I would suggest Counter Strike kinda of game-play. Hopefully, that will get the big boys I know back into the game. There are scores and achievements that the child can obtain. So hurray, cos this would encourage the kids to brush their teeth better. 

With this video, you can see like the kid looks like she is just brushing her teeth normally and correctly. But in her eyes, she sees herself completing mission and having a sense of achievement after each brush! So, that is basically what Playbrush is. 

If you want one for your kid or yourself, you can purchase it Playbrush for a $20 discount off their retail price of SGD $89! Simply use promo code: PBSG2016. For Mama out there, Playbrush is on the hunt for a kid Ambassador since 18th July. Stay tuned to Sample Store Facebook page for more details.  You can also visit Sample Store to know more about Playbrush and other users' review.

XOXO, Playbrush Adult Ambassador (LOL!)