Buying Double Strollers
When you need a way to push around two smaller children, Double strollers are often the best product on the market. All types of strollers are available in double designs, and this includes standard, jogging, and umbrella strollers. If you have two toddlers or a toddler and a baby, both can fit in these strollers and, regardless of whether you’re taking the children to the park, the mall, or to run errands, they can both be taken in the stroller. But double strollers come in two basic designs, which one of which could be better for your needs than the other.
The most common double stroller design is a side-by-side style. This, by explanation alone, has two stroller seats directly next to each other. Both umbrella and jogger strollers use this format as folding the stroller is easier. The benefits of this type of jogger stroller are that it’s easier to navigate around curves and corners. The difficulty that comes with a side-by-side double stroller is taking it on public transportation, as this particular stroller design is often too wide to fit down the aisle of a bus without being folded and takes up a larger amount of space, which can be inconvenient on a subway.
The other option is an incline double stroller, also called a tandem stroller. This type of stroller design has two seats in front of the other, often with a larger seat in back for the toddler and a smaller seat in front for a baby or another small child. With babies in mind, this type of stroller also has the removable car seat in front in some design. The benefit of a tandem or incline stroller is that it’s easier to take on public transportation, as it is narrow enough to fit down the aisle of a bus or subway car and folds like a standard stroller. Most standard strollers use this design and, as a result, all of the same features are included.
Baby Blankets
How many uses can you think of for a baby blanket? A baby blanket is somewhat ubiquitous during the first year, if not longer. A baby, especially after the first six months, is going to be more sensitive to temperatures and, as with extra clothing, a blanket helps keep a baby warm whenever you go out or when you’re inside. A blanket can help act as additional insulation in a stroller or in a car seat, especially for long car rides where the temperature might fluctuate. And, of course, the baby will need a blanket when sleeping. As a baby blanket is used often, it’s important to have a few on hand, especially if a baby spits up during a trip away from home.
If you’re a new parent having a baby shower, some guests are probably going to show up with sets of baby blankets. The blankets even may come with matching burp cloths. However, the blankets themselves come in a variety of materials, ranging from chenille for various high-end designs to cotton for more affordable options. Organic cotton is another option, as even baby clothing and sheets are made with 100-percent organic cotton and natural dyes.
What should you do for picking out baby blankets? Often, blankets match the rest of the sheets, which are usually sold in a matching set with a crib bumper. If you’re a guest at a baby shower, picking out a baby blanket or a set of blankets is best in solid colors. If you don’t know the baby’s sex, unisex colors like yellow and green are available. Some parents can be particular with the décor in all rooms, including the baby’s nursery, and having a blanket that matches is important.
Celebrity Baby Gifts
Celebrity’s children, especially babies, have become popular in recent years. The popularity isn’t focused so much about what the kids are doing but rather what they’re wearing, especially when they’re out with their parents. In fact, the celebrity baby craze has progressed enough that People has a separate baby blog. But what is it about celebrity babies? Ten years ago, magazines weren’t looking for stars with “baby bumps” and, once the children were born, most were relatively low-key, with the exception of strange names like “Moon Unit,” “Apple,” and “Prince Michael.” But, as children are seen as an extension of their parents, particularly parents’ choices at a young age, celebrity babies are seen as smaller visual versions of their parents.
As award ceremonies have us average people wondering who is going to show up in the latest Versace or Dolce and Gabbana gowns, celebrity baby blogs have people, particularly new parents or parents who still read celebrity tabloids, wondering what the kids are wearing. Is that a Kissy Kissy onesie? Is that celebrity using a chenille blanket for her child? Baby products, like adult clothing, have included high and low brands, but, ten years ago, this often meant getting clothing at Baby Gap instead of picking out a pack of Onesies at Babies R Us.
Various baby retailers have capitalized on this celebrity baby craze. Various higher-end baby retailers often have a section of their website to highlight the brands and products seen on celebrities. These celebrity baby items are sometimes associated with particular celebrities and their babies, but others are clothing, toys, and diaper bags seen or used regularly by celebrities and their children. While some of these items might not be available in brick-and-mortar stores, they can be found online and, if you’re looking for the same style seen on celebrities, some higher-end online retailers may have these items.
Buying Custom Kids’ Clothing
For the fashionistas out there (or those tired of dressing their babies in solid-color onesies), the clothing options get more interesting after the first six months. And, once your child reaches the toddler years, the clothing starts to have a bit more style. Just like those who are particular about designing a baby’s room with the right décor, those wanting to dress their children more stylishly, until the children can make their own clothing choices, have more options out there than solid-color and pattern onesies. As a result, baby websites featuring clothing have options for choosing more interesting and fashionable baby clothes.
One brand that has gotten around for fashionable baby clothing is Junk Food. Vintage style t-shirts have been in for teens and adults over the past few years, and, inevitably, this same style would get passed down to baby clothing. Websites like Hunky Dory Online sell vintage inspired baby clothing, from t-shirts and onesies to clothing sets. Style for these are based on iron-on t-shirt styles and include various ‘70s and ‘80s cartoon and comic book characters, as well as logos for rock bands that were popular at the time. All of these styles are available for boys and girls and, if you continue to prefer the same styles, toddler sizes are available for the same designs.
Aside from dressing your baby in some of the latest fashion trends, another popular trend in custom baby clothing has been organic wear made from 100-percent cotton or bamboo. If the news about all the chemicals that go into growing cotton and making fabric scares you, many styles of baby clothing are designed with organic fabrics. Organic cotton is still the most popular, but bamboo is gaining some hold in the fashion world. Bamboo fabric often has either a bamboo and cotton combination or a bamboo and nylon mix, and, when looking for clothing for your baby, the former is the true organic fabric. Organic cotton clothing one had an off-white color, but, these days, the designs use all natural dyes for a wide palette of colors and patterns. Various retailers carry organic baby clothing in styles for baby girls and boys, including the basics like t-shirts, onesies, and footies.
Do You Need a Jogging Stroller?
Jogging strollers are the latest design in baby strollers. As parents want to continue to stay active after they have children, jogging strollers combine all of the function of a standard, four-wheel stroller with a streamlined, narrower design with more stability that allows adults more control on more terrains when pushing. For the baby, a jogging stroller offers all of the same support and comfort as a standard stroller, and the convenience of the design is, in fact, for the adult. Whether you’re going for a jog or need to take your baby to marathon practice, a jogging stroller can be brought along and used while you take your baby out.
The design aspect of a jogging stroller that stands out more is the three wheels but the wheels themselves are larger than average stroller wheels. The design of the wheels helps when navigating this stroller over various terrains. If you can’t take your stroller on the sidewalk, a jogging stroller will allow you to push it over rough and uneven surfaces without disturbing your baby or harming the stroller. If you’ve been considering a stroller for your baby, jogging strollers have two types of wheel designs: stationary and rotating. What you need the stroller for depends on the types of wheels you should look for.
A jogging stroller with rotating wheels is the most versatile design, as the larger range of motion allows you to get around corners easily. But if you need more control and plan on moving in a straight path with your stroller, stationary wheels may be a better design for your needs. Most jogging strollers these days are designed with rotating wheels, but both wheel designs are easily available on websites selling jogging strollers.
Toys for Creative Play
What toys qualify as creative toys? For preschool and older children, this is often associated with toys that result in both make-believe games and in art or crafts projects. For toddlers, the former is almost accurate, as by the time a child is preschool-age, he or she is generally immersed in creative play by himself or with his or her peers. How does a child get started getting involved in creative play? Generally, basic toys that allow for open interpretation, such as blocks, allow a child multiple options. A set for blocks, for example, allows a child to make a tower, create a fort, stack the blocks in a line, or, with a block set of various shapes, create a city skyline, among other possibilities.
Essentially, nearly any toy that allows a child multiple options for use is considered a creative toy and, for developmental purposes, an educational toy. Some toys really only have one use for toddlers and children, such as a puzzle made of oversized pieces or a musical toy that responds when touching it, but many toys at this stage are open to interpretation for a child. A doll, especially a cloth one in which you can remove and put its clothing back on, is at home in any number of settings, while a play set of animals or child’s size tools can be used in any number of ways.
Are there any toys that could be detrimental to a child’s creativity? Generally, no, although an article titled “Finding Educational Toys Is Not Hard; Key Is Keeping Child’s Age in Mind” by Neil Schoenherr states that toys associated with movies or TV shows are open to less interpretation. Although a child playing with a Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story action figure could combine it with farm animals in some land of make believe, the flip side is that a different child could simply act out a scene from the movie with the action figure.
Developing Motor Skills with Toys
Previous posts have discussed the importance of building blocks in a child’s development, particularly in regards to fine motor skills. But, aside from using his or her hands to pick up things, what are some toys that children around two years of age can use to develop gross and fine motor skills? Overall, gross motor skills involve larger limbs, such as getting a child to move his or her legs or arms and develop coordination, and finer skills involve fingers, typically, or any body part involved in finer movements.
When considering toys for babies, this often means toys that a baby can grab onto – such as various rings – or touch. Play mats, in addition, are another infant toy that can help a child learn to roll over and develop this motion. But after a year and when a child hits the toddler years, a child needs to be challenged more and, over this time, a child has theoretically learned to walk. One toy to refine and enhance this type of gross motor skill is a push-pull or riding toy. Riding toys often have a seat for a child to sit on and, by walking and pushing with his or her feet, moves the toy as it rolls on the floor. Push-pull toys, similarly, move with the child’s motion but involve the child to be standing as he or she moves it.
Many creative toys involve fine motor skills. While blocks and stacking rings have been mentioned, creative play toys are nearly endless. Anything in which a child can make up a game or story with is considered a creative toy and this can include cloth dolls that allow a child to take off and put clothes back on; tea sets, pocket books, and tool boxes designed for teaching children about adults; big puzzles; and toy sets, such as a set of plastic farm animals. If a child can grab onto it in any number of ways – and see a cause and effect process while grabbing or playing – then the toy is typically considered to help with developing fine motor skills.
How Effective Are Educational Baby Videos?
One trend over the past ten years has been baby educational videos, such as Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby. These videos are designed to improve a baby’s vocabulary but, in recent years, these videos – as well as educational television programs – have been under scrutiny for not having much, if any, educational value. While many of these videos are geared toward both babies and toddlers, having babies watch them is in question, as some studies have indicated that babies watching these videos aren’t picking up words any faster. Should you have your baby watch these educational videos or should you wait until her or she has reached the toddler years?
One study indicates that babies, from eight to sixteen months old, who watched these videos didn’t pick up on new words quicker than those babies who didn’t watch the videos. But, according to this article, one questionable aspect about these videos is that the babies who watched them picked up on fewer words than those who didn’t.
One explanation for this is how the videos are presented. One theory for who these videos weren’t helpful for babies is that the material and new words isn’t presented in “parentese” – the speech parents use with their infants – and instead in adult English. While this may be helpful for toddlers and preschool-age children, it doesn’t appear to be helpful for babies, as, according to this article, the linguistic experience isn’t the same.
If you want your baby to learn new words quickly, often the best tool is parent and child interaction. The parent can speak in a familiar tone to the infant, and the child will have an easier time learning new words. Whether you’re speaking or reading to your baby, both are forms of interaction that help a baby learn new words. If you want your baby to learn new words, incorporate them into the conversation between you and your baby.
Why Black, White, and Red?
Many baby toys for “stimulation” purposes are designed in black, white, and red. What is the purpose of using these colors? One theory is that, because a baby has very limited vision for the first six months, he or she can only see contrasting colors. In the color spectrum, black, white, and red have the most contrast from each other and, as a result, many baby toys and items are designed with these three colors, with green sometimes added into the mix. Does this mean that, for the first six months of your child’s life, everything for your baby needs to be designed in black, white, and red, including the baby’s room? No, as these colors are for stimulation purposes, having everything in black, white, and red can be over stimulation for the baby.
Many objects that a baby sees, such as toys and mobiles, are designed with this color scheme. Two options for these colors include solid color use and patterns. Often, solid colors are used for baby toys, with minimal patterns. Patterns can include white spots on black, or a combination of black and red shapes on white. Some toys or mobiles may actually include several of these patterns to stimulate a baby’s vision. In addition, many stimulation mobiles have interchangeable cards or stuffed animals with various solid colors and patterns, so that your baby can become used to looking at various types of patterns.
Aside from solid colors and patterns, many natural images for a baby are re-done in black, white, and red, particularly for stimulation mobiles. This most often includes pictures of babies that your baby can see, and, in many cases, these pictures look like black and white photographs of babies with some red added. Not all natural images re-done in stimulation colors are babies, and in baby books and mobiles, these images can be shapes and animals.