Creative play can be messy, but that doesn’t mean that cleaning up has to be a challenge. With the new SlideAway storage system, clean-up time is a breeze!

The SlideAway is a unique toy basket which doubles as a play mat. So how does it work?

Simply dump your toys, like blocks, dolls or those mischievous LEGO bricks that always seem to go astray on to the mat for play time. The play area is surrounded by a small lip to ensure that toys stay on the mat. Once play time is over, all you have to do is pull the basket’s built-in handles and the SlideAway does all the work for you. The mat along with the toys will disappear into the basket until next time.

The creative storage system was designed by parents of five, Adam and Dana Sue Hinkle who obviously discovered a need for a streamlined way to organize and store toys in their own lives.

In addition to the SlideAway Toy Storage Basket and Play Mat which sells for $69.99, their company Creative QT, also offers a smaller On-The-Go Toy Storage Bag and Play Mat. The smaller version, which sells for $20, is perfect for trips to Grandma’s house or storing school supplies.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

All photos: Courtesy of Creative QT

 

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Your child’s favorite time of year is finally here, SUMMER! School is out, and so is the ease of your family’s regular schedule. Say goodbye to your school year routine which likely includes strict wake up and bedtimes, extracurricular activities, and homework. While the end of the school year isn’t all that bad, there’s a chance a lenient summer break schedule can mess with your family’s all-around mental health and well-being. Keep your family’s summer streamlined, and fun (and preserve your sanity along the way) with these summer break survival tips!

Keep a Consistent Routine

A child’s schedule typically consists of some type of routine; a morning routine, bedtime routine, and the routine of going to school, camps, or extracurricular activities in your area. Routines can help kids feel more secure, allowing them to have expectations about what’s to come. They also help to create a sense of responsibility and allows for an easier transition once it’s time to go back to school.

Eat Up!

Review the USDA’s healthy eating approach, MyPlate, with your children and help them create their own meal plans for the week. Work with them to choose from MyPlate and create  meals that meet all of the major food groups. Children who are involved in the creation of their meals are more likely to eat and enjoy, their meals (we’re looking at you, picky eaters!).

Let Them Catch Their zzzz’s

A good night’s sleep not only helps your kids feel refreshed but will also help them feel more alert. So, it’s important that sleep patterns don’t change too much in the summer. If they do have a little more time to play when the sun is out, remember to only extend bedtime by 30-minutes, so they don’t have a hard time adjusting when back-to-school time rolls around.

Map it Out

Create a calendar and map out activities for each day, week, and month of summer vacation. Include things like road trips, camping days, activities and outings, pool parties, and even down time. This way, your children can look at the calendar and anticipate what fun summer activities are coming up. Bonus: it will help keep mom and dad in check too!

By incorporating these snippets of advice into a child’s summer schedule, parents can guarantee that they won’t have to start from scratch once the school year begins.

Experienced Director in Curriculum and Training with a demonstrated history of working in the entertainment, education, health wellness and fitness industry. Skilled in nonprofit organizations, event planning, customer service, franchising, entrepreneurship, coaching and sales. 

Shopping for baby gear can be stressful, confusing and expensive. A new baby and toddler brand wants to streamline the experience and offer luxury items at much lower cost.

Launching today, Lalo has partnered with designers in New York and Scandinavia to create a collection of high-end baby products that grow with your family. The shopping experience on Lalo’s site promises to be streamlined and easy to use. All you have to do is enter your baby’s due date and they’ll have the item delivered to you before your little one arrives. All of their items are also covered by their Family Warranty. It guarantees that you are free to return items up to 100 days after purchase for any reason.

The first product available is The Daily, a sleek, simple stroller that comes with a bassinet, two machine-washable seat liners, a reversible reclining seat, adjustable height and expandable storage. The site also features a visual instruction manual on assembling the stroller, as well as text and video support.

The Daily sells for $715, which is a great price compared to other premium strollers that often require the same accessories to be purchased separately.

The Daily is currently available in three colors, with additional colors and seasonal exclusives releasing in the future. You can order via the Lalo website here.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

All photos: Courtesy of Lalo

 

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It’s no secret that her in the Bay Area we have an app for everything. And because so many of these app creators are in our own back yards, we reap the benefit of getting to try them first. We’ve rounded up 10 game changing apps that were started right here in the Bay that make family life oh, so much easier. Scroll down for the list.

1. LittleFund
It’s never too early to start planning for your child’s financial future, from teaching the value of saving for a coveted toy to socking some dough away for college. But the options are dizzying and can be overwhelming. Littlefund is an incredibly simple way to save, track and even receive monetary gifts for your child. They just launched with a few simple tools to get started saving, and will be adding 529 investment opportunities next.

2. Kango
Like Lyft for kids but with trusted, verified drivers who have passed through Kango’s rigorous screening process. Besides getting your goobers to soccer practice on time, Kango also offer one-click sitters for those hours in between, and can of course roll up with carseats and booster seats at the ready.

3. GoodEggs
Because no family can have enough fresh fruits and veggies. And since this company is a home town hero, every time they launch a new service, we get to try it first! They’ve recently hit the family sweet spot by launching family meal kits and even pre packaged kids’ lunches, made with all the top notch ingredients you have come to expect from Good Eggs. No more stuffing brown bags for you!

4. Trove
Parents are experts in STUFF. From strollers to Rock n’ Plays to baby bathtubs, we have it all, and it all takes up space. And while it’s tempting to toss all that gargantuan gear as soon as baby grows out of it, many of us keep it around while we waffle about #2 (or #3 or 4). Enter Trove. The new storage service will send professional movers to come pick up your stuff, pack it, digitally catalogue it and store it. When you need it back, just use the app to request exactly what you need, and viola, it’s back at your doorstep, all for a surprisingly reasonable price. See ya later, Jumperoo.

5. Instacart
Because going shopping is so last decade. Embrace the future and let your food come to you. Instacart will do your shopping at dozens of your favorite stores, from Whole Foods to Safeway to Costco to Target, and deliver it right to you. You can even clip digital coupons to get all the deals you would browsing the aisles IRL.

6. Cozi
If syncing your calendar with your significant other gives your little shivers of joy, Cozi will make you scream with excitement. It’s the ultimate shared family organizer that keeps schedules, shopping lists, chore wheels, recipes and even a family journal complete with photo upload options, all in one, streamlined sharable space.

7. Munchery
We’ve hit peak meal delivery, with a new company vying to deliver you dinner seemingly each day. But not all on-demand dinners are created equal. We love Muchery because there are plenty of healthy options, kids’ meals, they deliver on weekends, they sell and accept gift cards, and well, they’ve stood the test of time. (Some of our other favorite services shuttered after just a few weeks).

8. Dr On Demand
Schedule an instant video visit from a top practitioner. From belly aches to scrapes to weird rashes, these doctors can often diagnose or at least offer peace of mind right from your smart phone. Because waiting rooms are the worst when you have a sick kid.

9. Toy Cycle
Toy-Cycle works within a user’s local community (currently Beta testing in Oakland) and allows families to give, get, or exchange free used games and toys. When a user is ready to pass something on their child has outgrown (or has simply tired of), they post the offer online to their local group. Arrangements are made to pick up or exchange which should be easy given the fact the groups will remain relatively small, geographically speaking. So, no shipping, no packaging, no payments—sounds sustainable to us!

10. UrbanSitter
What do we need? A babysitter! When do we need it? NOW! Urbansitter answers the call with verified, trustworthy sitters at a moment’s notice. No more begging the neighbor’s teenage daughter to do diaper duty for the night.

What’s your favorite go-to local app? Tell us in a comment below. 

—Erin Feher

featured photo: William Iven via Unsplash

Babywearing is great, but it also comes with its fair share of challenges in varying degrees, particularly in cold weather: making sure the baby stays warm and cozy, making sure you stay warm and cozy, and, you know, looking relatively pulled together. A local mom and business woman is bringing the secret weapon of Eastern European mothers (and mothers-to-be) to NYC and beyond: a functional and stylish three-in-one maternity, babywearing and “civilian” coat that’s ethically manufactured and free of materials derived from animals. Carry on!

photo: Tasku Babi

Back in the U.S.S.R.
A native of Ukraine, Sunnyside mom Kat Dunams was back home visiting one winter when she first spied the type of coat she now is bringing stateside. Even in the harsh eastern European winter, mothers kept both themselves and their kids warm in a convertible, fashionable parka made for babywearing, pregnancy and the years beyond.

When she returned home to the land of less elegant cold weather babywearing solutions (and eventually became pregnant with her second child) Dunams decided to take action and import the coats herself. After meeting with vendors, suppliers and manufacturers from Moscow to St. Petersberg and beyond, as well as considering dozens of colors and designs, Tasku Babi was born. (“Tasku” means “pocket” in both Estonian and Finnish.)

photo: Tasku Babi

How Does it Work?
All Tasku Babi babywearing garments come with two middle panels that zip in and out — one to be used during pregnancy, the other, which contains an additional microfiber insulator for extra warmth, for babywearing. (Without the panels, the products function and look like normal winter coats.) Tasku Babi sells a variety of styles — some coats come with hoods or faux fur trim, and a lightweight fleece option for layering or warmer weather, and a raincoat are also available.

The coats achieve that mix of insulation and a streamlined silhouette (i.e. you won’t look like the Michelin Man) thanks to a filling made from thin microfiber sheets similar to Thinsulate, which function like down feathers. Features to keep baby comfortable and secure include hoods, elastic bands for custom fit, and zippered openings for when baby wants his or her arms free on warmer days. (Note: you still need to wear a carrier with these coats; any type works.)

photo: Tasku Babi

How is Tasku Babi Different?
While Tasku Babi coats aren’t the first or only cold weather babywearing coats on the market, they do offer some unique features. Perhaps most significantly, is the product’s use of two panels for “conversion” instead of one, which ultimately makes for a better fit in each incarnation/stage. No animal products are used to make the coats, so no fur, feathers, leather — they’re completely vegan (aside from one coat that incorporates some merino wool.) On the cosmetic side, the coats come in a wide range of colors beyond black and grey, such a olive, “sugar plum” and “raspberry swirl.” And while not cheap (around $300), they’re less expensive than other similar coats.

Plus: they’ve even got a coat just for dads, with more dude-friendly styling.

photo: Tasku Babi

Take it to the Next Level with Tasku Babi
So, you’re a hardcore baby-wearer? Kick it up a notch with the Whole Mama or the Whole Papa coat, the babywearing coat made a reality by a Kickstarter campaign! (Dunams crowd-sourced the R&D for it, and now it’s a reality.)

This double duty coat enables both mom or dad to carry kids in the front, back, or both! (We’re looking at you, multiples parents…)

Perhaps the Best News: Dunams will come to you!
Tasku Babi products are available at the shop online, as well as at a few brick-and-mortar stores (Baby Mama in Bay Ridge and Baby New Paltz upstate). But Dunams is happy to provide individual consultations at home or office, during which potential customers can see how the pieces look and work first hand.

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Online: taskubabi.com

How do you keep warm while babywearing in the winter? Tell us in the comments below!

—Mimi O’Connor