It’s A-maze-ing

A maze is a clever way to help little ones develop fine motor skills while they play.

Let me show you some of our favourites.

Suitable for children aged 3 and over, the Jungle Animal Maze is made of wood.  It has animal heads which slide along cut out paths and children are asked to move each head through the maze until it reaches the right body.

Of course, it’s even more fun to create your own animals by putting the wrong head on each body!

At 29cm x 21cm x 2.5cm, this is a great size for small fingers.

The Magnetic Farm Animals maze is fun, too. The task is to fill the bellies of these hungry farm animals while matching colours, by using the attached magnetic wands.  Slide the wand over the acrylic cover to select one of the colourful balls and guide it into the matching animal's belly!

The Farm Maze puzzle is a new twist on the old favourite farm wooden puzzle.  Just glide the chunky pieces on the slotted tracks around the colourful, detailed wooden play board to find their proper places.  Can your child place all the animals in their right homes?

We have some wonderful maze puzzles to choose from so make sure you stop by for a browse. Remember Christmas isn't that far away and these would make great gifts for the kids. 

The Toy Bug - What’s New!

"When looking recently for a gift to give a child with Aspergers Syndrome I came across an online toy store that specialises in a range of sensory toys and games for children, www.thetoybug.com.au.

I was impressed with the large variety of choice. There is everything from arts and crafts, musical toys, active play, games and puzzles and everything in between. And if you simply can't decide then you can always give a gift voucher.

The first place I checked out was the ‘What’s New’ section of the site to see what was up and coming in the world of sensory play for kids. What fun it was to discover some really cool stuff and it was hard to decide, I wanted to order it all!

I was especially taken with ‘The Panicosaurus’, a fun, easy-to-read storybook that inspires and gently teaches children who experience anxiety on how to deal with their insecurities in a safe and easy to understand way.

Another item I thought was a great idea is the Train Floating Ball Game. Blow through the wooden pipe and see how long you can float the ball or how high you can float the ball in the air - fun for all ages! Cheap enough to get for each of the kids.

You just can’t beat a Hacky Sack! I have wonderful memories of kicking them around on warm summer days at the beach over the school holidays. Hacky sacks are both fun and versatile - all you need is a little space and some clever feet. Such a fun and simple little ball, and so cheap. Get a bunch of them for the whole family to join in.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the Rotary LED Ribbon Lamp, because my child's lava lamp night light recently gave up the ghost. This cool lamp with colourful ribbons and glitter that swirls around is the perfect replacement.

No matter what your budget or occasion you are certain to find something for everyone at The Toy Bug."

Mini Pop Up Pirate

Have you ever been out and about doing the shopping, maybe having a coffee with friends or been driving the car and wish you had something to entertain your child?

Consider the Mini Pop Up Pirate. This is a bright colourful toy that will easily fit in your handbag or glove box and is easy to handle. It’s one of Lachie’s favourites.

The Mini Pop Up Pirate is a little barrel with slots in the side so when you put the dagger in the right slot the pirate will pop up and the game begins again. This is ideal for two children as it teaches them to take turns to see which slot makes the pirate pop. Each time it is played a different slot triggers the pirate to pop.

For only $2.95 the Mini Pop Up Pirate is currently in stock and is an ideal way to entertain your child and keep them occupied.

If your child is a budding pirate, check out our Pirate page for other great fun toys. These include:

• Wooden Pirate and Fairy Bookmarks that will add that bit of pizzazz when reading.
• Pirate and Fairy Self Inking Stamps that can add colour to any drawing.
• Pirate and Fairy Lacing Beads that lets your child create their own pirate set of beads to wear.
• Wooden Pirate Ships that allow your child to sail the seven seas.

Every one of these toys are bright, colourful and designed to help with your child’s motor skills, develop their social and communication skills, use their imagination as well as have some good old pirate fun.

Ahoy me’ hearties.

Lachie's Favourites

We love the range of toys that we stock here at The Toy Bug but our chief toy tester has to be convinced that they are fun before we can go ahead.

Lachie tests the toys for us and along the way he has found some toys which have become his firm favourites. If he loves them so much, so might your child. That’s why we created a special section on our website devoted to Lachie’s Favourites. You’ll find tactile toys, activities, puzzles, books and fidget toys all listed together. Lachie’s Favourites is a bit of a treasure trove.

One of Lachie’s early favourites was the Bilibo. It’s hard to imagine any child not loving this simple but fun toy. It looks a bit like a big, upside down hard hat when you first see it but once your child sits in it, you’ll see it very differently. Both boys and girls can find virtually unlimited ways to play with Bilibos - from rocking, spinning, sitting in, to hiding under, carrying with, and peeking through.

Georello Gears Go Round is another special toy but this one is great for fine tuning motor skills while engaging your child’s imagination and logic. Brightly coloured wheels, interlocking plates plus gears and pegs allow little ones to create a huge variety of flat or 3 dimensional structures with this 80 piece gear set. It fascinated Lachie to watch the reaction of the gears when he turned it on. The flow on movement captured his imagination.

I can’t end without mentioning the Scooter Board. This is a favourite with most kids. The safety scooter board is designed for children and can be used to develop bi-lateral co-ordination, balance and kinaesthetic awareness. They can sit on it, kneel or even lie on it and scoot around. It’s a clever toy that does wonders for a child’s balance and confidence.

Have a look through Lachie’s Favourites. You might find just the right toy for your child.

Choosing The Right Gift For A Child On The Autism spectrum

When it comes to buying a gift for a child on the autism spectrum, your decision requires a little more time and care, and it’s a little tougher for all involved if you get it wrong. Sad but true. Buy the wrong gift and you risk distress for the child as well as the parent.

A great place to start for advice is asking the parents, who can usually give you some tips regarding the particular kinds of skills the child is currently concentrating on, and some fun and relevant toys that suit. Maybe fine motor or active play skills are a priority for example, or the child might enjoy a tactile toy that will soothe and relax. Is the child learning to be more independent? Toys that assist in self help might be a good option. There can be a lot of expense in encouraging learning through play in kids with special needs, and the parents will appreciate the effort and assistance a gift that meets current skill development goals instead of something inappropriate or potentially stress inducing.

Whilst it’s not uncommon for kids on the autism spectrum to have obsessions, and sometimes families and therapists would rather move away from those things, at the end of the day, isn’t gift giving about pleasing the receiver? If you really want to see joy on a face when they tear (or carefully and quietly) open the paper, play to the child’s interests and obsessions.

Finding the right toy can be a game of trial and error, and if you really don’t trust yourself and would like the child or the parents to choose themselves, a gift voucher is sure to please.

Buying the right gift for a child on the autism spectrum is a little more challenging as the usual age appropriate gifts are not always suitable, but it’s not hard to find something that will bring joy, development or relaxation with a little bit of thought and a great selection from a fantastic online store like the Toy Bug.

The Toy Bug On Pinterest

Have you seen Pinterest yet? It’s an online pinboard where you can pin images of the things you love or which catch your eye as you wander online.

We’ve created a page of our own with a series of pinboards that you might like to look at. Our boards are all related to aspects of autism. We are using our boards as resources for anyone who needs information about autism syndrome and how to manage it.

You’ll find boards to do with developing fine motor skills, coping with bullying, visual aids, schedules and much more. For example, if you click on the board called iPad/IPhone Applications you’ll see that it is full of images and each has a link at the bottom telling you where the app came from.

Can you see how useful Pinterest can be?

It’s such a simple system to use and yet it can pack a lot of information into a small space in easy to manage chunks.

Pop over to our page and I hope you’ll find something that is really useful within your world.

Competition Time!

Would you like to win this gorgeous wooden toy set? This great set includes Frog Bowling, Fish Jigsaw, Pull Along Turtle, Lacing Sheep and cute little Car & Trailer!




All you have to do is Subscribe to our Newsletter and post a comment below telling us what you LOVE about The Toy Bug!

How simple is that!! Competition closes at 5.00pm Sunday 23rd August and a winner will be randomly drawn using random.org.

Have Fun! :O)