See the Learning.™

When we raised our children several decades ago, we didn't have the Internet. When 6-month old Daniel had a 102 fever and the physician's answering service wasn't responding, we phoned a parent from our son's pre-school. We had books by Dr. Spock and the talk radio show by Dr. Barry Brazelton. Back then we said "no more war toys" and tried to interest our boys in wooden toys. That was until 3-year old Daniel pointed a piece of toast at his mother and said "bang" -- and talked incessantly about the "transformers" his playschool colleagues begrudgingly let him play with during pre-school.

Fast forward 20 years. On Sunday, Oct 19, 2008, we, who came of age during the 60's with the Vietnam War and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, met head-on the new way to raise a family in the Internet, social-networking era. Organized by LeapFrog at the South Loop KinderCare Center in downtown Chicago, 19 mommy bloggers and their 30 or so children (and a sprinkling of daddies) came together for a two hour face-to-face chat fueled by pizza, juiceboxes, a caricature artist, a face-painter and loads of LeapFrog learning toys.

What's a mommy blogger? They are simply moms who are involved in their children's lives, but who exchange their views over the Internet with other moms. (Hmmm: are the daddy bloggers?)

The meeting was ostensibly to discuss technological aids to learning, but what really transpired was a meeting of mommy bloggers who knew each other from their online blogs (and online invented personas in some cases) but who, for the most part, had never met face-to-face. Surprisingly, this eclectic assortment of mommies - some professionals from a varied range of professions, while others spent full-time at home - pretty much started out with the same core belief: like the 60's parents, the mommy bloggers felt that wooden and other old-fashioned toys were the right toys for their children. That is, until the real-world intruded (did we just hear a piece of toast go "bang"?) and they - like many 60's parents -- realized that technology enhanced toys could also make a positive contribution to the raising of a young child. Balance was the conclusion that the mommy bloggers pushed for; the old toys as well as the new toys all have a place in "the toy box."

Go here to check out photos of the event to see how much fun parents and kids had. If you attended this event we would love to see your photos and videos, so please add them to the LeapFrog Community.