Can you tell what the new obsession is ?

[ThoughtBen10WasBadPokemonOMG]

Now why did I think you'd say that

After several years of Pokemon, it's on the back burner here atm. (Sadly not in the literal sense). One ds had the Pokemon Black DS game and the other had Pokemon White so that they could complete the Pokedex between them.

We still have the DVDs of Giratina and Arceus ("Mum! Stop calling it Arsey-us!")and umpteen episodes of the TV series.

They've moved on to Dragon Quest DS games now, which are not to be confused with the vast supply of Beast Quest books.

I feel your pain.

Coppertop, that's what my boys have done, one Pokemon Black and one Pokemon White and far too much trading followed by arguments about unfair trades etc.

Gosh am so lucky with this (so far.) DS1 has been quite obsessed with pipecleaners for the last 2 years, now he gets pocket money it is all spent on them. He makes model Transformers with them and has one in his pocket at all times. He also draws fairly constantly these days, we can take him pretty much anywhere as long as he's got a pen and paper to chill out with.
His "conversation" (or rather lectures) can be pretty tedious but it's just wide-ranging and random enough to stop me hanging myself.

Oh, how could I forget the origami? The house is covered in pipecleaner men and origami objets.

We've been through the ben10 and pokemon phases and now are stuck with bloody moshi monsters and backyard monsters.

I get confused about where the characters are from and ds gets very cross with me because I should know

Pokemon still going strong here at 10.5. His sister has been inculcated into the dark arts, and yup, even the next door neighbour's nt kids. (well, one of them is nt. I have my suspicions about the other one and I know his father and the big bro that has left home...)

I have disappeared beast quest, silently and deliberately, over the last two years.

The favourite place for cards in this house? Oh, no, not in the specially bought and whined for folders, no no. The stairs are perfect for sorting into piles according to whatever the theme of the day is. Woe betide anyone who tries to use the stairs with an unwieldy pile of laundry.

And what a shame we live in Canada. The chances of there being a championship anywhere within a day's drive is slim to none...

I quite like the 'Mon myself, have wasted quite a few hours on the HeartGold DS game . We have quite the collection of dvds, plushes, and books and just starting to get into the cards. By comparison to Bakugan Pokemon cards seem positively interesting.

I also am a fan of the Dragon Quest games too Coppertop , DS has had a brief play but is most interested in changing the characters' outfits

I should add, Pokemon has been running alongside Percy Jackson for two years now. Once they get older, Ben, they don't ditch one thing before they move on to the next...

Mealtimes are the staging ground for the Percy Jackson fun fact and argument of the day. With lengthy quotes. But when you' ve read them all upwards of a hundred times each, I guess they stick in your mind.

Yes TLP, but who is your favourite 'mon' and why?

I am allowed to like Jigglypuff, but apparently he can't understand why I wouldn't prefer Igglybuff in terms of cuteness and XYZmon for strength/power/speed etc.

Ds1 has a plush Pikachu on his bed, whilst ds2 has a Tepig oh his. Dd is wholeheartedly unimpressed that Santa didn't realise she would also like a plush Pokemon and has already put it on this year's Christmas list.

Boc are stick insects easy to keep. DS did ask me about them as we can't have furry pets - I'm allergic, and I put him off as I know nothing about them. What do you keep them in and feed them?

Atm Snorlax, as he's big, round and cute and looks like Totoro.

VERY easy to keep

www.insectlore-europe.com/shop/Insects-&-Spiders/Living-Twig-Kit/p-4-3195/

These Indian ones live off ivy, bramble & privet. It's the species most recommended for beginners. The kit in the link above comes with a voucher for eggs, to get you started and is really nice for school "show & tell" trips. It's escape proof too

Last year DS had tadpoles and they were much harder (blood worms = yeuk!).

If we ever get a garden DS wants one of those eglu plastic beehives.

EEEEK! I've just seen the giant hissing cockroach on that site & had to tell DS no!

Suddenly pokemon seems quite nice after all

Pokemon passed us by, luckily! We have had Doctor Who, Murderous Maths and origami, but the thing that has lasted the longest is Hannah and the Pirate Caves, an fairly simple platform PC game that has its own fan website, the Interguild, of which DS2 is one of the youngest members. So far 5 years and counting...

TLP, at Snorlax - they sound like me before I joined our weightloss thread! Eat anything, mainly consist of belly fat, avoid exercise and seldom wake up unless to eat!

Ds1 says not a bad choice, as they may be lazy and greedy, but if trained well can be very powerful.

at giant hissing cockroaches. The brought one of those to visit dd's toddler group and she wanted to hold it!

We have football and formula 1 statistics here for at least five years. Ds would be brilliant on a pub quiz team as there is nothing that passes him by in the world of football especially. It's great listening to him as players walk down the tunnel at Wembley and he goes right through their history from youth teams and lists all the previous teams and noteable moments.He'll also tell you best lap times for every course, every team and every driver in the Grand Prix going back before he was born to a hundredth of a second. An incredible memory.

WW1 and WW2 atm here.

Also F1.

LOL at cockroach. They givne me the creeps as we used to see them regularly when I lived in Spain. I will never forget the look on my DBF's (he lived in England and I think this was his first encounter with the creepies) face when we sat in a nicely refurbished posh Chinese restaurant and one fell out of the air con onto our table. He nearly ran out of the door. An the look of unconcern ( if that is a word) on all the other diners when I told them what was happening.

The children loved them when petting them at Whipsnade zoo last year if your DS wants to see them Boc?

Petting cockroaches - good lord it's stiff gin o'clock!

LOL. I kept well out of the way. But the DC's and DN(f) and DN(m) loved it too.

I'm actually quite liking the sound of some of these obsessions. Esp Badvoc's. There is so much to learn about the wars and F1.

Compared to a pack of cards with different characters and different numbers on. Team it with a boy who keeps getting ripped off by his classmates into trading his "good cards".

I'd swap any day.

Ben, would it be worth having a word with the school? Ours banned trading cards and toys (like gogos) as too many children were making bad trades and getting upset about it.

We have a rule in our house - any trades are for that play session only and have to be given back at the end. That put a stop to lots of arguments between the boys, mainly because ds1 is a wiley old goat and ds2, bless him, is nowhere near as sharp.

I'm keeping an eye on it Moose. THe problem is that he doesn't have a sibling to play the game with. Also it is getting him talking at playtime instead of running around by himself. I'm hoping it might lead to finding a connection with another boy.

However having seen him talking Pokemon at the school fair this afternoon and you could see the other children walking away while he was boring them talking, I don't know.

Hmm, I see what you mean. We are very lucky that ds1 has a best friend, who enables him to mix with the other children, so he didn't need that 'in'. Could you try asking the SENCO if there are any other children she knows of in the school with similar interests? (Sorry I can't remember whether or not you have a decent SENCO, apologies if you don't.)

If it helps, all the other kids used to lose interest and abandon ds when he was off on one about his DSi games when he was a bit younger, but since year 4 they've all developed similar interests so now there are quite a few who are keen to tap his skills and knowledge.