UrbanBaby Buzz
Judging by all the 8/8/08 weddings, numero ocho is one lucky digit.
The folks at Grasshopper Design in New Zealand picked up on the auspicious trend for their Och-o children’s furniture. This simple upholstered form fits into that modern, minimalist home that is surprisingly child-friendly (or at least, child tolerant).
OK, the international shipping is almost half as much as the $499 price tag, but who said good fortune didn’t cost…well, a fortune?
Available at urbanatics.com.
If you’ve chosen a vintage look for your nursery or children’s room, Moonlight and Roses’ glittery vintage board art is the perfect accessory. The boards ($37) come in a variety of themes, including fairy vignettes, puffy cherubs, and realistic animal portraits. But our favorites are in the “Animal Antics” collection: dear little hedgehogs driving cars, kittens performing at a circus, bunnies about to take baths. Hey, it beats the poker-playing dogs.
Available at moonlightandroses.com.
With a company name like “Peek…Aren’t You Curious?” how can you resist having a looksie? Especially if you know that this particular online shop has some of the most stylish baby and kids clothes around.
Not enough to tear you away from the gossip blogs on your lunch hour? Think Liberty-print dresses with matching bloomers, tanks and soft cotton sweaters with subtle details (delicate ribbing, ruffled edges) often missing from children’s apparel. Suffice it to say that the brand’s founders, veterans of The Gap and Lucky Brand Jeans, totally know what they’re doing.
The moral: Letting curiosity get the better of you, as any Gawker-Perez-TMZ devotee knows, can be a really good thing.
Available at peekarentyoucurious.com.
Some might call it a plasma or LCD, but in your house it’s “Super Nanny.” How else can you describe a device that never calls in sick or fails to keep kids blissfully occupied? Of course there’s the guilt associated with rubber-stamping all that SpongeBob and studies that suggest too much tube can lead to behavioral problems. So how do you curb the habit?
With the TV Time kit. It includes a piggy bank-like box, 15-minute sand timer and tickets good for 15-minutes worth of television or a DVD. When a child wants to watch something, she has to flip the timer and put a ticket in the box — the gig is up when the week’s allotted tickets are gone. Designed for 2 to 5-year-olds, the system can also work with older kids, especially when it comes to limiting video games and Internet surfing.
Who knows — it may even help with someone’s late-night Bravo addiction.
Available at mytvtime.com.
There are moments in life when you need to hear those three, all-important little words: “No assembly required.” Like the next time you go furniture shopping after a humbling all-nighter spent piecing together your daughter’s dresser from 999 disparate parts.
Of course with kids’ furnishings, there are additional concerns: You want the items to be simple and stylish, preferably with rounded edges and non-toxic finishes. Eco Tots’ line, which includes an adorable, pint-size easel, coat rack and table and chairs, has all of this in spades. Plus each is made from sustainably harvested wood and — by George they’ve done it — big pieces that fit together easily and lock in place, no tools or hardware needed.
So you’re finished in a few minutes — and you don’t have to bring your Bob Vila game.
Available at ecotots.com.
Amongst the many pleasures of playing with Play-Doh is its mysterious, ineffable, instantly recognizable scent. You could never smell it for the next 50 years, then take one tiny whiff, and you’d know immediately what you were smelling.
Perhaps the significant fathers on your Father’s Day list would appreciate being transported back to childhood with a spray or two of Play-Doh cologne. One sniff and it’s instant nostalgia. But don’t take too long making up your mind to buy a bottle; the scent was only produced in a limited edition for Play-Doh’s 50th anniversary.
Available at demeterfragrance.com.
May is National Salad Month, which means that now is the time to start eating healthy (summer wardrobe, notwithstanding). In honor of radicchio and romaine, below are some links that may come in handy.
Judging by the looks of her mashed potato tower, you may have an artiste on your hands. Too bad you chucked all the markers — sweet smelling but toxic — from the toy bin.
Eco-dough is an all-natural alternative to smelly, sticky sculpting clays. The handmade dough is gluten, dairy and soy free (for all those glue-eating kids out there) and can be revived with just a little olive oil. The gift bag comes with a bamboo rolling pin and reusable flour sack for five unscented colors like mango and lemon.
It’ll be putty in your hands.
Available at ecokids.com.
You’ve taught your kid not to trade lunches, no matter how tempting that fluffernutter looks. Not only is his turkey-and-tomato ‘wich lower on the sugar scale, but his allergies forbid foreign foods.
Keep his snacks in check: STAT Kids makes customized lunch bags that can be personalized not only with a name, but health alert (peanut allergy, no soy, asthma, diabetes). The insulated poly bags will blend in with the other lunch boxes on the playground, but help keep risky business at bay.
Which gives you more time to bake gluten-free cupcakes.
Available at statkids.com.
The Skip Hop Palette Plate Feeding Set ($28) seems cleverly calculated to appeal to kids and their parents. For the parents: the set’s designed to look like a artist’s palette. For the kid: little containers that keep food separated. This is of primary importance, because you know if the peas touch the mashed potatoes, Armageddon will follow. And hey, you never know, maybe the tiny-bites-of-this-and-that will actually convince your kid to eat. If not, the set comes with cup-covers so you can throw the whole thing in the refrigerator for later.
Available at skiphop.com.
