Parents Know Best

It's hip to be square

2008-07-23T20:21:00Z

Score another point for the “simpler is better” team—despite being super simple, kids love the game Kubit2me. All you need to play Kubit2me is the included plush cube and cards—you can’t get more basic than that. Three different game sets are available, Lil’ Scholars for ages 3 and up, Truth or Dare for ages 8 and up and Now You’re Talkin’ for ages 10 and up. We had a kindergarten class try out the Lil’ Scholars set, which teaches letters, numbers and counting. To play, each kid pulls a card from one of the cube’s pockets, answers the question on the card and then tosses it to the next player. The teacher said the kids loved the pockets and had fun tossing the cube, which also promoted the idea of taking turns. The Lil’ Scholars set also includes reward stickers, which are placed in the cube’s hidden inner compartment, to encourage kids along with the game. We have to admit, the cube is pretty cute and anything that holds up after being played with by 32 kindergarteners gets a gold sticker in our book.

Kubit2me is retails for $24.99. Bonus boxes of additional game cards retail for $8.99. Order off the Web site at www.kubit2me.com, where you can also find even more questions to print for free.

Safety first, fun a close second

2008-07-22T18:26:00Z

When little ones start walking, and then running, your house can suddenly become full of unexpected dangers. Your coffee table, for instance, that previously seemed so innocent is now a hard surface with sharp corners that can cause cuts, bumps and bruises on your increasingly mobile child. That’s where the ABC Fun Pad comes in. This two-sided pad adds a layer of padding on those pesky tables, covering edges and corners to make them safe for even the most rambunctious toddler.

Our testing mom is also the owner of a day care and tried out the Fun Pad with her five charges, ages 2-7. She said it held up well with the kids and that they loved both the grey side, which they can draw on with washable markers, and the City Adventure side with a map of streets and buildings. She also liked that it was so easy to use—just stretch the pad around the table and you’re done. Plus it’s washable, which is also a necessity with little kids. The only worry is that the youngest kids might think it’s OK to draw on all tables, not just the one with the special washable pad.

The ABC Fun Pad retails for $49.95. For more information or to order visit www.abcfunpads.com.

The write stuff

2008-07-18T19:28:00Z

As a parent you’ve probably read dozens of books to your kids, but nothing beats reading a story written by your child for the first time. Just seeing how their little imaginations work is fascinating. Think It Ink It lets kids write their own story and have it published in a hardcover book. Although it looks a lot more professional than a homemade storybook, there’s still something to be said for the handwritten versions.

Our testing mom tried out the Think It Ink It kit with her two kids, ages 6 and 8, who love to write their own stories. Here’s how the kit works—kids write their own story to a set of pre-determined illustrations. You can choose from four sets of pictures, in this case the kids wrote a story to drawings of a girl who discovers a friendly group of bees in her backyard, and either write out the story by hand and mail it to the company or go online and type it in. The mom said her kids were able to incorporate their own personal likes and dislikes into the story, but her son was frustrated at the lack of boy characters. They also didn’t really feel like they were writing their own story since the illustrations were already set. Plus the book took several weeks to arrive in the mail. They did like the dedication page and the ability to put their photos on the dust jacket, however. All in all, our testing mom said there are other kits out there that allow kids more creative license that she, and her kids, like better.

Think It Ink It retails for $29.95. For more information visit www.thinkitinkitpublishing.com.

Oh boy!

2008-07-17T21:06:00Z

As a girly mom with a 6-week-old baby boy at home, I sometimes wonder what it’s going to be like raising a little boy when I know so little about them (right now it’s pretty simple—keep him fed, changed and let him look at the lights around the house and he’s happy). It seems the founder of BoyMom Designs feels the same way—she created a line of adorable T-shirts for moms of the male gender (a.k.a. BoyMoms). My personal favorites are the “We Fight Bad Guys,” “Toy Army Man” and “boymoms rock” (pictured above) shirts. Each design proudly proclaims the fact that boys are part of your family while still being clearly designed for women. The sizes do run a little small, though, so keep that in mind when ordering.

When you do order, you can feel good about your purchase because a portion of the proceeds are donated to a charity that benefits orphans in Southeast Asia. The company also plans to introduce eco-totes, coordinating mom and baby/toddler outfits and day planners in the near future, which are sure to be just as adorable.

All BoyMom shirts come in small, medium and large sizes, with some shirts also available in XL and 2XL. Prices range from $28-$38 each. Visit www.boymomdesigns.com to order or for more information.

Shake it up

2008-07-16T20:32:00Z

Although I didn’t necessarily have specific cravings while I was pregnant, my sweet tooth certainly didn’t diminish at all, either. Of course, when you’re trying to avoid packing on too many pounds, grabbing a candy bar or cookie whenever you need something sweet isn’t really the best option. That’s why I loved Bellybar’s line of shakes. Available in Due for Chocolate and Vanilla Dreams flavors, both contain lots of stuff that is good for pregnant ladies, including calcium, Omega-3 DHA, protein, fiber, vitamin B12 and folic acid.

With all those added vitamins, I was worried about the taste not being so great. Both flavors were very tasty, however, and they definitely hit the spot when I was looking for a sweet snack. The shakes are shelf stable, but the company recommends serving them chilled or over ice (I put mine in the refrigerator for a couple of hours).

Bellybar Shakes retail for $9.99-$11.99 for a pack of four and are available at select Babies “R” Us stores and at store.babycenter.com. For more information visit www.bellybarproducts.com.

Batter up!

2008-07-11T16:36:00Z

For anyone who enjoys playing the Wii, Backyard Baseball is the next big game. Batting with the required numchuk is the most fun for kids. The fielding and pitching might be a little more difficult.

It features all the Major League teams plus some of the superstars for MLB as kids playing along with great Backyard players. There’s even an unlockable player, Babe Ruth, and unlockable fields.

After playing this game, we found anyone can play and enjoy this game from the ages 7-adult. So, if anyone is looking for a great baseball game for kids, this is the one.

Backyard Baseball 2009 for Nintendo Wii, by Humongous Entertainment, $39.99, available in stores now. For more information, visit www.backyardsports.com.

Portable guitar hero lets kids take the show on the road

2008-07-03T20:32:00Z

Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS. This game proved to be a big hit for all three of my kids, whose ages range from 10-14. It took a few minutes for the youngest to figure out how to work the game, but once she got the hang of it she played until her hand was too cramped to go on. Then the game system was passing off to her 12-year-old sister and 14-year-old brother, who are fans of the Wii’s Guitar Hero. Players can chose to start out with slow, easy songs and work their way into harder sets, making this a game that can appeal to a wide range of ages.

Setting up the game was simple—there’s a plug-in attachment with four color-coded buttons that coordinate with the guitar keys on the screen and a pick-stylus. Kids can play along with classic rock, alternative and pop favorites. Like other DS games, Guitar Hero lets players interact by doing things like blowing into the microphone to extinguish pyrotechnics gone wrong or using the touch screen to autograph a fan’s shirt in the middle of their set. If you have more than one DS in the house, kids can challenge each other in a guitar duel or play together in co-op mode.

Guitar Hero: On Tour is rated E10+. The game and the guitar grip bundle retail for $49.99. For more information, check the Web site at guitarheroontour.com.

Broken Bone, Healed Summer Spirit

2008-06-27T18:44:00Z

Broken bones can be such a bummer, especially if you like taking showers or going swimming.

We tested the Dry Pro during spring break in Florida. It really worked. My 12-year-old son went from beached because of a broken hand to waterlogged over the six days.
Dry Pro kept the cast dry, just as it said it would. You simply slip the rubber latex sleeve over the cast, pump out the air with a little hand pump that disconnects and hit the water. When you’re done, slip it off, dry it (we found it is better to turn it inside out to dry since otherwise it has a tendency to smell) and it’s ready to use another time. My son liked being able to swim, but didn’t like having to wear the bright blue sleeve because he said it made his arm sweat. He also didn’t like the attention it brought—so many people came up to us asking about it and wanted to know where to get one, too.

The Dry Pro retails for $35.95-$39.95 for arm covers and $36.95-40.95 for leg covers. Price varies based on size and half or full limb coverage. For more information or to order, go to www.drycorp.com.

Oh Mama! My belly!

2008-06-19T17:27:00Z

Unless you’re one of a very lucky few, odds are you experienced at least some stomach troubles while you were pregnant. While the experience is different for every expectant mom, for me it meant feeling nauseas throughout the day during most of my first trimester. During that time, anything that would make me feel better was a godsend and for awhile I turned to ginger ale almost daily. Had it been available at the time, I would have loved to have Oh Mama’s! Ginger Ale Elixir to calm my queasy stomach.

Each can of “elixir” contains ginger ale with lemon and vitamin B6, both of which are said to help ease nausea. Plus you get 100 percent of your RDA of folic acid. I tried some of this beverage during my last trimester, when some of my stomach issues had returned (though thankfully not to the same degree), and I have to say it did help me feel better and it tastes like normal ginger ale with just a hint of citrus. If you’re dealing with the unpleasantness of morning, afternoon or evening sickness, it’s definitely worth a try. Even if it doesn’t work for you, you’ll at least get some vitamins in the process.

Oh Mama! Ginger Ale Elixir retails for just under $2 a can or $6.99-$7.49 for a pack of four. For more information visit www.ohmamabar.com.

Knock it off!

2008-06-12T16:26:00Z

When you come home from the beach, you’ll generally find the back seat of your car has transformed itself into a sandbox, no matter how hard you try to towel off your tykes. Next time you head to the beach, try using the Powder Pouch after your play date with the sand.

The 100 percent cotton pouch is filled with talc or cornstarch, which helps wipe away the sand by knocking the granules off your body. Before each use, gently toss the pouch in your hand a couple of times and begin wiping away the sand. The pouch’s Velcro closure makes it easy to refill and the drawstring storage sack that comes with it ensures that you don’t have powder covering the inside of your beach bag. The bags come in three different camouflage colors and are pre-filled. Powder Pouch is available for $9.99 on the Web site, www.powderpouch.com.

They're the cheesiest!

2008-06-03T17:53:00Z

Here in the office, we’ve always thought that the blue box goodness found in Kraft Macaroni and Cheese could only be found during meal time in noodle form. Recently the nice folks at Kraft sent us a box of Macaroni and Cheese Crackers to try out and you can imagine our excitement since we thoroughly enjoy snack time.

Snacking on the crackers proved relatively guilt-free as the puffed macaroni-shaped crackers are baked and made with real cheddar cheese. We were happy to find that the crackers had a nice cheesy crunch that didn’t leave a greasy trail on our hands, something we’ve found from snacking on other types of cheese crackers. The taste was pleasantly cheesy that didn’t leave behind any weird aftertaste.

There are three flavors of Macaroni and Cheese Crackers, which includes cheddar (which we tested), white cheddar and mild cheddar. One box retails at $2.99 and can be found in most grocery stores. The only downside we could find -- we couldn’t keep our hands out of the box.

Write the right way

2008-05-30T22:32:00Z

The end of the school year may be just around the corner, but there’s always time to improve your little one’s handwriting (if not for this year, then for next). Although some people are just destined to have less-than-perfect handwriting, being able to correctly hold your pencil or pen is often half the battle. That’s where the Twist ‘n Write Pencil from Pacific Writing Instruments can help. It’s tripod design makes it pretty much impossible for kids not to hold it correctly.

We had a 5-year-old try this out and even though she was still in the early stages of writing, her mom said it was very easy for her to hold the pencil in the correct position. She even noticed that when her daughter picked up a pen later that she came closer to holding it correctly. The only problem the mom noticed with the pencil was that the eraser didn’t really work. Her daughter loved using the pencil, though, so the eraser trouble wasn’t really noticed.

The Twist ‘n Write Pencil retails for $2 for a pack of two online and is also available at Office Depot, Walgreens and Staples. For more information visit www.penagain.com.

Sometimes simpler is better

2008-05-29T19:53:00Z

Parents Know Best has featured a lot of different games, from board games to card games to video games, and in general, it seems like the simpler the idea, the better. A game doesn’t necessarily need to make noise or require batteries in order to be fun. No Brainer from Hasbro seems to suffer from the “fancier is not always better” problem.

We had a mom and son team (age 7) try it out and unfortunately a problem with the game led to some tears. The idea seems simple enough--put the “brain” on your head and wait for it to ask you a question. Shake your head yes or no to answer the question and the “brain” will tell you if you are indeed correct. Unfortunately, the “brain” wasn’t always accurate in determining whether the player had answered yes or no--the mom estimated that it worked about 80 percent of the time. The biggest problem with this malfunction is that the game increases in level only as long as the answers are correct; one wrong answer sends you back to level one. Eventually the son got so frustrated that he refused to play anymore. The mom then tried the game out herself and while it didn’t malfunction as often as it did when her son was playing, it was still occasionally inaccurate. With all the different games available for kids these days, is it really worth spending money on something that doesn’t work all the time?

No Brainer is recommended for ages 6 and up and retails for $19.99. For more information visit www.hasbro.com.

How we work

2008-05-28T20:23:00Z

If the “Body Worlds” exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry was a must-see for your family or if you have a child who looks forward dissection days at school, then Human Body by John Fardon should be a big hit in your house.

The pages are full of facts about the human body, but the transparent pages are the real draw. You can look at different body systems one by one and then lay the pages down over each other to see how everything fits together. Our testing mom said her daughter loved being able to see all the veins on the transparent pages and also liked the two giant posters that came with the book. So whether your kid is already a biology nut or just has a passing interest, this book can provide hours of educational entertainment.

Human Body, published by Silver Dolphin, is recommended for ages 8 and up and retails for $16.95. For more information or to order, visit www.silverdolphinbooks.com.

Just like mommy

2008-05-27T21:07:00Z

When it comes to toys, kids tend to like anything that lets them do the same things mommy and daddy do, from play money to kid computers to plastic keys. That’s the idea behind the On the Go Mommy’s Calling Soft Driver--the toy includes a soft steering wheel and a plush cell phone that “calls” the steering wheel and says phrase such as “It’s mommy.”

We had a mom with a 3-year-old and 1-year-old try this toy out (the age recommendation is 1 ½ and up). Her 1-year-old loved the noises the steering wheel made, but the small buttons were a little hard for him to push. Her 3-year-old, on the other hand, lost interest in the steering wheel but couldn’t get enough of the cell phone and loved “calling” his brother with it. Mom said that while the music the toy plays gets irritating after a few minutes, the toy did allow for some very peaceful car rides. That’s worth putting up with some grating music, right?

The On the Go Mommy’s Calling Soft Driver is available exclusively at Wal-Mart and retails for $19.96. For more information visit www.mommyandme.com.