Top 10 kid favorites of 2010

Posted in Mom Stuff
by Lorain County Moms

By Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Some kid crazes are unexpected, like cheap, colored rubber bands worn on the wrist. Some are predictable, like cashing in on a fictional character’s popularity or cute baby animals. And, others are simply a product of undeveloped taste, a la anything Justin Bieber.

Here are the top things that captivated our children in 2010:

1. Harry Potter — With the opening of a theme park within Universal Studios in Orlando, the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and a new Legos video game, it was an exceptional year for one particular wizard in training and his very, very wealthy creator.
2. Spas for tweens — Apparently, you’re never too young for a mani-pedi. Even more beauty salons targeted at tweens opened this year. Word to the wise: Keep these trips a special rare treat rather than habit-forming ritual. There’s a thin line between pampered princess and spoiled brat.
3. iPad apps — Whether they were wasting time playing Angry Birds or Doodle Jump or learning new words with Montessori Crossword, the iPad was this year’s best grown-up toy for little ones.
4. Baby animals at the zoo — Who can resist a baby born weighing a whopping 136 pounds and standing more than 6 feet tall? The St. Louis Zoo welcomed Desi, a reticulated giraffe, and we’d like to give a special shout-out to his Mama, Susie, who carried and delivered that towering tot.
5. Jeggings — It started with faux-denim diapers and evolved into jeggings for babies. Pretty soon, every girl from preschool to high school was wearing jeggings. They may be questionable on some grown women, but they’re adorable on your daughter.
6. Sillybandz — Why, oh, why couldn’t I have thought of this? Rubber bands in various colors and shapes became so popular they had to be banned in several schools across the country. At $5 a packet, some lucky inventor is laughing all the way to the bank.
7. Kiddie attractions at the mall — There has been an explosion of ways to entertain children at the mall. From jumping rooms filled with bounce houses, to carousels and rock climbing walls, your shopping trip just got a little more expensive.
8. Sequels — Unlike many sequels, “Toy Story 3″ did not disappoint. But even those with less artistic merit ranked high with children, including: “Iron Man 2,” “Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” “Shrek Forever After” and “Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows.”
9. Book installments — Two of the most popular series of books for children and teens published new installments this year, and both were a hit: “The Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth” and “Hunger Games” in the Mockingjays series. As parents and writers, we cheer loudly at reading.
10. Justin Bieber — I suppose no such list would be complete without a mention of the boy whose high-pitched voice has inspired a girlie-boy hairdo and a legion of fanatical devotees. But we can’t help ourselves from noting that inclusion on the list is by no means an endorsement.

Aisha Sultan is a columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Contact her at asultan@post-dispatch.com.