Lost start menu & desktop icons

Hello,

A friends child was playing on my Windows XP home computer and now we hae no start menu & no desktop icons. We have tried control, alt, delete - starting in safe mode (F10) - calling friends, and no one has an answer. Don't really want to spend $80.00 to send it to the shop. Can anyone help??? We cannot do anything but turn the computer on. NOTHING WORKS.

Please Help
Vanessa