Blake Peebles likes to play Guitar Hero, the video game that lets players pretend to be rock stars with a small plastic guitar. In fact, he likes to play it so much that the sixteen-year-old has dropped out of school to be able to play the game more. His hope is that he can turn his affinity for the game into a career and, so far, it looks like he might have a chance.

His parents agreed to his plans but only if he were to be tutored at home. They would rather he stayed in school, but Blake managed to wear down their resistance. "We couldn't take the complaining anymore," says his mom. "He always told me that he thought school was a waste of time." So far, Blake has won about a thousand dollars worth of prizes.

I suppose as long as the kid is learning what he would learn in school, it doesn't really matter what he does with the rest of his time, but it sure seems to me like putting all his eggs in one basket -- and a basket that has yet to show it has any real financial potential. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't let my kids quit school to play video games, no matter how good they are.

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Now, this is a collector Barbie I can get behind. Forget the trashy looking comic book hero Black Canary, Mattel's newest collector dolls have a sweet and innocent air about them. Available for the first time ever, the new dolls depict Priscilla Beaulieu and Elvis Presley on the day of their 1967 wedding in Las Vegas.

The details are good - from Priscilla's heavily made up eyes and her bouffant hair to Elvis' sexy sneer and shiny pompadour. Priscilla even looks like she might be pregnant under that satin gown - a condition many suspected she was hiding at the time of her marriage.

The release of the dolls is no doubt timed to coincide with the upcoming anniversary of Elvis' death. August 16 marks 31 years since his untimely passing and for those of us who loved him, it is a sad reminder of what could have been.

Recommended for ages 6 and up, the dolls are available at Wal-Mart and Shop Elvis for about $60. At that price, there is no way I'm letting my seven-year-old get her hands on them.

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 15,000 Fisher Price Learning Pots & Pans Toys. Some are missing screws in the blue toy pan, which can cause the clear plastic cover to come loose and release small balls. This presents a choking hazard to young children. Fisher Price has received five reports of this happening, fortunately with no injuries resulting.

The Learning Pots and Pans toy sets include stackable pots and pans, a lid and shape-sorting blocks. They have light and sound features that operate with AAA batteries. Model number G6685 can be found on the bottom of the blue pan.

These were made in China for Fisher Price and sold at discount and department stores nationwide from October 2007 to August 2008 for about $20 each.

If you have one of these toy sets, you should immediately take it away from your child and examine the bottom of the blue pan. If all six screws are present, no further action in necessary. If any of the screws are missing, you should contact Fisher Price to arrange for the return of the blue pan for a replacement pan. You can reach Fisher Price by calling (888) 521-0820 anytime, or by visiting their Web site.

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If you're tired of cheap broken puzzle and game boxes spilling bits and pieces everywhere, try this method for keeping it all together.

Opponents of violent video games often express concern that impressionable players may try recreate the violent crimes of the games they play in the real world. On the flip side, others feel that violent video games are harmless and in fact provide a healthy emotional outlet for kids to express themselves. I would be willing to bet that the family of a 54-year-old cab driver in Thailand falls into the former category.

The taxi driver was stabbed to death last weekend and 18-year-old Polwat Chino has been charged with the murder. Chino confessed to the crime and admits that he was trying to recreate a scene from the Grand Theft Auto video game. 'He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game,' chief police investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak said.

The backlash has begun with Grand Theft Auto's Thailand distributor halting sales of the game. New Era Interactive is also asking retailers and video arcade establishments to pull the games.

Thailand's Culture Ministry has been working toward tougher regulations for video games, including a rating system and restrictions on hours that kids can play the games in public arcades. An official with the Ministry says this murder proves that the time has passed for authorities as well as parents to deal with the issue of violent video games. "This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse," Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the ministry's Cultural Surveillance Centre, said. "Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."

As for Chino, he may have found it easy enough to copy a pretend murder scene from Grand Theft Auto, but the consequences he will suffers will be real. If found guilty, he faces death by lethal injection.

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Did you ever play with paper dolls? Perhaps you did when you were young. Perhaps, even now, you continue to collect them for nostalgia's sake, or to refrain back to your old days when you didn't have kids and were one yourself. Well, in the world of paper dolls comes along a set that is fun and humorous and possibly just a wee bit controversial: The pregnant paper doll.

The pregnant paper doll is intended as a gift for the mother-to-be who has a sense of humor and doesn't mind yet one more reminder that her waist is about to become a thing of the past. There's a doll and requisite set of clothes for each trimester, including what some women call the "fourth" trimester--you know, the one after the baby is born but you still feel and look ginormous? The first trimester offers a few tummy-bearing options and some strategic layering, while the third trimester offers sweatpants, a mu mu, and, oddly, a wedding dress.

Not sure what comment the creators of the paper dolls had in mind when they decided to add that garb to the mix. Are they secretly (or not so much) hinting that pregnant women ought to get married? Maybe I'm just being overly analytical; after all they are just paper dolls. The only other thing I think is worth mentioning is that this is a kitchshy item that, while fun, will most likely just sit on the shelf. No mom-to-be is going to take time out of her busy nesting schedule to cut these out.

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It seems like a day doesn't go by that we don't hear about another recalled toy -- lead paint, dangerous chemicals, magnets -- but that will, hopefully, become less common, due to legislation making its way through congress. It's been hailed as the "most aggressive overhaul in decades of America's consumer safety system" and comes after months of haggling where, in almost every aspect, safety came out on top.

The bill calls for stricter limits on lead in toys, beginning with 600 parts per million after six months and decreasing to 100 ppm after three years. There will be new safety standards for all-terrain vehicles and a half-dozen compounds will be banned from use in plastics. In order to make sure that companies comply with the new rules, the Consumer Product Safety Commission's budget will get a boost, state attorneys general will have the power to pull products off store shelves, and violators will face fines as high as fifteen million dollars.

Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky called the legislation "a really strong, strong bill" and said of the plans for the CPSC that "it really, in many ways, is the birth of a new agency that will have much broader authority, particularly to keep our children safe." It's a shame that this is at all necessary, but I'm glad it's in the works.

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced yet another recall of remote controlled helicopters due to faulty batteries. This time, it's about 685,000 "Sky Scrambler" and "The Sharper Image" Wireless Indoor Helicopters. The rechargeable lithium ion battery inside the helicopters can overheat, catch fire, and well, you can see where this is going.

The distributor of the helicopters, Innovage LLC, has received two reports of incidents involving the toy helicopters igniting, including one where a fingertip was burned.

The recalled helicopters have yellow, red or blue decals. "BH26047" is printed on the Sky Scrambler's tail and "The Sharper Image" is printed on the tail of The Sharper Image helicopters. More photos of the recalled toy helicopters can be found here.

These were sold at mass merchandisers, department stores, drug stores, and other retail stores nationwide, and on the Web from June 2007 through May 2008 for about $20 each.

If you have one the recalled helicopters, you should immediately stop playing with it and contact Innovage for a full refund. You can reach them be calling (866) 672-2630 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, by visiting either of their Web sites, or by emailing them at returns@copterrecall.org.

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Video games and kids -- you can argue about whether or not they make a good combination, but there's no question that the latter loves the former. But even if you don't approve of playing video games, writing them is certainly a different story. Only, how the heck does a kid learn to do that? Well, in North Carolina, they can do it by going to the library.

The main library in Charlotte, North Carolina is offering kids a summer workshop where they can learn the rudiments of video game design. Students have to decide where to place objects in the game, how high characters can jump, and how non-player characters react to the players' characters. Naturally, the four-day sessions only touch on high-level concepts, but they serve to get kids interested and off to a good start.

Kids like video games and learning to create them is a great way to get kids interested in software development -- a fun (for the first twenty-five years or so, anyway) and lucrative career path. It's great that the library is offering this introduction; I only wish it was the norm rather than the exception.

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Welcome to Tried and True, a monthly feature where cool products are put through the ringer -- from our family to yours.

It's that time of year, folks. The warmer weather is just beckoning our kids to come outside and play on the green lawn. This month, I had the chance to try out some of this summer's coolest products with the help of a few kid testers.

The three products we put to the test were the Wiggling Water Snake by Small World Toys, the Noddo Croquet Set from The Land of Nod, and the Sand and Water Table from One Step Ahead.

I must say that our kid testers loved all three products, and the parents were pleased as well. Check out the Tried and True photo gallery for shots of the kids in action, and continue reading on for the pros and cons of each product!

Barbie has always provoked strong emotions in some, but with the introduction of Bratz dolls, she seemed downright quaint. Well, she is quaint no more. With Mattel's September release of a doll based on the DC comic superhero Black Canary, Barbie is going to find herself back on the naughty girl list.

Clad in black thigh-high leather boots and gloves, fishnet stockings and a motorcycle jacket, this S&M Barbie is stirring more than little girls' imaginations. A spokesman for the religious group Christian Voice finds this sexed-up plaything to be just too much. "Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far. A children's doll in sexually suggestive clothing is irresponsible – it's filth."

I agree that perhaps this isn't Barbie's best look and wouldn't buy it for my kid. But that won't be a problem because she doesn't want Black Canary. When I showed her this photo and asked for her opinion, she looked aghast. "She's not wearing any pants!" she exclaimed. Good girl.

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My son attended a birthday party where guests were asked to bring an unwrapped toy to donate to the fire fighter's toy drive rather than a present for the birthday girl. She had plenty of toys already and liked helping those less fortunate. Halfway through the party we all traipsed down the block to the firehouse to donate the toys. I thought it was a fantastic idea.

Apparently, my son's friend was quite the trendsetter. Parents are eschewing the traditional excess of the child's birthday party, simplifying and greening the events. "We're not saying children shouldn't celebrate," said Alison Smith, whose company, ECHOage, helps parents organize less wasteful, more philanthropic parties. "It's just about making it more meaningful."

If you ask me, there's another advantage to donating gifts instead of keeping them: you avoid having to deal with toys that don't match what you think is appropriate for your kids -- the toy guns, the Barbies, and, yes, the toys that make way too much noise.

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Item: Some Eggs Are Gonna Roll Bowling Set
Price: $17.95
Why we love it: A colorful, high-quality wooden bowling set that will last through the years.
Where to buy it: Land of Nod

This bowling set is so darling, we might have trouble sharing with our kids. Made of rubberwood and leather, the set includes 6 colored duck pins and 1 egg-shaped bowling ball. Ages 3+.

Item: Crocodile Creek Ball
Price: $8.99
Why we love it: These bright, funky-patterned balls won't get lost at the park, I promise.
Where to buy it: Oompa

It's just a ball, or IS IT? My toddler received one of these balls as a gift, and I can assure you that it is the most popular ball at the park by a landslide. Crocodile Creek balls are completely PVC-free, which is always a plus in regards to safety.

Item: Spielstabil Backpack
Price: $25.99
Why we love it: We see a lot of sand castles in your child's future with this set.
Where to buy it: Moolka

This heavy-duty, clear backpack set contains two sand forms, a bucket, a watering can, a sand sieve and a scoop. If you aren't familiar, Spielstabil is known for producing toys with high-quality materials, with emphasis on functionality, safety and play value.