It goes without saying that children love to squeeze food. Check out the grocery store and you no doubt have noticed a trend towards squeezable kids’ food (squeezable yogurt, anyone?) So your child is not into carrot sticks? No problem. Pair them with a squeezable black bean dip and watch those carrots disappear. Squeezable black bean dip? Yep.

Thanks to Malcolm Kushner, author of “California Squisine,” children everywhere can have fun squeezing healthy and delicious dressings, sauces and dips onto foods they may otherwise be resistant to eating. Squisine (the combination of the words ’squeeze’ and ‘cuisine’) refers to “any food that you squeeze out of a tube, bag, plastic bottle or any other squeezable container.” So, that ketchup packet open and squeezed onto a burger; the honeybear squeezed to add honey to tea; or balsamic vinaigrette squeezed onto a salad — that’s all squisine. Read the rest »

Several years ago, John Young was watching a football game and made a grocery run with his toddler during halftime. He figured it was a quick trip, so he left the diaper bag back at home with his wife. The inevitable, “Daddy, I have to go potty” had him running for the nearest restroom. Once there, the unthinkable happened, John lost his grip on his child and the little one ended up to his armpits in the toilet. Not a pretty sight. It was then that the idea for the Potty Hammock was born. Read the rest »

Are you concerned that your kids are watching too much TV, playing too many video games or surfing the Internet when they could be outside playing? Maybe you have young children and are interested in instilling good habits from the go. Or maybe your little ones are too young for TV, but they love to push those buttons! BOB may be just the guy, errr tool, you’ve been waiting for. And if you’re living in the US, your children are watching on average 3-5 hours of television a day, much more than the recommended 2 hour daily maximum the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests.

“I realized that my children weren’t enjoying the same kind of playtime I had valued as a child,” said Tom Gallop, CEO and co-founder of Hopscotch Technology. “My children were watching nearly 20 hours of television a week! We set out to build a device that helps parents manage the use of media by their children,” and the solution, BOB, does just that. Read the rest »

Do your children love to build forts? Have you been the victim of the $25 pop-up fort that lasts about an hour in the hands of your kids before bent plastic pipes and ripped fabric make it just one more thing to add to the trash? Thanks to Lori and Leslie of Tee Pee for Me there is a better way.

Stay at home moms Lori and Leslie met at a neighborhood cookie party and hit it off. “(W)e did not know it until years later but we were both thinking that we were the only normal ones in the room,” says Leslie, co-founder of Tee Pee for Me. The idea of creating a tee pee was inspired by their own children’s fort building, which often left their houses a mess. Eighteen months and many prototypes, fabrics and late night pow-wows in the cul-de-sac later, their first style - the original Wild West Red - was born. Read the rest »

When it comes to money, are you a saver, spender, or giver? You’re probably all three, but if you’re like most Americans, I bet I know which one you are better at. As a parent, you know that making your children financially responsible is important, but it isn’t easy… especially if you weren’t born with the ‘money-gene’ yourself. Enter the LearningCents Bank.

Designed by two moms in Atlanta, the three compartment bank has space for money to Save, Spend and Give. The compartments are clear so kids can see their money grow which is a nice improvement on the ‘how much do I have in there’ problem inherent in the old-fashioned piggy bank. Read the rest »

Think it’s possible to create a thoughtful, milestone-filled, beautiful baby book for your child in less than an hour? Do you have a baby book box to store photos and scraps of paper with milestones and first words hastily scribbled on them and sitting somewhere nearby, an empty baby book? If you’re a Clever Parent who is short on time and energy, but don’t want your baby book to reflect that then Big Day Books is for you. Read the rest »

Got someone you’re proud of? We bet you do. And if you’re proud of someone, there is no reason not to show that pride. And if you have some pride to show, the moms at Yard Art Designs have you covered. Yard Art Designs manufactures personalized yard and wall signs to celebrate your child, your family, your team, or your school. Yard Art signs are made with outdoor ink on an adhesive vinyl mounted to hardboard that is treated to be weather resistant. Each Yard Art sign also comes with a stake to mount and stick in the ground. Wall Art pieces are identical except smaller, ready to mount on a wall and without the stake. Categories include every sport and activity imaginable from football and baseball to gymnastics and cheerleading. Plus there a school related signs for honor societies and choral groups. There are also signs for first communions, bar/bat mitzvahs, birthdays, and baby announcements. The baby announcements are also available as canvas wall art for a softer look and feel. Each sign can be personalized with names, colors, mascot, dates and more. Read the rest »