Review: Elf on the Shelf – A Christmas Tradition
November 21, 2008 by cbowman
Filed under Product Reviews
Looking for a way to help your little ones to behave during the holidays?
Here’s a fun Christmas tradition for you. Get The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition Elf on the Shelf Gift Set!
Starting Dec. 1, your elf will appear on a shelf in your home. Each night, he will report to Santa whether your kids are naughty or nice. The next morning, he will reappear on a different shelf. It’s such a surprise to see where he ends up. Try it and see for yourself! Your kids are sure to behave this holiday season.
Created by mother-daughter team, Carol Aebersold and Chandra Bell, the box set comes with an elf, activities book, and instructions for parents.
Ford Feature Helps Parents Limit Teen Speeding
October 7, 2008 by cbowman
Filed under Product Reviews
Good news, parents of tweens and teens!
Ford Motor Co. is rolling out a brilliant new feature on many 2010 models that will allow you to limit your teenager’s driving to 80 mph! You can also program your teen’s key to limit the volume of the audio system and to ring a chime if she doesn’t buckle up.
The feature is called “MyKey” and will available late next summer starting with the 2010 Focus coup.
More than 5,000 U.S. teens die each year in car crashes. The rate of crashes, fatal and nonfatal, per mile driven for 16-year-old drivers is almost 10 times the rate for drivers ages 30 to 59, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
For more information, click here.
The Stroller Queen
October 6, 2008 by cbowman
Filed under Product Reviews
According to MSNBC.com, Americans will spend $500 million on baby strollers this year. With so many on the market, how can you choose?
Call Janet McLaughlin–better known as the Stroller Queen to legion of fans. McLaughlin helps families navigate the stroller jungle. As the owner of over 200 strollers, she is the reigning queen of Strollerland.
A true “mompreneur,” McLaughlin’s praises and curses have singlehandedly influenced the fast-growing, high-end stroller market. She consults with companies and individuals on picking out the right stroller for them.
She has been featured in “New Yorker” magazine, CBS News “Early Show”, the “TODAY” Show, the “Wall Street Journal”, the “New York Times” and other media outlets.
Check out McLaughlin’s website. For a small fee, you can download her review of the latest crop of strollers hitting stores. For a good laugh, you can read her 12-part series of essays, “Adventures in Strollerland.” This hilarious saga explains how McLaughlin (and her long-suffering husband) ended up owning such a large and growing collection.
New Study: Many Booster Seats Don’t Improve Safety Belt Fit
October 2, 2008 by cbowman
Filed under Product Reviews
The Crash Test Dummies have “spoken”
On October 1, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute published the results of their study on the effectiveness of booster seats.
Researchers evaluated the safety belt fit – not crash protection – because booster seats simply position children so that lap and shoulder belts are in the right place to restrain them. However, 13 of the 41 belt-positioning boosters seats evaluated aren’t up to the job.
Best Bets:
- Graco TurboBooster backless with clip
- Fisher-Price Safe Voyage backless with clip
- Combi Kobuk backless with clip
- Fisher-Price Safe Voyage
Britax Parkway- LaRoche Bros. Teddy Bear
- Safeguard Go backless with clip
- Volvo booster cushion
- Recaro Young Style
- Britax Monarch
Good Bets:
- Graco TurboBooster
- Safety Angel Ride Ryte
- Recaro Young Sport
- Combi Kobuk
- Safety 1st/Dorel Apex 65
Not Recommended:
- Safety Angel Ride Ryte backless
- Cosco/Dorel (Eddie Bauer) Summit
- Graco CarGo Zephyr
- Evenflo Big Kid Confidence
- Cosco/Dorel Traveler
- Compass B505
- Compass B510
- Evenflo Generations
- Dorel/Safety 1st (Eddie Bauer) Prospect
- Cosco Highback Booster
- Cosco/Dorel Alpha Omega
- Evenflo Chase Comfort Touch
- Safety 1st/Dorel Intera
Note: Unless the booster name indicates that it is a backless seat, all boosters are highbacks. To read the entire study, click here.
Also, to read Valley Parent’s article, Car Seat 101, click here.
