Category: Products for Children

March 20, 2014

Chevrolet’s Safe and Sure Child Car Seat Installation at #buddschev

Our children are so precious and every time we place them in their car seats we trust those car seats to ensure their safety. But were you aware that the misuse rates range from 44% to 81% for car seats and 30% to 50% in booster seats (Canadian Paediatric Society). I don’t know about you but that statistic terrified me! Especially when considering that a properly used car seat reduces the risk of fatal injury by 71% and the risk of serious injury by 67% (Canadian Paediatric Society).

Part of the problem (I believe anyways!) is that the car seats themselves are constantly changing along with the rules and regulations. To be honest, I had such a hard time installing our car seat that I gave up and asked my husband to finish it. I could not get the restraints tight enough no matter how hard I tried.

With those statistics in mind and child safety at the forefront, Chevrolet is launching the national Safe and Sure Child Car Seat Installation Workshop Program. Families can receive expert advice on installing car seats into any make or model of vehicle for free. Yup – for free.You can sign up for the free workshops at Safe and Sure.

The workshops were piloted in Toronto during 2012 and 2013. Due to overwhelming positive response from parents, grandparents and caregivers (yes the program is open to any one who will be responsible for driving a child in a car seat!), Chevrolet is working with Parachute to offer this program in three major cities.

If you are not familiar with Parachute they are a charitable organization dedicated to preventing injuries and saving lives. They officially came into being in July 2012 and united the former Safe Communities Canada, Safe Kids Canada, SMARTRISK and ThinkFirst Canada. You can learn more about them on their website.

With all of this in mind, our whole family headed out to Budds Chevrolet in Oakville to have our car seats examined and re-installed if needed. We were a bit worried that the boys would be bored but they were very happy when they received Hot Wheel cars! While I headed outside to learn about car seats the boys stayed inside checking out the cars and taking photographs of each one (no lie here – his favourite one is now our desktop image!).

I learned so much this past weekend at my workshop. As well as learning the how to’s on how to ensure a snug fit with an inch or less movement at the base, I was able to get hands on with the representative and help out.

Some important things to remember:

  • Car seats have an expiry date! If the date is not listed on the actual car seat you can call the manufacturer directly to get the expiry date.
  • Never use a car seat that has been involved in an accident. If you do not know the car seat’s history don’t purchase it (for used and borrowed car seats). Even with no visible damage, a crash can damage the integrity of the car seat.
  • Never rush a child out of the booster seat. The booster seat works to position the adult seat belt over the strong bones of the body. Children should not move into a seat belt until they are 145cm (4’9″). Always make sure to check your provincial laws around booster seats.
  • Only use attachments or cloth protectors under the car seat that have been tested with the car seat by the manufacture.

Check out this great video about the workshops:


Have you ever attended a car seat workshop in the past? Do you have any recommendations for first time parents out there?

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February 28, 2014

Skinfix: Natural Skin Care for All Your Skin Needs

Do you suffer from dry skin? Eczema? Are you familiar with the Skinfix name?

Skinfix is a Canadian company who specializes in all natural balms for the entire family. The products are centuries old (they came over from England with family!) and are composed of wound healing botanicals and emollient protective oils. They provide instant relief while soothing and repairing skin affected by eczema, dermatitis, diaper rash, minor bedsores, adult incontinence rash, pressure ulcers and other common skin conditions. They can treat the acute flare ups but also chronic conditions.

Skinfix has four all natural balms: Body Repair Balm, Diaper Rash Balm, Gentle Eczema Balm, Rapid Repair Balm.

Their Body Repair Balm is used to treat dryness and irritation. Eczema and dermatitis flare ups tend to get worse in the cold weather. These conditions affect 1 in 5 adults!

The Diaper Rash Balm is used to treat irritated and raw skin from the constant exposure to wetness and irritants. The balm is formulated specifically to safely halt diaper rashes on the spot. Have to add in the diaper rash balm is nut free! Check out the graph below comparing the most popular brands of diaper rash creams. You can find the original graph here. The Diaper Rash Balm is also a PTPA Award winner!

The Gentle Eczema Balm is perfect for the red and itchy rashes that affect at least 20% of newborn babies. The balm is formulated for their delicate skin and helps reduce chronic flare ups. It is infused with oatmeal and is nut and soy free. Their Gentle Eczema Balm is also a PTPA Award winner!

The Rapid Repair balm helps to sooth and protect skin from wetness, friction and irritation. This balm is perfect for the everyday skin conditions. These skin conditions range from skin chafing, wetness in skin folds, minor burns, razor burns and post waxing.

My favourite features of Skinfix are the thick texture of the product which allows you to feel it working. Only a small amount is needed each time – a little truly goes a long way with these products. Since they do not contain water like moisturizers they last on the skin longer and less is required. It is all natural (such a bonus!) and no steroids.

Skinfix products are dermatologist tested, pediatrician tested, steroid free, fragrance free, gluten free, paraben free, phthalate free and BPA free packaging.You can purchase them online here.

Disclosure: I am a Skinfix Ambassador. I received no compensation for this post besides bringing a fantastic product to you! Clicking on the above links will take you to my affiliate page but I receive no compensation from this unless an order is placed.

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February 21, 2014

Learning Languages with Langmobile #Review and #Giveaway

Learning a second language is a high priority to me for my children. It is a fantastic skill for them to carry forward into their school and later on their professional careers. For me knowing that language acquisition is easiest during the ages of zero to five, puts a little bit of pressure to get started early!. This is often called the “critical period”. Yet I still want them to have fun and enjoy learning a second language – not the second language classes I had where we had to memorize conjugating verbs but never learned to understand and speak Italian!

Langmobile is based out of Saint-Lambert, Quebec. They offer high quality workshops in music, yoga, English, Italian, French and Spanish, along with pre-school activities and camps. Langmobile has developed a program that helps parents bond and interact with their children while teaching a second language. Langmobile actively includes parents in the learning process to help learn and teach them at the same time. They have taken the research that they have put into their programs and developed an incredible app that assists parents in teaching children English, Spanish and French.
The Langmobile app incorporates new teaching methods that place the interaction between parent and child at the core of the learning process. The Langmobile app features fifty lessons in English, Spanish and French. Each lesson contains a video, song and printable materials (teaching sheets, colouring sheets and more!). The apps use adults to bring languages to life. The apps feature original music composed by Langmobile’s team of experts.
yoga , music workshops, English classes, Italian classes, French classes, Spanish classes, Saturday classes, after school activities, preschool activities, day camps and specialized services to CPE and private Daycares – See more at: http://www.langmobile.com/quality-workshops/#sthash.hbdLhMKb.dpuf
yoga , music workshops, English classes, Italian classes, French classes, Spanish classes, Saturday classes, after school activities, preschool activities, day camps and specialized services to CPE and private Daycares – See more at: http://www.langmobile.com/quality-workshops/#sthash.hbdLhMKb.dpuf
When I first download an app I like to spend a couple of hours looking through the app myself to allow myself to become familiar with the teaching aspect, how it works and so on. As soon as I opened the app up and let the first video play my children came running (both my two and nine year old!) at the energetic music and singing! They were engrossed in the app!

My favourite features of the app were:

  • easy and quick download
  • music was energetic and great at catching my children’s attention
  • repetitive; allowing the words to be easily learned
  • informative parent guide with instructions on how to use each word/video, including also colouring books, craft activities, activities on the go, lyrics, words to practice and cards to print out
  • the parent guide allows you to minimize the amount of time spent directly on the app itself for parents that are worried about too much screen time
  • loved that I was able to interact and be part of the learning process (versus just reading it aloud and hoping they absorb what you are reading to them)
  • incredibly fun way to learn a new language (all of us were dancing and singing along!)
  • even though it is designed for teaching children 0-5 years of age, my nine year old loved it as well!
  • easy to navigate between pages on the app
  • app is designed to be able to download onto Apple devices and Android

Langmobile is offering four individuals a chance to win their own copy of the app! US and CAN residents can enter via the Rafflecopter below.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a copy of this app in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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December 17, 2013

“You Can Be Anything!” with the Snoopy iPad App

I grew up with Snoopy and can never resist a favourite character from my youth! How can you not love how sweet Snoopy is?
I was very excited to review the “You Can Be Anything” Snoopy App from Story Panda. In this digital adventure Snoopy teaches children that they can be anything! This interactive story is a great way to start the conversation with our children on what they want to be when they grow up.
The You Can Be Anything Snoopy App was a great book to read with my son (it also has a mode where the story could be read to him) on our iPad. Snoopy had us laughing and learning lots of new careers and roles each one of us plays in life. Snoopy plays many roles in this great app inspiring children everywhere that we are special and we can be what ever we want to be.
The You Can Be Anything Snoopy App is full of animation, 3D effects, narratives and cool sounds. It also has a create mode where your child can create their own story to go along with the animations. My son had so much fun creating his own silly story using family names. He spent over thirty minutes on the app creating his own version. He was so proud of it at the end! He came up with cool jobs, neat story lines and was even able to change Snoopy’s clothes.
The You Can Be Anything Snoopy App was a huge hit in our home and for only $2.99 you can also explore this interactive story and create your own!
If your not following Story Panda yet you can find them on Facebook and Twitter.
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November 5, 2013

So Fresh and So Clean with the New Fisher Price Bath Line! #review #giveaway

There are only a few brand names that come straight to your mind when the words baby and toddler are brought up. These brands are trusted in the baby world because of their commitment to quality, safety and value. Fisher Price is one of those leaders!
 
Fisher Price has released a new bath line geared towards babies and toddlers. I was stoked when I was given the opportunity to try out these products on my own babies (well one toddler and a nine year old who will forever be my baby!!). I have a weakness for bath products. From the smell down to the way it feels on the skin. I had to open these gorgeous looking containers right away and I was right – the smell was divine! Nothing overpowering or fragrant but the perfect baby smell.
Their bath and body line up contains a perfect range of selections from newborn right up toddlers.
Their newborn line includes:

The infant line up:
 
 
They definitely have you covered for all of your baby to toddler needs! I love that you can purchase from one line but you have the ability to use it on an older child as well. Perfect for all of us parents out there that have more than one child and do not want to have multiples bottles of bath products lying around!

The part that I love the most about these products? Their Bath & Body line are gentle, natural and made from organic ingredients. They contain shea butter, aloe, chamomile and are hypo-allergenic and dermatologist tested. For this mom with two children that both have eczema this is important to me. Even better the line contains no dye, parabens, phthalates, talc, isopropyl, triclosan, benzyl alcohol or SLS.

Our little ones loved bath time! The bottles come in the most fantastic and adorable animal shapes. They insisted on a Bubble Bath the very first day and how could I resist? The Bubble Bath product produced a perfect amount of bubbles that lasted nearly their whole bath time (although to be fair they were in there in for almost thirty minutes not wanting to get out!). All of the products had the most heavenly smell without being too strong or fragrant. To me it reminded me of that just home from the hospital baby smell! The type of scent that just makes you want to keep sniffing your babies!

Both of our boys were huge fans of the foaming hand soap. The pump was easy to use, foamed up nicely on their hands and cleaned them right up! My favourite part of the foaming hand soap? How nicely it’s neutral colours fit in with our bathroom colour scheme!

The Fisher Price bath and body products are also PTPA award winners! Which means they have met the highest standards possible – other parents like you!
The Fisher Price bath and body line are now available in select Babies R Us, Loblaws and Rexall locations across Canada. Prices range from $3.99CDN to $8.99CDN.

Do you want to win the complete line up of Fisher Price Bath and Body Products? Now you can!

Enter via the Rafflecopter below.
GOOD LUCK!!
 This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only, 18 years of age and older.
Disclosure: I received the above pictured products for free as part of this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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