How COOL Are You?? Help Write the What's Cool for Kids Guide!

My kids are 7 and 4.

My son is really into chapter books, Spiderwick Chronicles, PS2, SpongeBob and soccer

My daughter is really into Disney, princess and fairies and Dora

They both love riding bikes, swimming, camping and going on nature hikes too!

My kids are teens- right now, they're into the band Cobra Starship. They like skateboarding and going to concerts. Their favorite item of clothing is the hoodie.

Gideon's five and his favorite shows are:

Wow Wow Wubbsy
Spongebob Squarepants
Max and Ruby
Lazytown
Jack's Big Music Show
Little Bear

My boys are thirteen and eight. My older son is into baseball, football, GIRLS, and music! Oh and let's not forget....money and text messaging!

My younger son is into riding his bike, watching Disney channel, playing football, hot wheels ( he especially likes the Pop Up Play Sets)

Their likes meet in the middle in that they both are big on us all spending family time together and we play lots of the old standard board games such as Monopoly, Scrabble and Sorry. We play Rummy and Canasta and Dominoes quite a bit. And last but not least, being kids as they are they love any kind of video or computer game that you can throw at them! lol

my great grandchild is 3...she prefers toy tools, keys, potpan lids...to anything else..tho she has all the latest in kid toys... I love this smart child!

I live with my grandsons and they are 8 (almost 9), 6, and 3.

The 8 year old loves his Captain Underpants books by Dav Pilkey. They're somewhat silly books but as long as he's reading, his mother and I feel that is the most important thing. He also loves playing Playstation games especially Shadow the Hedgehog and Ultimate Alliance (superheroes). He loves playing outside and throwing the ball for the dog and running UP the slide. His favorite TV shows are Ben 10 Alien Force and Spongebob Squarepants.

Our 6 year old is a little smarty and very artistic. He loves creating works of art and draws every day. He loves playing Playstation games especially Scooby Doo and Castlevania. His favorite TV shows are pretty much the same as his older brothers i.e. Ben 10 Alien Force etc. He copies most of the things his older brother does which makes his older brother just a bit unhappy with him! :-)

Our three year old loves to watch Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, Oswald and Backyardigans. (Ok, his grandma likes the Backyardigans the most but he likes them too, really!). He's also an energetic little guy who runs here and there investigating everything especially in new places. He adores playing outside on the slide and his bouncy horse and with his giant cars that he can sit in. He is nuts about cars, trucks and airplanes. We've always said that if it has wheels, he will love it! We found this to be true when he liked my walker because it has two small wheels on the front and he kept trying to push it back and forth! He loves looking at pictures in his board books especially if they have little flaps that he can lift and look under (though he does tear them off sometimes!). We haven't let him play any Playstation games yet thinking he's too young for that but I'm sure he'll love that as much as his older brothers do too!

I find kids spend a whole lot of time on web sites. Chat, chat, chat. I'd say it was boring but then look what I'm doing right now.

My soon to be 6 year old loves Nintendo Wii, especially bowling!

My kids are 14 and 11. My 11 yr. old daughter and her friends are in to musicals, like Hairspray and Grease. They also enjoy all the old 80's movies....Ghostbusters, Karate Kid, The Goonies, My Girl, Gremlins, etc.

My kids are 4, 8, and 12. My four year old daughter loves playing with Little People and her favorite movies are Scooby Doo. My eight year old daughter loves playing with Barbies and enjoys watching Zoey 101, iCarly, and more. My twelve year old son loves his PS2, Wii, and any other games. He is really into riding his bike as well.

My kids are 6 and 9. They are huge Nintendo Wii lovers - favorite game is Guitar Hero. They also both recently received iPod Nanos and love them. Their favorite TV shows are Hannah Montana, iCarly and The Suite Life of Zach & Cody. As for movies, Alvin in the Chipmunks and Surfs Up are the DVDs of choice. Favorite band is the Jonas Bros.

Beth F., www.rolemommy.com

My son is 4 and like many parents have already mentioned Nickelodeon toons (SpongeBob, Fairly Odd Parents, and Jimmy Neutron) are a favorite on tv as well as on his Nintendo DS. He is going to attend some half-day summer camps at the Education Service Center where I work that incorporate technology and education (EduSim). He is learning to read, so we spend some afternoons at the public library. My parents have a pool, so he will be in swim lessons in June as well.

Toys:Webkinz, Lego Starwars or Indiana Jones, Wii, iPod, VMK on the internet
Books: American Girl Dolls and the books that go with them, The "Among the Hidden" Series, The "Book of Ember" Series,
Television: iCarly, Suite Life of Zach and Cody, American Idol
Bands: Jonas Bros. and Hannah Montanta/Miley Cyrus

My kids are 12 and 15 and they love the Wii game system. It is more fun than traditional games because you get up and move. My younger son really loves Wii bowling against his father.
Both my sons like listening to and performing music. My younger son loves the Jonas Brothers and the Naked Brotehrs Band. My older son is a drummer and has his own band. My younger son sings and performs in musical theater.
My younger son is really into the Wimpy Kid books.

My older kids (girls, 13 & 16) are into texting, soccer, and spending money.

My younger kids (boys, 2 & 4) are into Hot Wheels, Spiderman, riding bikes and trikes, playing outside, digging in the dirt. They also like going to the zoo. My 4-year-old likes to pretend he's a jaguar, a cheetah, a dragon, whatever. He has a great imagination. I try not to let them watch too much TV.

I wish video games and movie weren't at the top of your list!

Whats cool for kids may not be what they think they want after all. If you are marketing strait to kids, then video games, text messaging, gossip, tv, sexual experimentation...

To help partents foster a healthier, connected world, how about hiking, reading, creativity, sports etc.

The younger ones love Dora and Diego. The older ones (at least the ones I know) love the Wii and are into anime.

My girls are 13 and 14 years old, the short list of must haves...
IPod
Cell Phones
Makeup
My 14yr old would die without her books, my 13yr old loves comics

My son loves wrestling, soccer and hockey!

My boys are 10 and 16. They are both into sports, riding their bikes, and camping with scouts as well as the Sea Cadets. They love swimming and any other active things. My oldest has to have his IPod and the youngest has a gameboy.

My kids are grown. I wanted to comment that I hope your Summer Fun Guide will include prompts for adults to spend time doing things with their kids. Bonding is so vital.

My grandaughter who is 7 loves to hang out in the library, at one of her friends houses, and even the local park ( which is in walking distance.!"

Seven year olds are beginning that great trek into what I call "middle childhood" - those wonderful years from seven to nine or ten years old, when kids are still kids (yes, I'm an idealist!) and the stresses and strains of being a pre-teen are, for a lot of kids at least, yet to come.
She loves to play card games and music trivia. Her favorite musical artist is Hannah Montana.
And she loves her Barbies and watches the Barbie video series incessantly. Her favorite are the new Mariposa dolls & the Fairy collection.

As for my 2 year old grandaughter & 1 year old grandson they love to play imaginatively
This means me sitting down on the floor with their blocks, running around in circles in the park - and laughing together and enjoying it. These two youngest grandchildren absolutely love to imitate - and crazy me gives them plenty of ideas! They also both adore their Kindermusic classes, and swimming lessons. And there favorite TV shows usually have Elmo in them or Yo Gabba Gabba and they both sleep with an Elmo doll. The 2 year old is now branching out into Dora Dora & Diego.

They all love it when Grammy reads to them. And having taken a childrens Lit course I am pretty particular NO Bearnstein bears here! Usually we read Newberry Award medal books. I read them Shel Silverstein, Cherry Lynne, Sendak & Prelutsky just to name a few.

My 5 year old grandaughter adores what I call the Name Game
We decide if it is going to be boy's names or girl's names and then, taking turns, we go through the alphabet saying a name that begins with that letter. It is terrific for car trips to her favorite location the Zoo., and keeps her mind active.

The 5 & 7 year old also love the Freeze dance
I turn on their favorite music ( Usually something by Hannah Montana and they start dancing. When the music stops you have to freeze and don't move. Then turn the music back on and begin dancing again. I Switch up the songs for different types of dancing. I include piecs of jazz, classic etc for variety. When the 2 year old joins in she wants her Yo Gabby Gabby music.


I also play a game with the grands when I babysit called Catch Me If You Can. I tell them that the couches and the beds are safe zones, and they can't be tagged there. They would play this for hours if I let them. But Grammy tires out after an hour.

My granddaughters love painting and drawing. It allows them to be creative and use their imaginations. They enjoy sidewalk chalk (and it washes off easily)~I want to get the new 3D chalk and glasses for them. They also like fingerpainting.

my 4 yo daughter loves playing outside in the back yard ... she enjoys digging holes in the yard and/or the garden and planting any kind of seeds that she can get her hands on .... she also loves camping, hiking, and cook-outs and has displayed a keen interest in cooking and being a "helper" in the kitchen [if it has to do with carrots or tomatoes, she is very happy] ...... she has recently displayed an interest in baking cupcakes and wants to do this "all by herself" .... even though I think she needs to be much older before taking this on, solo .... :o)

just about any board game is of interest for her even though she is still learning how to play by the "rules" of a game ... she loves to make up her own rules ...

she also loves any kind of musical instrument and experiments with making "music" that sometimes actually sounds like music .... added to this is a love of arts and crafts .... she will sit for hours with crayons or paints and make pictures on plain sheets of paper [seems to prefer that over the coloring books] ... and if colored construction paper, glue and glitter are involved, it is hard to tear her away from the crafts ....

some of her favorite TV shows are: Spongebob, the Backyardigans, Max & Ruby, Little Bill, Little Bear, ANY of the Barbie movies [especially if they have to do with fairies or princesses], the Rug Rats, and Whinnie the Poo ..... I am sure that there are more, but I can't think of them right at this time

two of the main "chores" that she has is trying to keep her room tidy [we really need to work on that one] and taking care of Kitty ... and she does a good job making sure that he has food and water ... litterbox detail falls to mama, of course ..... what she doesn't seem to realize, is that Kitty is not really interested in going for walks on his leash ... once he is in the back yard, he just wants to lay down ....

kids NEED cellphones.

My Grandkids are into playing outdoors. They love to go on hikes in the yard to see what kind of bugs, birds and other wildlife and nature things they can see.

I love what Connie suggested, though, and think that hikes and nature are some of the best things that you can do with and/or for them. Some of my very fondest memories are when I went to day camp and church camp, and all the hiking through woods and fields that we did, identifying things like "jack-in-the-pulpits" in the woods, "skunk cabbage", and finding wild yellow snapdragons in the fields. I loved those hikes. I also loved all of our bike hikes where my friends and I discovered new places and streams, etc. where we would find crawfish (although in PA we called them "crayfish"), and toads, frogs, etc. What a treasure trove nature has for us! Get them away from the computers and video games and get them outside with nature!

My kids, 3 and 5, enjoy Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, The Grim Adventures of Bill & Mandy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Fairly Oddparents, Spongebob, Dora, Little Bear and Franklin. They love to play in the dirt, draw and color, reading books and baby dolls and Barbie.

skateboarding

nature walks

going to the zoo

My son is 8, and is well into building things with his Lego, and collecting Hotwheel cars and Pokeman cards. His latest is collecting bouncy balls! he has sets of these with Dr Who and Star War characters inside. He also likes to watch the Simpsons and Family Guy! And play for hours on his PS2.

Kids say they think wii games, t.v. shows, etc. are cool because "all" the kids have them and watch them. Kids need to be introduced to nature - the great OUTDOORS. Nature has so many things to offer kids and kids NEED sunshine and exercise every day.

I think it would be awesome to inspire kids to go outside and experience nature, bugs, plants, everything. The world is too magnificent to spend our time inside staring at a screen.

I think you're on the right track of making things interesting to children, but I think making children interested in bigger and better things is a great mission.

Thanks! :)

My little one loves to play in the dirt and collect bugs. She also enjoys watching her favorite show. She watches Curious George the Movie. She loves it. She is not old enough to play video games but she likes my DS CATZ game. Her favorite thing to do outdoors is go to the park and swing. Where can we find this guide once it is published??????? She also love sto go to the zoo and feed the animals.
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My niece is 5 & thinks Hannah Montana is cool! My nephews are a few years older and like to play baseball, football, skateboarding, ride bikes and build with Legos.

My two year old granddaughter loves Mickey Mouse Playhouse and Spongebob.
My five year old granddaughter loves Disney princesses, Barbie, the movie "Mariposa" and clothing - especially dresses and Hannah Montana.
My ten year old granddaughter plays Club Penguin online with her friends and also with me. She likes Alvin and the Chipmunks, computer games, soccer, swimming and being with her friends as much as possible.

My four year old daughter LOVES her Littlest Pet Shops playland and all her Littlest Pets!! She also loves helping Mommy plant spring flowers, and helping Daddy plant the tomato plants. She loves many of the DISNEY movies that are out right now also! Anything to do with princesses or the little mermaid are big hits also!

My two year old son loves anything to do with BARNEY and the movie CARS. He has a CARS lawn chair and a set of CARS board books. He also loves playing outside on the swing set. Also Diego is a big hit with him too!

My five year old daughter loves to watch cartoons, disney movies, plays with her kitchen toys and often helps me in the kitchen. She loves to make drawings of her house, trees, flowers, birds, and water ... and fills them with her colors. She also loves to go out in the evening with the bicycle on the front road with someone elder to her. She also wants me to read her bedtime stories from story books with pictures.

My younger son, only 2 and a half year old, loves going outdoors to watch birds, flowers, small bugs. Inside the house, he loves to watch music and dance channels besides the cartoons and likes to scribble on any piece of paper he gets.

My little sister is 6 and she like to watch cartoon, walt disney movies, spiderman, batman, superman...etc.

Our granddaughter is 9 and anything Hannah Montana. We got her the dolls for Christmas and a microphone. (We should have gotten her mom earplugs,oops) The boys love any kind of sports and MP3 player with games,music,texting stuff. Clothes are still the baggy look but at least their going for more design like dragons. They love baseball and football jerseys with favorite team and player logo.

My daughter just turned 1, she's into anything electronic that is not a toy. Remote controls, cell phones etc. But we did pick up a Dora the explorer cell phone where you can download your child's name and Dora talks to them. She gets a kick out of that. She also loves playing outdoors, collecting leaves, playing bubbles, swinging, and going for rides in her wagon. (i'd love to find some really good outdoor toys that would interest her) She loves books too, especially ones with flaps to open etc. there's a book called Dog by Matthew Van Fleet & Brian Stanton - a must buy for kids who love dogs.

My great nephews ages 10 today, and 5 next month, love outdoor sports, baseball, nascar, swimming, football, and I have been trying to teach them to cook some things. My 10 year old is learning how to make deviled eggs, even though he doesnt like them. My 5 is learning to make cookies, his favortie is eating them.
They are into music, movies, games, and computers.

My son is 10 and my daughter is 9. They both love the movie "Underdog". My son enjoys playing his Wii and likes "Sims: Pets". My daughter enjoys riding her bike with her friends.

My grandkids are ages 16 days old, he has no interest but food and sleep and love, 2.5 she loves Curious George and Madagascar and any Jungle animals. Next is my 3 YO grandson. Very much a boy, Tractors, and Heavy equipment and cars he also loves cats. Next is the 5 YO granddaughter. Ballet, anything pink, Mickey Mouse, Barbie and Princess stuff, art and dancing. Then we have two Granddaughters one is 7 today and one 7 on Sunday. One like pink things, princess things, dolls, girl things, music. The other is a nature girl, Turtles, Outdoors, climbing trees, trucks, tractors, dogs and cats and most of all Turtles. My 9 year old Granddaughter likes, Barbie, Princess, Yellow, Purple, Dancing with the stars, Karaoke, dancing, singing, wants to play fiddle, art and drawing, beads, bangles and scarves and dressing up. Soon to be 10 year old Grandso come June. Likes books, trains, computers, video games, sports like soccer. The next is soon to be 11 years old YO grandson. Music, Singing, Video and Computer games, playing quitar, cats, swimming, bicycling. 11 YO granddaughter. Blues, Playing beautician, Lizards, bugs, outdoors, reading, dancing with the stars.
The 12 YO granddaughter likes horses, fishing, outdoors, cats, reading, beading, videos and computer games, computer blogging, Neopets, photography and a new interest of late BOYS.

My son is only turning 2, so he pretty much just plays with his trucks, school bus, beach ball, Mommy's cell phone and his Little People animals. He generally does not pay any attention to the tv—even though its almost always on in our household—but he apparently recognizes the Arthur cartoon as I'm flipping through the channels.

Our grandsons JT 7 & Anthony 11 are the bowlers in the bunch. They both just finished up their leagues for the season. Ryan plays baseball and is all sports. Alexius is 11 and loves all girly things. She is into music right now and is a big help with her baby brother Gabriel who just turned one and is into everything he isn't suppose to be. JK He loves making crafts with Mom during the day while Lexie's in school and daddy's working.

My 2 yr old son is into Wiggles, Deigo & Dora, Mickey Mouse, and Cars! He loves to play outside and in the sprinklers with his dog. He also still has to have his Mamma day to himself with no one else around.
My cousin's 3 yr old girl is into Disney Princess', babies, and tea parties. And of course the center of attention! (they have a new baby coming soon)

My 2-yr old son loves Elmo DVDs, Sesame Street, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He loves to race along with his older sister who is 5. They run around outside as long as they can. My daughter, 5, loves singing along with Hannah Montana and dancing. In her spare time she creates atleast 100 drawings a day. So creative.

My boys are 5&6 soon to be 6&7. They enjoy hot wheels, listening to music on our DVD player (through the tv-instead of watching tv). They love their razor scooters and bicycles too. They love playing in the water when it's hot also.
We also have a large punching bag on our "old swing set" that they love to go punch on just for fun, or when they are agrevated. It's been a great investment!

My two year old is engrossed in a world of baby dolls, dress up and "little mommy" play, and she L-O-V-E-S the show Jon & Kate Plus 8.

kids need real music-- to see and hear real music played on acoustic instruments -- guitar, violin/fiddle, piano, mandolin, acoustic bass, others -- and to have the chance to play it themselves. used to be in Irish and Scottish and Cape Breton homes -- and still is in some -- that you'd have what's called a kitchen party, and every one would join in, those who knew how to play and sing teaching those who weren't so confident, young and old. great for sharing joy of music, family and friends connection, and building confidence for all situations.

My 12 year old daughter thinks that T-Shirts at Aeropostale stores are really cool.

My daughter is 14. She loves Aeropostale, YouTube and MySpace. She's always working on videos she can come up with and put on the internet. She has me bid on items for her on Ebay. She loves sports, too. She definitely thinks drugs are NOT COOL.

I know some middle schoolers who love YouTube, Myspace, and Facebook. They also have a particular fondness for this teacher... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLSFQDqapFE