In our quest for the perfect lunch box, we found a BUILT-NY has developed a concept that incorporates whimsical fun with practicality. They collaborated with the award-winning children’s book illustrator, Stephen Savage, to take on the project of creating zoo animals for the design of the lunchboxes.

After all, what good is a lunchbox that doesn’t look good?

• MADE FROM SOFT SIDED POLYPROPYLENE


• TESTED LEAD AND FOOD SAFE


• INSULATES FOOD AND BEVERAGE


• SMALL HANDLES FOR SMALL HANDS


• SAVES HUNDREDS OF BAGS OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR


• UNZIPS TO A PLACE-MAT (STORES FLAT)

Munchler Bags @ BUILT-NY for $10 bucks [+shipping]

The assumption is that this cool little clock design is made from a recyclable plastic since the merchant claims it is ‘eco-friendly’ but I have not verified. Regardless, it is a very clever design and will spare the landfill of a couple batteries.

With sustainable design and practical function in mind, this eco-friendly Bedol water clock keeps perfect time without batteries. Just add water and a dash of table salt to the clock’s water tank to make it work.

4.25″h x 3.75″w x 3.5″d
$22 bucks [+ shipping] via SFMOMA store

Every kid has their favorite show, right now my boys get excited about all things having to do with Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Last week it was Diego, next week- who knows! With birthdays coming up, I wanted to flush it out and see what things are available. Aside from birthdays, there is the seemingly endless need for fun, engaging activities and games for the little ones. I was able to find some pretty unique stuff, Wubbzy crochet kit, cross stitch, Here are some helpful links to build your Wubzy arsenal.

Check out the Frederator Studios link, it seems like they are involved with the production of the show and have some interesting articles and videos. Also, surprisingly, Amazon has done a decent job at creating a Wubbzy mini-store complete with free coloring pages and discounted and hard to find items.

A bit of show trivia for you thanks to the folks at Little Toons, originally based on a story by the show’s creator’s niece, Viviana Ogawa, which he assembled into a storybook called The Tail of Flopsy, Mopsy, and Ted which he later renamed as Widget, Wubby, and Walden. Wubby morphed into Wubbzy and Walden was named after Walden Pond.

Helpful Links:
Little Toons.Com | Wow! Wow! Wubbzy [*Beware! Loud streamed music on this page, adjust your speakers now!]
Baby Dreams | Wow! Wow! Wubbzy Party Supplies
Baby Dreams | Wubbzy Sticker Sheets
M80 | Great printable Wubbzy images (*great to set the stage for a Wubbzy Party)

Wow! Wo! Wubbzy! Videoblogs and Webcast
Frederator Studios | Talk to the Snail
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Wubcast [* video webcast]
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! production blog and webcast

Wubbzy Coloring Pages & Activities
Nick Jr. | Wow! Wow! Wubbzy Free printables and colouring sheets
Kids Turn Central | Wubbzy Coloring Book [*PDF download]
Amazon | Discounted Wubbzy Activity Books

I know very little about parenting, the number of questions, curiosities and perplexities of being a solid Dad and raising healthy kids is breath-taking. That said, through the natural course of trial and error, as well as shear repetition you will learn things about about babies and about you and your wife- good, bad and otherwise.

I have spent almost five years, along-side my wife in the trenches, as they like to say, taking care of the kids. Here are five simple Dad Hacks for parents of infants, babies and young children that may help some parents make their day that a little easier.

1. Changing Diapers – give them a toy (to distract them and keep there hands busy) and lift their legs from under their knees to reduce strain on their knees and ankles, opposed to the ankle grab.

2. Baby Fashion Faux Pas – never get a shirt with your kids name on it, you are giving pedophiles (and general Bad Guys) way too much information about your kid.

3. Is Baby Tired? – ever find yourself trying to figure out whether or not you kid is hungry, tired or needs to be changed? If I need to figure out if my baby is tired I hold them and stand in front of a mirror with them facing the mirror, if they turn away from their own gaze- it is nap time! Try it.

4. I.C.E. – In Case of Emergency (I.C.E.), put an entry in your every cell phone on your Family Plan (Mom, Dad + Kids) with an emergency number in case of an accident so the Paramedic, Firefighter or Police can reach your family as quick as possible in case something dreadful happens to you or a loved one. They will look for it in your address book.

Also, studies say men’s wallets with baby pictures in them have a 88% better chance of being returned, so if you don’t have any pictures in there maybe you should.

5. Bag of Tricks – I have found it to be priceless to grab a small action figure, matchbox car before leaving the hose with the kids when going out to run errands with them. In case you find yourself standing in line at the post office and the kid needs a distraction, I have something in my pocket.

The key is to keep them item as a surprise and hang onto it until they are at the end of their ‘rope’. If it is a well chosen toy, it may keep them entertained long enough to get to the front of the line. I also keep sheets of paper in my glove compartment for the same reason. In case of a parking lot emergency, I can whip out a couple sheets of paper and fashion a triangle football or paper airplane to entertain them while Mom runs in-n-out of a store while I wait in the car with the kids.

PayJR.Com has an allowance system that is based on paying your kid’s allowance vis a vis a refillable Gift Card, specifically a Target Gift Card, branded as a PayJR. Visa Buxx Card. Parents can use this system to their benefit because it is complete with custom a Chore Chart and email notifications for both kid and parent.

Personally, I think this would work best if employed with a built in matching system. That is, what ever they earn on their Buxx Card will be matched in their savings account, this way they are learn about healthy money management.

We recently purchased a trundle for our oldest (4.5 yrs.) and middle (2.5 yrs.) children to complete the transition of our third into his nursery/bedroom. We quickly decided we wanted to get something that is going to be durable and safe enough to weather their active young years but not cost us too much money. At the time, we seem to be finding stuff in the $1000-$1700 range and felt we could find what we wanted for less.

Looking back, I am glad we found something local because well made solid wood beds are heavy and the shipping cost would have killed us in the end. Don’t buy a bed frame on line unless it is an amazing deal, even still you will be paying an arm-n-leg for shipping, I guarantee it. At the local Costco we got ours for just over $500 (tax included) and another $100 for a quality twin mattress. A similar Cafe Kid trundle bed is listed online for as much as $937.50 (tax and shipping not included)!

The Cafe Kid brand has proven to be our wisest furniture purchase yet. With solid wood dove-tail construction and non-toxic veneers and lead-free paints it seems we have a good understanding of what heirloom quality means now, not that it will really make it to the next generation but it should last this one. Regardless, it is a solid piece of furniture that I would recommend.

The Gangsta Rap Coloring Book is just as it sounds: a series of images in thick black lines of the most popular gangsta rappers from hip-hop. The juxtaposition of hard-core thugs portrayed through a children’s medium made this book an underground hit in Aye Jay Moreno’s first, self-published edition. Now expanded from 20 to 48 pages to include even more of the music’s superstars, this collection is a witty hall of fame of gangsta rap.

Happy Squash Toys are all entirely hand-crafted by Jim and Jenise from Hillard, Ohio, they’re a true ‘Mom & Pop’ operational. They make wonderfully original designs, never from a pattern. All toys are made of poplar wood with oak axles and all paints and finishes are applied by hand and are lead free and non-toxic.

Seems that the legislation that was recently enacted to protect us the Consumer from lead-filled toys puts the smaller toy makers at risk. The third-party testing portion of the bill adds a costly leg to the toy-making process for companies like this and may squeeze many of them out of business. While lobbists and industry are busy raising fists at each other, we should be helping out the small companies that consistently craft good safe stuff. There are two great reasons to shop from a place like Happy Squash, they make unique & safe hand-crafted toys at a good price and we need to support these smaller shops anyway we can or they will simply disappear.

HappySquashToys @ Etsy.Com

Related Articles:
Star Tribune | New toy-safety laws are no game for toymakers
Washington Examiner | Washington toy story shows why regulation help the big guy

The latest report from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) indicates that there were reports of seven fireworks-related deaths and an estimated 7,000 hospital emergency room treated injuries in 2008. In 2007, CPSC had reports of eleven deaths and an estimated 9,800 injuries. Injuries have declined but safe practice and common sense are paramount this holiday season.

The CPSC has teamed up with the Justice Department to enforce the legal sale and distribution of fireworks. Last month, a federal judge sentenced Jon Cea and Vincent Cea to 24 months and 36 months in federal prison, after they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in explosive materials, involving the illegal sale of more than 1,000 pounds of explosives. The defendants and their customers were not licensed, yet they purchased and sold professional display fireworks.

While the federal and state government remain committed to stopping the manufacture and sale of illegal fireworks, the CPSC has issued a press release encouraging consumers who decide to purchase legal fireworks to:

• Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks.

• Make sure fireworks are legal in your area before buying or using them.

• Avoid buying fireworks that come in brown paper packaging, as this can often be a sign that the fireworks were made for professional displays and could pose a danger to consumers.

• Adults should always supervise fireworks activities. Parents often don’t realize that there are many injuries from sparklers to children under five. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees – hot enough to melt some metals.

• Never have any portion of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Move back a safe distance immediately after lighting.

• Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not fully functioned.

• Never point or throw fireworks at another person.

• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap.

• Light one item at a time, then move back quickly.

• Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers.

• After fireworks fully complete their functioning, douse the spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding to prevent a trash fire.

Of course, the safest way to celebrate the festivities is by going to your local fireworks display. If you live in Los Angeles county follow the link below to find out where and when they are showing.

Sited Articles:
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission | Press Release
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission | Press Release [video]

Helpful Links:
Fireworks Shows in LA County [schedule]
Safe July 4th