KIDS MUSICAL TOYS - TOP TIPS TO ENSURE A GREAT START TO SUMMER VACATIONS!

Hi Guys, I guess at some stage during the summer vacations you will be spending time in a car, plane, airport or maybe a bus or train, either way you will want to be prepared, so here are my tips to help you get your vacation off to a great start.

• Plan well before you start your vacation - planning and preparing what you are going to take with you in advance will help to avoid last minute panics and reduce both you and your kids stress levels.

• Pack all your favourite kids musical toys, activity toys and puzzle toys in one place ready to load, or at least make a list and don't forget to include spare batteries or chargers.

• Expect the unexpected and plan for it - if you expect to be delayed on your journey and plan for it, you can turn what could be a very frustrating situation into an adventure. Kids copy what you do and pickup on how you feel, so the chances are that if you are enjoying yourself then so will they.

• Making sure you have all of their favourite kids musical toys, activity toys or puzzle toys or even something new that they are not aware of in one place and at hand will help to keep them entertained and you happy.

To help with your travel plans I have been reviewing some ideal kids musical toys which are both compact and portable and I am sure will give both you and your kids hours of entertainment, just what's needed when you are traveling.

All of the products reviewed are aimed at the slightly older kids as they tend to get bored a little quicker and need more entertaining.

I have featured the BeBop Carry-a-Tune MP3 Player in a previous post, but make no apologies as this is a great musical toy.

The new Carry-a-Tune MP3 Player has a tough rubber housing, built-in speaker and volume limiter and is made especially for young kids with safety in mind. Parents can control the 5 volume settings with the highest being 80 decibels (the maximum recommended by the Child's Hearing Council).

Features include: 1 Gig of memory, Backlit LCD screen, 4 auto shut-off settings, one hour of preloaded music and audio books from Music for Little People and Soundprints, library ports for earphone or amplifier with speaker cable for the bedroom. B cable for downloading additional content. Open system allows you to load and play your own music as well. Battery powered (batteries included) or AC Adapter (sold separately). For ages of 2 + with great reviews and currently at a bargain price.

I would certainly recommend the use of good child friendly earphones with this product such as the Kids Safe Head-Phones.

My next pick is for kids who like to keep up with all their favourite DVD's while on the the go. The Kid Tough Portable DVD Player is a real grown up musical toy made to withstand all the tough treatment kids can hand out.

The Kid-Tough Portable DVD Player is the first portable DVD musical toy that is tough and easy enough for kids to use. It is designed to be kid-tough and survive drop after drop.

Features include: a 3.2 inch color TFT screen, which may be a bit small, but no smaller than a phone, rechargeable batteries with 2 hours of life, battery charger or wall power unit, sturdy dual-rail DVD drive, digital anti-skip buffer for the ultimate kid-tough viewing experience, dual grip handles, kid-friendly DVD door and DVD controls, CD playback capability, handle for portability, kick stand legs for hands free viewing, video out jack and headphone jack. Not particularly cheap, but a good quality kids musical toy that is very tough and packed full of features.

Hope you have a great vacation and don't forget to look out for my next post.