Jumping Monkeys Episode 37: Schuyler's Monster

On this week's episode we were lucky enough to chat with Robert Rummel-Hudson, a father, a blogger, and author of the memoir Schuyler's Monster about life with his wordless daughter. (Illustration by Debbie Ridpath Ohi)

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SPEND: President Not Princess T-Shirt

SAVE: BabyPlays Toy Rental Program

GIVE: What to do When a Charity Calls

AUDIBLE PICK: Beloved by Toni Morrison.

LISTENER FEEDBACK: Ron from Philadelphia recommends slings for playing Wii.

Comments

Why did you blog the same post twice?

[Mark]

Thanks for having Rob on - great guy with a great story.

And a great interview, btw :)

[Megan]

Mark: Thank you for suggesting Rob as a guest!

P.S. I didn't mean to post this twice. I'm having trouble with TypePad right now. If anyone's an expert and has a minute to help, feel free to email me at megan@twit.tv

[Donna]

Your "save" idea for this week was about renting toys. Our local headstart program has a lending toys program. You can check out toys for one month and renew them two more time. I teaching Parenting in a High School that has over 60% of students on free and reduced lunches so I stress ways for them to get quality, educational toys for their children (when ever they have them) or for the younger children in their homes.

[Nick]

Tried really, really hard not to tear up when reading Schuyler's Monster. Great read, thanks for recommending it.

[Susan]

I tried Baby Plays, but just canceled after my three month required membership was up. The rules changed throughout my three months, and now it's only three toys, not four, for $36.99/month. (Most toys now "count as two" by their new rules, so you could have only two toys for that fee.) The last straw came when I sat down last night to play with the pirate ship toy we received. I’ve had it on a shelf, so my son doesn’t lose/break any of the many parts (a constant fear with toys that aren't yours), so I know he wasn’t responsible for the crusted on goo (ick!) I found on the ship’s bow. So much for their “sanitizing” process. There have also been multiple snafus with shipment and payment (charging my card twice, etc.) and the toys, frankly, are usually quite cheap—in the $10-$20 range, so “renting” them for $40/month makes little sense. (I could usually buy three of the four outright for the rental fee.)

I thought this was a great idea when I heard of it, but, in practice, just don’t think it works very well at all.