BabyBitz

If you've had a child or know someone who has one, chances are quite good that you've seen a baby play mat.

Baby play mats come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and styles. They may have activities attached or be part of a baby play gym. There are literally hundreds of play mats that are available and appropriate for a baby.

Babies need lots of stimulation to develop their senses. Bright colors and patterns attract the eye, textures encourage the sense of touch, and rattles or noise makers attached to play mats make a baby learn the correlation between touching a toy that rattles and hearing a sound. Baby products like play mats encourage infants to learn and explore their immediate surroundings in complete safety.

Many baby play mats have soft comfortable bumper pads so the infant cannot roll or bounce into an unsafe environment. This type of product becomes the equivalent of a playground park for a toddler or young child. It provides a safe play area for babies to enjoy, explore, and play in when under supervision of an adult.

While these mats come in many colors and styles, almost without exception, they come in bright prints that stimulate the brain and please the eyes. Prints with animals, cars and trucks, toys, and geometric shapes give babies a chance to learn about their environment. Some prints and patterns are textured giving babies another sense to learn from. Their tiny fingers quickly learn which textures they enjoy touching the most and will continually return to those tactile pleasing areas.

There are even infant play mats that have shapes that play music when touched. Music is a wonderful developmental activity to encourage in your baby.

To stimulate hand and eye coordination, many play mats include squeaky toys either on top or within the construction of the mat. Babies learn, at first by accident, that when they press or smack a toy, a squeak or noise happens. An infant enjoys listening to squeaky noises and soon figures out how to make that noise happen again and again. This keeps a baby entertained, active, and constantly learning as they roll about on their soft and comfortable play mats.

Other great infant play mats may provide soft attached toys to hold or mouth while laying down. Still others come with soft coverings that may rise up from the mat for more playtime and learning enjoyment.

Parents don't have to worry about portability since most play mats just fold or roll and they are ready to go wherever the baby goes. No matter what kind of baby play mat you are looking for, you can be sure that it will stimulate all of your babies' senses of sight, touch, and hearing.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

When considering a baby walker, wooden ones add both charm and safety to your baby's first precious steps. Wooden baby products are making a resurgance due to concerns about exposure to chemicals in plastic and lead paints. As a result, the wooden baby walker is increasing in popularity and becoming easier to find.

As the parent of a toddler, I feel good knowing that a walker made from wood is more earth-friendly and less toxic for my baby. Also, this product is likely to sit around the house for at least a year, and a handcrafted walker looks more like a charming piece of furniture than a large piece of plastic. These walkers can be either made by a local woodworker or purchased from a retailer that sells natural baby toys.

Baby walkers made of wood should feel sturdier and less tippy than plastic ones. Therefore, babies can get farther and quickly increase their confidence. Look for a walker with a wide wheel-base and a good amount of weight in the bottom to make it easier for small babies to pull up to a standing position without crashing the walker to the floor.

The wood construction also increases the likelihood that the walker's handle will be height adjustable. This excellent feature allows the walker to be used longer for a growing baby.

Additionally, look for a walker with wheels that have adjustable tension. This way, a baby that is just starting can go slow, and babies that are ready can go fast. Also, the wheel tension should be adjusted to tighter for hard floors and looser for carpet.

Tires that click when the walker is pushed add excitement and catch a toddler's interest. My toddler likes to turn the toy upside-down and push the tires just to hear the clicking sound.

Walkers that include an additional source of entertainment will increase interest and be enjoyed longer. My walker has a set of wooden blocks that are stored in a tray. Children will continue to push this toy around the house and build towers with the blocks well past the beginning walking stage.

Plan Toys makes a good baby walker that is available through several natural toy retailers. This traditional walker is nicely painted with a big smiley face on the front, and it includes a set of wooden blocks. Plan Toys also assures that all of the paint used for its products is non-toxic.

When your baby is ready to start walking, take the time to enjoy those precious few crawling months, and purchase a wooden baby walker to start your child's first strides with safety and charm in mind.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi,
Just want some clarification to make sure...
We're hiring a car and getting taxis in various places in Australia in the coming weeks. Have requested a car seat for our 7 month old baby. They seem to call a car seat a "baby capsule", so just wondering what the difference is (if any) between a baby capsule and a car seat. Particularly a UK car seat.
Thanks.

Let's set some ground rules:
•No animals. Of any kind- dead or alive.
•Nothing that could hurt people. For example, baby oil in the hallway- a big no no. People could trip and fall.
•Nothing with a HUGE cleanup. That is just no fun for everyone. •Nothing to do with food either- we have a huge mice/pest problem.
•Let's keep it cheap.

Some things you should know about my school:
•We're in NYC, Manhattan to be specific.
•The building is 10 floors and has two gyms, a big one and a small one.
•We have about 1,200 students. 75% girls.
•Some of the faculty have a good sense of humor, others don't.

I was thinking that we could coat the sidewalk in front of the entrance with birdseed, like seriously coat it a 1/2 hour before school starts, then go get breakfast, come back, and pretend to be surprised.

Or flood the bathroom sinks on every floor and fill them with rubber duckies, the toilets too.

ORRR taping the lockers on each floor shut with a huge strip of duct tape.

Do you have any more ideas?
Lol, its Manhattan man. Pigeons galore.
Well Sara I'm sorry they're "gay" but I don't want to be expelled or have my college acceptance revoked over a freaking prank. Okay? Okay.

Let's set some ground rules:
•No animals. Of any kind- dead or alive.
•Nothing that could hurt people. For example, baby oil in the hallway- a big no no. People could trip and fall.
•Nothing with a HUGE cleanup. That is just no fun for everyone. •Nothing to do with food either- we have a huge mice/pest problem.
•Let's keep it cheap.

Some things you should know about my school:
•We're in NYC, Manhattan to be specific.
•The building is 10 floors and has two gyms, a big one and a small one.
•We have about 1,200 students. 75% girls.
•Some of the faculty have a good sense of humor, others don't.

I was thinking that we could coat the sidewalk in front of the entrance with birdseed, like seriously coat it a 1/2 hour before school starts, then go get breakfast, come back, and pretend to be surprised.

Or flood the bathroom sinks on every floor and fill them with rubber duckies, the toilets too.

ORRR taping the lockers on each floor shut with a huge strip of duct tape.

Do you have any more ideas?
Lol, its Manhattan man. Pigeons galore.
Well Sara I'm sorry they're "gay" but I don't want to be expelled or have my college acceptance revoked over a freaking prank. Okay? Okay.

This is an honest marketing research question, not spam. Since I'm going to be a grandfather in about 5 months, I thought it might be fun to offer unusual designs for baby bibs and baby clothes. The problem is that whatever I think is cool and hip might not be cool and hip to others.

For example, do people like "cutesy" baby stuff, like "I love grandma," or do they prefer Gothic designs? How important is being able to add personalization (names or monograms) to the products?

I would like to get as many responses to this question as possible, so I can make a wide variety of options available.

To get an idea of the very few concepts I have currently, look at http://www.coolbabycool.com.

Thanks!

it is irritating me. she takes a bite of her food, then licks/chews on her harness strap on the chair. so you can imagine how messy it is. any suggestions??