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Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun.
 
 
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Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun. (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Teaching a toddler "how to play" is a little like trying to teach Einstein how to think..." (more)
Key Phrases: possible props, arrival activity, backup games, Safety Alert, Group Play, Team Play (more...)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Toddlers Busy Book: 365 Creative Games and Activities to Keep Your 1 1/2- to 3-Year-Old Busy by Trish Kuffner

Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun. + The Toddlers Busy Book: 365 Creative Games and Activities to Keep Your 1 1/2- to 3-Year-Old Busy

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Conner, author (Everyday Opportunities for Extraordinary Parenting) and host of the popular public radio program The Parent's Journal, offers more than 700 ideas for play without plugs, batteries or beeps in this imaginative collection. Conner points out that electronic play has a number of drawbacks—contributing to the rise in childhood obesity and isolation, and limiting creativity—while unplugged play builds strong bodies, helps kids forge friendships and expands the mind. In an effort to get back to the basics of play, Conner began collecting and inventing hundreds of games, then tested them on groups of children ages one to 10. The author divides the book into three sections—for toddlers, preschoolers and the six-to-10 set—with subsections on solo play, parent and child, playing with others and birthday parties. She covers a wide range of activities, from noodle necklaces to toddler basketball with a laundry basket, including indoor and outdoor play for rain or shine, with clear instructions as well as discussions of safety issues. Child development experts such as Fred Rogers and Benjamin Spock have emphasized the significance of play; Conner has taken her sources at their word and produced a fun-filled compendium likely to become a dog-eared resource for parents seeking whimsical yet practical ways to unplug the electronics and promote the physical, cognitive and emotional benefits of plain, old-fashioned play. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Review

"Top quality brain food for parents. Bobbi Conner consistently offers the best public radio there is for child-aware people, and everyone can afford it." - Dr. Penelope Leach, developmental psychologist and author of YOUR BABY AND CHILD."

Product Details

  • Paperback: 516 pages
  • Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (July 18, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0761143904
  • ISBN-13: 978-0761143901
  • Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.9 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,582 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #10 in  Books > Parenting & Families > Family Activities
    #59 in  Books > Parenting & Families > Parenting > Babies & Toddlers > Child Development
    #60 in  Books > Children's Books > Sports & Activities > Games

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Bobbi Conner
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Batteries NOT included, July 16, 2007
Playfulness is the name of the game in childhood. Unfortunately, in their workaday world, many parents forget that all work and no play makes Little Johnny a bored, lethargic boy. Thanks to Bobbi Conner, Little Johnny just got 710 reasons to get up off the couch and join his hopscotching playmates outdoors.

Veteran radio show host on NPR, Bobbi Conner is concerned about today's kids and their lack of creative outlets. Instead of being busy with electronic entertainment such as video games and push-button toys, she suggests myriad avenues to get down to the business of play in fun, very simple ways. Unlike many guide books that read more like a Martha Stewart manual (and must be secretly backed by major craft store chains), Bobbi's approach is simple - take what you have at home and let `er rip.

The book is divided into three useful sections - toddler play; preschooler play; and grade school play. It was gratifying to see many of the games we've thought up on our own are in the book. Necessity is the mother of invention. This book is the mother of children's creativity.

Bobbi's tone is real-life and compassionate, not patronizing or oozing with `expertise'. She was once a time-strapped single mom raising her kids with nothing more than her ingenuity to keep them occupied. When we think back to our own childhoods or that of our children, the best times were those spent together around a Parchese board or telling stories to one another. But if you think you have to spend hours with your children to right the wrongs of those hundreds of TV hours your kid has logged, you're wrong. Bobbi recognizes the reality in today's world. She recommends ways in which children can learn independent play by sparking their creative thoughts and having them vary the activities themselves. You needn't micromanage their play. In fact, Bobbi warns against it.

This book came in the nick of time as my son recently had a playdate with a boy who is very `plugged' into video games and TV. Concerned we wouldn't make the three hours without hiscrying for TV, I grabbed the book and discovered some cool, easy ways to interest the boys in a new game of toss the button in the bucket. My son's friend only asked to watch TV once, but after I showed him the book and all its possibilities, he never asked again!

I highly recommend Unplugged Play for its usefulness, inventiveness, and fun. It may even remind you that all work and no play makes Little Johnny's mommy and daddy very dull girls and boys, too!

~Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff and Sahm I Am: Tales of a Stay-at-Home Mom in Europe, is a freelance writer living near Munich, Germany, with her husband and two extremely playful children.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a winner!, August 27, 2007
As a pediatrician and parent, I can attest to the fact that children learn by doing, not by watching. In this wonderful book, Bobbi Conner makes it easy for parents to turn off the TV and have a ball with their children the old-fashioned way. Unplugged Play is overflowing with fun, creative ideas for how to have fun and engage young minds along the way. I hope parents buy this book in droves and put their "developmental" videos in the attic.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome resource for parents, August 10, 2007
By Meg Cox "journalist/author/quilter" (Princeton, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
If only I had this book five years ago, when my son first started asking for a Game Boy! I might not have bought the device, but even if I had, I would have had a much better idea how to balance electronic, programmed "play" with free, physical, creative play. Bobbi Conner, the host of NPR's The Parent's Journal, has gathered more than 700 different games and activites together and organized them in a practical way: by age, indoor vs outdoor, by how long they take, etc. Some are active running around games, while others are quiet indoor exercises like "Doggy Diaries," in which kids imagine the secret lives of the neighborhood dogs. There are games your parents played that you forgot the rules to, and fresh ideas. The sidebars are crammed with additional information, including scientific studies showing how unstructured play helps children think more creatively and stay more active. A gem.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Best "playful parenting" resource I've found yet!
This is a must-read for any parent with young children. The book is full of suggestions for games, activities, crafts and other back-to-basics projects to occupy kids during... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Erin K. Simons

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Training Wheels for Uncreative Parents
There are some parents who always have crayons, bubbles, and homemade play-doh on hand. Their children are adept at drawing, cutting, and pasting, can reliably kick a ball, and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Shanna A. Gonzalez

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Fun
This book is filled with fun ideas. Some of them are games that you probably played with as a child such as hopscotch or some variation on hide and seek. Read more
Published 2 months ago by apoem

5.0 out of 5 stars good for getting ideas
I bought this as a gift for my sister. She has two toddler boys and is all about 'no tv' in the house. Read more
Published 5 months ago by N. Custer

4.0 out of 5 stars great ideas to spark your imagination!
This book has solid playtime ideas for toddlers in all different environments. Many things may be intuitive, but you'll be sure to find something good in here for your bored... Read more
Published 8 months ago by L. Gugliotti

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good book
I have bought 3 copies of this book it is a great idea book for rainy or snow days. I have tried out a bunch of the games with my 5 year old and he has had a really good time... Read more
Published 9 months ago by R. Anderson

2.0 out of 5 stars Preachy
A friend bought this book for me knowing that I was looking for things to do with my 2 1/2 year old daughter that didn't have to do with watching TV. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Lauren's Mommy

4.0 out of 5 stars We live in a TV World, what happened to old fashion play?
My title says it all. That is exactly why I wanted this book. The only reason it got a 4 star was because it didn't have anything special for infants or small babies. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Savannahs_Momma

5.0 out of 5 stars good clean fun
This book reminds us of the kind of fun we had when we were kids. I am middle aged and my kids are grown but have used the ideas in the book for friends' children that have come... Read more
Published 19 months ago by T. Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars Great games for quick and easy play!
I purchased this book about six months ago and have used it repeatdly. It is something I can grab when my children are getting restless and bored and I am not going to let them... Read more
Published 20 months ago by C. Brown

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