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raynjen
02-23-2004, 11:00 PM
How will household magnets affect a laptop?

We are getting ready to come back to the states for a visit and I am trying to arrange for the 15 hour flight. On a recommendation from a friend I was making a magnet tray for my daughter - you buy an inexpensive metal tray (like a small cookie tray) and then you use self stick magnets on all the small toys you will be taking (colored pencils, cars, etc.) to keep them on the tray.

My DH thinks that the magnets will be a problem since we are also taking our laptop along on the flight. They won't be in the same bag, but they will be near each other. Does anyone know if this will be a problem?

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (2 1/3)

mamahill
02-24-2004, 01:35 AM
Hmm... I'm not sure. But have fun - which part of the country are you coming to? If you're in the SF Bay Area, I'd love to meet Noelle. Oh, and you too;).

raynjen
02-24-2004, 04:01 AM
I wish we were! We were in SF 8 months ago for a conference for DH. This time we are only going to Texas. This is the last time we are spending this much money to see relatives. If I'm going to spend thousands on a trip I want maid service!

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (2 1/3)

sweetbasil
02-24-2004, 07:08 AM
Where in TX, Jen? I'm in Houston and we'd love to see you if you have any free time! :D

raynjen
02-24-2004, 10:17 AM
Going to be in the Austin area March 4 - 13 and the Ft. Worth area the 14 - 22. My family actually lives in a bitty town west of Austin and DH family lives in a bitty town west of Ft. Worth.

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (2 1/3)

sweetbasil
02-24-2004, 05:25 PM
Bummer- we'll be in Austin the weekend of the 27th, and will just miss you. We used to live in Ft. Worth- that's such a great city. Have a safe trip! :)

lukkykatt
02-25-2004, 05:24 PM
I asked DH about this and he said there is a chance that it could affect your laptop. So I asked again "even plain old regular magnets?" and he told me that it is possible. I would try contacting your laptop manufacturer and see what they say - maybe they could give you specifics.

ETA: When I asked him about this, his first response was "Why? What did you do?" :)

raynjen
02-25-2004, 11:02 PM
That's so funny.

DH's first reactions are getting to be like that. Probably because when he walks in the door one of my first statements is "Guess what YOUR daughter did today!"

*SIGH* I guess I'll have to give up on this idea, and it sounded so good too! I bought her a travel color wonder board (side note: did you know you can order stuff directly from Crayola?) but I just know we'll lose half of the pens by the end of the first flight.

I've checked around on various boards about what they recommend as toys on flights and a lot of people said Playdough! I don't know about you guys, but at our house Playdough is a very messy experience. I know it doesn't stain, but it gets everywhere!

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (2 1/3)

lukkykatt
02-26-2004, 12:10 PM
How about Colorforms (same principle as magnets, without the magnetization), or a small feltboard? FeltKids makes some nice small felt storyboards. Or how about a travel-size magna doodle? We use those on longer car trips.

That's all I can think of right now...

raynjen
02-26-2004, 08:14 PM
We have the magna doodle, and will be bringing it (though it does have a magnet in it, hmmmmm). The colorforms and felt kids will have to wait for the return trip as there is no place to purchase them here and there is NO way we could get them in time online (we are still waiting on three boxes that we ordered in the first week of January!)

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (2 1/3)

August Mom
02-27-2004, 01:16 PM
FWIW, I asked my techie-oriented DH about this too and he says that household strength magnets are not enough to cause problems with a laptop - that it's only magnets with more strength that might create problems. That sounds like a really cool idea.

Also, from my own experience, DS and I play with magnets near my laptop (he has even tried to stick them to the laptop) and we haven't had a problem. Our favorite magnets are in the Melissa & Doug Magnetic Hide and Seek Doors. It's great. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005RF5H/002-5249162-6808016?v=glance He also has a Melissa & Doug magnetic animals book that he likes a lot. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000090W84/ref=ase_abusinessresourc/002-5249162-6808016?v=glance&s=imaginarium&m=A1PA6795UKMFR9

raynjen
02-27-2004, 07:51 PM
Yay!

I was starting to wonder if I should keep the Magnadoodle away too! DH has a metal clipboard that I think I'll try, that way we can clip things that can't be magnetized.

I'm trying out a way to attach all her colored pencils to a fine chain (the kind they use for dogtags) to keep them all together. I'm also bringing some new number flashcards - in fact I am punching holes in them while I browse so that I can put them on a ring. I'm going to get some alligator clips and fasten them on some cords to keep the blanky and lovey off the floor too (not that they would roll away, but ewww!)

When we get to Austin I'll let y'all know how well these things worked!

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (2 1/3)