Take Your Child On A BackYard Safari

As a TeamMom mom, I was sent the following products to review and keep:


Cargo Vest, ages 5 & up
FEATURES:
RUGGED POLY-TWILL FABRIC WITH REINFORCED DETAIL
4 CARGO POCKETS WITH VELCRO CLOSURES
1 TWO INCH DEEP ZIPPER POCKET WITH MESH-NET OUTER POCKET
6 D-RINGS
CUSTOM ZIPPER PULLS
CARGO SHOULDER EPAULETS WITH SNAP CLOSURES
ADJUSTABLE REAR STRAP
2 OVER-SIZED MESH-NET CARGO POCKETS IN REAR
PLUS CLEAR-VU FRONT POCKET CONTAINING ESSENTIAL FIELD POP-GUIDE


Mega View Periscope, ages 5 & up
FEATURES:
THREE NESTED SECTIONS EXTEND OVER 4 FEET
WIDE-VIEW FACE PLATE FOR BINOCULAR VIEWING
ERGONOMICALLY DESIGNED HAND GRIPS FOR STEADY, VERTICAL HOLDING POSITION
16 INCH WATER-TIGHT SUBMERSIBLE SECTION FOR UNDERWATER VIEWING

And

Bug Vacuum, ages 5 & up
FEATURES:
2 CATCH & RELEASE CAPTURE CORES WITH BUILT IN MAGNIFYING GLASS
PLUS: EXTRA NOSE CONE FOR THE REALLY BIG BUGS


These toys are part of the Backyard Safari Outfitters line of toys from Summit Toys. They arrived in a big box and I was eager to check out the quality of these products. The vest was a big surprise. I have bought my daughter a lot of dress-up clothes. Most are poor quality, and don’t last long. The Cargo Vest is made with your child in mind. It is high quality, durable, and practical. It is made to stand up to your child wearing it multiple times and to being well used. The quality is on the par of a Cargo Vest you would go out and buy for yourself. I like the pockets to hold all kinds of things. My daughter looks so cute in it. She absolutely loves it. I wanted to get a picture of her, but I dropped my camera recently, and now need to go purchase a new one.

The periscope is not my favorite item. It’s big and difficult for her to use and carry around. I would prefer her to have the binoculars from the Backyard Safari Outfitters line. The Bug Vacuum is great. If you have this, you need to get their habitat to store the little critters your child catches. We don’t have it, so I implemented the catch and release policy before coming into the house.

The toys also included a detailed Pop-Up Field Guide that can fit conveniently into a pocket of the Cargo Vest. My daughter uses this as a guide to determine what bug to go looking for next. I’m in love with Backyard Safari Outfitters. They bring science to life. Also, since my daughter hates to touch live insects, the Bug Vacuum allows her to capture bugs without actually touching them.

Backyard Safari Outfitters is available now at Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, and Target. For more information about Summit Toys and a complete list of Backyard Safari essential field gear, visit www.summittoy.com

Taking A Family Camping Trip With An Autistic Child

This year, I have introduced camping to my kids. I was worried how they would react the first time we took them camping. My husband and I planned out what to take and what we would do while camping. The first camping trip started out chaotic. We had to make several trips to the store to get items we had forgotten. Packing was a huge chore. I wanted to make sure the kids had a few items from home to keep in the tent. I also needed to make sure that I packed my son’s sheet (he won’t sleep without it), and his radio (have to be able to listen to Shania Twain).

With the truck filled with camping gear and what not (really, do we need all of this to go camping with?), we headed out to the campgrounds. It’s a good thing that it is close by, because we did forget a few things. Hard to imagine, with everything that we packed, we actually forgot an item or two.

Setting up the tent was our first task. It went up without too much trouble. Unloading the truck was a family event. All done, I sat down in my chair and watched my husband go back to the house to pick up the few items we forgot. I played games with my daughter while we waited for his return. My son, of course, listened to Shania.

When my husband returned, we went fishing. My son wasn’t happy about that, at first, because I wouldn’t let him bring his radio. Fishing went over great with the kids. My daughter snagged her first catfish, by the eye. The rest of us didn’t catch a thing. The rest of the camping trip went by quick. We were only there for one night. Not long enough for me.

Our second trip, this past weekend, was for the whole weekend. We didn’t bring my son’s radio, because he had played his Shania CD so much, that the CD player in his radio would not work. Big mistake. The next morning, I sent my husband back to the house to get it.

There were a lot of campers there, this time. Last time, it was us and another family. This time, there were a couple of scout troops. I was surprised that I knew the troop leaders. My daughter was happy to have a lot of other kids to play with. This meant that the rest of us were able to take it easy. My son listened to music and my husband and I relaxed. We did manage to pull my daughter away from the other kids long enough to go fishing.

If you have an autistic child, don’t assume that camping isn’t for you. My son loves it. The key was to make sure he had a few of his favorite items. It’s also nice to get away from the house and just be out in nature. Now, we are planning a camping trip at the beach. I am really looking forward to it.