Archive for the 'Stuff for Kids' Category

Why Twin Pushchairs Are a Parent’s Best Dream

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

Any parent with two babies who are close to each other in age will know just how frustratingly difficult it can be to take a family outing whether it be a day out, trip to the park or shopping. The older child will usually tire of walking pretty quickly and want a place to sit down and rest their little legs. If you have a single baby pushchair you will probably have had to trade off carrying one child and letting the other ride in the pushchair. Especially difficult when you are shopping. If this is your situation, or if you have a youngster and are expecting another soon you should definitely look into up grading your single to a twin pushchair.

Luckily for parents there are more and more solutions to this problem coming onto the market every day. If you are thinking about getting a twin baby pushchair now is a very good time to buy one. Just a trip to the park can be much more fun for the parents and the children alike. The extra storage space underneath the twin pushchairs can hold picnics, nappy sacks and toys for the little ones. There are even jogger friendly models for parents who like to take the opportunity to exercise while they take their young ones out.

If you’ve ever taken your kids to an amusement park with a single push chair, you know how difficult it can be to decide which child gets to ride and which has to walk. The youngest might be happy to ride but the oldest might get tired walking or simply decide they want a ride too. Also while you’re juggling your children you’re also having to deal with your bags, lunches, and all of the other things that you need to carry along to a park when you have children. Shopping can be a total nightmare with one child running around grabbing things off the shelves or knocking stacks over. You can make them hold your hand but with pushing the pushchair you won’t have a hand free to collect any shopping. By using a twin pushchair you can solve all of these problems, by having places for both children to ride, and storing all of your belongings on the pushchair itself.

These twin travel systems are stylish and affordable. They are practical, yet full of safety features that can set any parents mind at ease. Many of the newer systems offer great features like being collapsible. You can unfold them when you need them and break them down for easy stowage in your boot when they aren’t in use. Also by using online shopping outlets you can find a twin baby pushchair that’s extremely affordable as well.

Jane Pushchairs – the Best Combination of Features for Top Quality Comfort

Monday, October 12th, 2009

The range of features and benefits available has exploded over the last few years, making the purchase of a pushchair for your baby a daunting task. What features to focus on and which to reject is a big question that parents face. For a product that is multi-featured, durable yet compact, it would be a great idea to take a look at the range of Jane pushchairs. With a set of products designed to meet every need, Jane’s pushchairs come in a variety of designs from the ubiquitous stroller to the feature rich travel system. The most popular in the Jane stable are the Energy, the Slalom and the Nomad.

The Energy is a lightweight compact pushchair, which can be folded up into a small bundle the size of an umbrella. It is suitable for children of every age, from newborns to toddlers, and is built with large deep seats. It sports a fabric hood and cover, shopping bag and lockable swivel wheels for easy maneuvering.

At the other end of the spectrum is the Nomad, which is a complete travel solution. Compatible with the Pro Generation range of car seats from Jane, the chair features the unique Pro Fix system designed to allow parents to lock and unlock the seat from the chair with a single hand. This is a boon when you need to juggle baby, shopping and the chair while getting into your car. With multi-positional seating and adjustable wheels, it can be used by all ages of babies, from newborns to toddlers.

The Slalom Pro combines the benefits of the Pro Generation car seat with the features of an all-terrain pushchair. It has great suspension and wheels to give your baby a comfortable ride, while ensuring your comfort.

Pushchairs and Prams – Key Differences

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Parents often times do not know the difference between a pram and a pushchair. Though the basic purpose behind the two is the same, there are certain specific differences that should be known.

The major difference between the two is the fact that in a pram, the baby is kept in a horizontal or lying position. It is ideal for carrying very small infants or newborns. The pushchair on the other hand is meant for toddlers who can sit up and take a keen interest in the things happening around them.

Prams usually place the baby facing towards the parent so that he or she can keep an eye on the baby all the time, while pushchairs have the toddler sitting and facing forward. Another important difference is portability. Pushchairs are usually easy to fold and carry, and storage is not so much of a concern in their case. They tend to have fewer frills than prams.

However, pushchairs have a number of additional features and benefits. Certain types of pushchairs have baby seats which can be detached and buckled directly into your car. This saves parents the additional cost of buying a car seat. Some are meant to be used outdoors, while others have a high degree of manoeuvrability for indoor spaces and crowded areas. A special feature in some chairs is their ability to seat two or even three toddlers, meant for those parents who have twins or triplets to carry.

Parents can do a quick search online for ‘ pushchair pushchairs ‘ to explore a number of useful websites where they can view images of different types of pushchairs and purchase the pushchair of their choice.

If You’re a New or Expectant Parent, There Are Many, Many Tips Available to Help You on How to Keep Your Baby Safe

Friday, August 21st, 2009

It can be exciting to be a brand new parent, but there are also times of feeling a little unsure. There is a lot to be done and imagine in the months before your baby’s birth .
It stands to reason that all new parents want to protect their infant from harm. Making sure their baby is safe is a priority for parents, even before the baby is born.

In order to do a good job in baby proofing your home, you need to see things from the baby’s viewpoint so you should inspect it at the level that the baby will see. Babies are small and when they are crawling on the ground, they view things from a totally varied look than their parents. Keeping your new-born in mind, make your way around your house from a baby’s-eye view and ask these questions:

How many fragile items are within reach on your infant, does your furniture have any hard edges that need padding, are there any choking hazards your new-born can get a hold of, are your outlets properly covered or are there any electrical cords that are accessible to new born hands?

A baby is required to be in a car seat in every state. As you and your new born are leaving the hospital, a nurse or car seat technician accompanies you to the car to ensure that your car has been properly installed and safety guidelines have been met. Be sure to have you car seat installed before the baby arrives. You are better off purchasing a new car seat even though it can save you money getting a used one.

Spend some time finding good baby monitoring devices, because it will be heavily used for many years.

They are a wonderful item for parents in that they allow you to keep tabs on baby by seeing and hearing what is happening in his room no matter where you are in the house.

Babies grow in a fast manner. So it is important for the parents to have baby safety gates on their homes. Be sure to baby-proof your home, once your baby becomes mobile it will be into everything! Baby gates keep your babies confined to area that’s large enough to encourage them to explore, but confined enough to keep them safe. Childproofing products are necessary to keep active little ones safe.

How Is Peaceful Parenting(r) Different?

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

Peaceful Parenting® ideas are very different from other kinds of parenting practices that you have learned or read about. Certainly it is harder to practice Peaceful Parenting® than to simply threaten or bribe your child into following your directions or making what you consider to be the “right” choices. But what is the heart of the difference between Peaceful Parenting® and other programs?

Simply put, Peaceful Parenting® follows the idea that human beings are internally motivated. Children (and parents) do what they do because of what is going on inside of them. The world outside of the child (and the parents) gives the child information. But the child decides what to do with this information based on what is going on inside the child at the time.

So when you ask your 7-year old to come inside for supper, your child hears your request as information. Based on what is going on for this child, he will behave accordingly. One child might decide to run inside as you have asked because he is very hungry. Or another child might decide to play one more inning of kick ball with her friends. Yes, she has heard your request. Yes, she wants to eat supper. But she also wants to play one more inning because it is her turn to kick and she knows she will kick the winning run!

Contrary to what you may have learned in other parenting programs, children cannot be manipulated into behaving just as we want them to. Unfortunately there is a lot of information in our culture that would lead parents to believe that they can, should and must control their children.

The reality is that people are not easily controlled. In fact the very urge to control others may result in those others resisting harder because they do not want to feel controlled. If people were as easily manipulated and controlled as our culture represents you too would be easily controlled and manipulated.

For instance, do you have the ability to resist buying everything that is advertised to you in the media? Of course you do! Even the “bribes,” positive reinforcements or carrots the advertisers offer with rebates and sale prices does not mean that you must purchase every thing, willy nilly. You decide to purchase a product because you need or want a specific item, not because of the enticement of advertising.

Do you have the ability to resist your child’s unhealthy or inappropriate request? Even when your child punishes you by telling you she “hates you” or “won’t love you any more if you don’t give in to her way,” you still have the ability to stick by your decision to answer your child’s request with a firm “no” response. No matter how hard your child tries to externally control you, you can make a reasonable decision.

So why do we think it is otherwise with children? Simply because our children are smaller, less experienced and younger does not mean they are any more easily controlled or manipulated using external rewards and punishments.

Peaceful Parenting® means you understand your children are internally motivated by their genetic instructions for safety, love, power, fun and freedom. Practicing Peaceful Parenting® means you understand that you are also internally motivated by your genetic instructions for safety, love, power, fun and freedom. Both parents and children experience the urge to control one another because parents and children are both born with the urge for power. Luckily we are also born with an urge for love. Our desire to stay connected with one another hopefully ameliorates our desire to win and control each other. Understanding this means the desire to follow Peaceful Parenting® ideas. It is harder, more challenging and more rewarding than trying to control our children using external control ideas. Peaceful Parenting® also is more respectful of your child’s capacities to learn and become a responsible adult.

Nancy S. Buck, Ph.D. established Peaceful Parenting, Inc. in 2000 to bring her knowledge and experience with effective parenting to the greatest number of parents and other caretakers of children. She developed the Peaceful Parenting® program from her 25 years of experience as a developmental psychologist, trainer and educator with The William Glasser Institute and as the mother of twin sons. Her genuine, warm and authentic teaching style is clear and concise, helping learners move from the theoretical to real life situations.