I looked around on the internet today for other blogs or websites that provide advice and tips for fathers by fathers and couldn’t really find much… so I am glad I started this blog, because I think it will be a really useful resource for parents and fathers. My aim is to give practical advice and tips with a bit of humor included, so that other parents and fathers can benefit and know they are not alone in this adventure. I welcome any feedback you have!
I also plan on giving Vancouver specific tips, because I have lots of ideas for things for fathers or parents to do with their kids in Vancouver… so if you live in Vancouver, stay tuned for those posts.
I wanted to share my experiences with a new toy we bought recently for our son… the “Marble Run” by Quercetti.
We bought this for him as a gift from our new daughter when she was born, because we thought it would help with their relationship with each other. We were happy to tell him that the new baby is giving him a gift, and he was happy to receive it. I think it was a nice gesture that went over well.
Now to the marble run… I was told that the Quercetti brand Marble Run is the best brand and the most stable compared to other marble runs. Also, with Quercetti I was told that the marble tends to get stuck less often than with other marble runs.
I have seen some wooden marble run sets that look very stable, but they are much more expensive than this plastic version. This one is made in Italy, and it is overall quite good. It can still be a bit unstable at times, but it also depends on how you build it – if you are not careful, it may seem that it was inspired by the leaning tower of Pisa.
The marbles do not get stuck very often, just sometimes if it is crooked they can get stuck, but nothing major.
As far as fun factor goes, this is a fun toy and our son and his friends love it (for the times our son is willing to share it!), it is fun for them to watch the marbles go down and try and stop them along the way. Playing with this usually keeps him busy for about 1o-15 minutes at a time, which is pretty good for him. He plays with it a few times a day.
There is also a fun factor for parents, because I find building it and coming up with new designs and pathways for the marbles can be pretty fun. Once the kids are a bit older and can build it themselves, this will be pretty educational for them.
My only complaint is that it can be pretty easy to knock over, and can break apart pretty easily when knocked over. I have had to rebuild it a few times already.
The other complaint I have is that the marbles are really easy to lose (at least in our home), and without the marbles, you can’t really use it. The company was generous enough to include 12 marbles in the set that we bought, but honestly after having this for 10 days we are down to 1, yes, one, marble and I have no idea where the other marbles are. I have checked every nook and cranny of our home. Usually they were under the couch, but I can’t even find any there anymore. Not sure if my son is aspiring to become a magician, but he would do well!
So, I have literally lost my marbles… but hopefully I will get them back one day soon.
Hopefully I can find a place to buy more marbles that are the right size… a pack of 100 would be nice, and should last about a month or so
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