Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Lay-by For Christmas

Did you know that you can lay-by our products? With Christmas looming ahead, a lay-by system will make it easier for you to manage your cash flow while you stock up on gifts.

You can now order the toys that your children will love and pay for them over 12 weeks. You can start with a purchase of as little as $40.00 and all you need to pay is a 10% deposit.

We ask that you make regular fortnightly payments of whatever amount you can manage. We know that some weeks are better than others so we don’t impose a set amount on you. If you would like to pay out the balance at any time within the 12 weeks, that is not a problem. We don’t impose any penalty amounts at all, unlike some of the major stores.

Our lay-by system is there for your convenience. We know that you want to shower your family with gifts at Christmas and this is one way of making it easier for you to do so.

Once your final payment has been received, your order will be delivered to you within 5-7 days. You can order your gifts and leave them stored with us until the big day is almost here. It’s so much easier than trying to hide them away from curious little eyes!

If you would like to use the lay-by system, all you need to do is to select “Lay-By” as your payment type at checkout. It’s that easy.

If you’d like to read more about our lay-by system pop over to the website.

Then, start shopping!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

How To Use Our Packaging For Fun

Think back on past Christmases and kids' birthdays – remember when they put aside their presents in favour of the wrapping paper or the cardboard box? When we send you your next parcel, don't throw away the packaging – use it with your kids to have some fun. Simple materials like bubble wrap and corrugated cardboard shipped with our products provide great sensory input.

Lay bubble wrap on the floor like a little 'path' or road. Encourage your child to walk on their heels slowly, step by step along it (you may need to go first). They will not only feel the bubbly texture, they will feel it pop against their heels. They could also try walking on the soles of their feet to feel the slight difference.

With the corrugated cardboard, your child could firstly rub their hands or fingers along its ridge like texture, then try painting it with bright colours using a sponge or brush. Or better yet – finger paint! The paint on their fingers – and no doubt all over their hands – provides even greater tactile stimulation.

Use the bubble wrap and the corrugated cardboard together – cut them into “carpet” squares and lay a path on the floor to offer different textures for the feet.

You could also help your child make a textured collage. Cut different shapes out of the bubble wrap and corrugated cardboard and glue them to a piece of paper or cardboard.

So when you get your next Toy Bug order – save a trip to the recycling or rubbish bin by having fun with the packaging.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

My Toilet Chart


Toilet training children can be a challenging task for many parents and it is even more difficult for parents of children with ASD. Many of these kids are non-verbal and mostly communicate through the aid of visual cards. Without the perfect tool, toilet training these special children can lead to frustrations and a lot of mishaps.

With these important factors in mind, Magnetic Moves came up with the My Toilet Chart which has been specifically designed to aid children and their parents during the toilet training stage. It has the signature interactive and easy-to-use features of Magnetic Moves' charts, which make it a big hit among parents and children.

The chart allows the parent to use it to suit their child's needs. It has spaces for up to 5 goals and it's up to the parent to choose whether to use all 5 goals or start slowly with just one or two. Once the child achieves the goal, a star is placed under the goal in a column.

The chart is reusable as it is magnetic and with 35 colour-coded activity tiles, 20 star tiles and 5 balloon reward tiles, it's easy to adjust and personalise. There are also 50 extra stickers which can be used to encourage the child some more, as well as an easy-to-follow user guide.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The Cubeo Organiser

For children on the Autism Spectrum, trying to remember the things they need to bring to school everyday can be a difficult task. T hey usually work on routine and when that changes, it sets them off balance. Children on the Autism Spectrum are also usually very visual learners and sometimes can have difficulty verbalising their thoughts or needs.

This is why the Cubeo is a revolution in teaching kids how to remember and organise the things they need for school. It is visual and colourful so they will find it engaging and easy to use. It comes in the form of a bag tag so kids can access it without having to undo tricky zips to get to it.

The Cubeo has over 80 reusable stickers which feature common items you'd find in the schoolbag of a primary school student, as well as stickers for extracurricular activities. There is also an information card where you can write down the contact and allergy details.

So how easy is the Cubeo to use? It's really simple. There's a front window that displays all the items that the child needs for that day. The ingenious drop-down cards allows the child to see and remember the other things he or she needs for specific days of the week.

Each pack of the Cubeo contains the device, a set of 90 reusable stickers and is available in blue, green, pink, and yellow.
Welcome to The Toy Bug Blog!

Here you will find all sorts of useful information about The Toy Bug including sneak peeks at new products coming into the store, profiles on toys and information and stories about our Autism Journey.

We hope you'll check back often to see whats new :-)
Cheers Jo xo