Kids and Baby Design Ideas

Hypoallergenic bedding that is organic and chemical-free is a smart choice for all children, not just those with allergies or chemical sensitivities. Modern, commercially produced bedding contains many toxic substances that have been linked to adverse reactions in scientific studies. Some of these chemicals are suspected of causing health problems in children.

Hypoallergenic simply means that the material is unlikely to cause an allergic reaction in a child. Some people think that natural bedding will be more allergenic – or allergy inducing. This is a myth. Your child is more likely to have an allergic reaction to a strange chemical than to a pure and natural material.

Feathers and dust are some of the most common natural allergens and have given organic bedding a bad reputation. But you can easily avoid problems. If your child is allergic to feathers, buy a synthetic pillow and cover it with a cotton pillowcase. There are also alternatives like wool or silica filled pillows. A cotton cover should be enough however, and allergies to pure cotton are rare. Hypoallergenic bedding can also be washed frequently to keep it free of dust and dust mites. Use an organic detergent without artificially added scent if you have a sensitive child.

One of the biggest dangers in children’s bedding are the substances used in the flame retardants that are commonly applied to children’s linens. Flame resistant treatments are routinely added to children’s bedding, pajamas and blankets.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) list some of the various toxic chemicals used in children’s bedding. Among the substances used to fireproof bedding are: formaldehyde, antimony trioxide, zinc Borate, and melamine. Some of these chemicals, like formaldehyde, are known toxins that “out-gas” or give off fumes. For other substances, safety for products made for human use has not been determined.

Chemicals like boric acid (an ingredient roach poison) is also frequently added to commercial bedding. Boric acid is a poison and it’s usually applied to bedding to make sheets and pillowcases dust mite resistant. This chemical is unnecessary since dust mites can be eliminated with frequent washing, and by drying bedding on high heat. The safest course for parents is to seek out and purchase formaldehyde and chemical-free sheets, blankets, pillow cases and comforters.

For the health and benefit of your child – know what the bedding you choose is made of and look for labels that say “chemical and formaldehyde-free”.

Kids love to feel like they have their very own kid-sized furniture – which is easy enough in the bedroom, but now possible out on the deck or in the backyard! These children’s picnic tables are wonderfully colorful, and just the right size for your little ones and their friends to have their private table at the barbecue!

The table has the look of wood, but it’s made from recycled plastic (specifically – post-consumer bottle waste, such as milk and detergent bottles) so it can take a beating and is very easy to clean up – something parents need to consider when buying their kids outdoor furniture.

The manufacturers have also taken into consideration how a lot of plastic furniture can fade after a year or two in the sun – and they’ve used a non-toxic UV-inhibited pigment system that will reduce the fading, and keep your table looking new year after year – or at least until your children outgrow it!

Because the picnic table isn’t made of wood, you don’t have to worry about splintering or woodrot – two factors that claim most wooden picnic tables after a few years of use. Another bonus? This table is made in the US – so you’ve also made a good decision for the environment in that the table hasn’t been shipped across the ocean to get to your backyard! This reduces the carbon footprint of this table dramatically!

Popular North American retailer Build-A-Bear has recalled 300,000 of their teddy bears due to issues with the bear’s plastic eyes falling out and choking children.

The Build-A-Bear Workshop company has issued the urgent warning for the Chinese-made Colourful Hearts Teddy Bears, which it sells in both the U.S. and Canada. This is the third time this year the DIY stuffed bear store has had attention drawn to the safety of it’s primarily Chinese-made products.

Build-A-Bear spokesman Jill Saunders said the problem may have been ‘substandard fabric’ and that they “discovered the issue while doing ongoing quality and safety checks and immediately reported the issue to the CPSC and began the recall process. That we have conducted three product recalls this year despite the fact that we have not received a single injury report related to any of those three products clearly demonstrates how seriously we take product safety.”

Build-A-Bear has advised buyers to contact their PR firm at 866-236-5683 with additional questions.

Want to train your little ones in the ways of the techno-force? Obviously, young children are too young for an expensive (and delicate) iPad, and although they may be fixated on yours, its not a great idea to get any child under 10 their own high-tech tablet.

The InnoPad has a good-sized 5″ color touch screen and a tilt-sensor so that your little ones can do all the tapping and dragging on their tablet that you can do on yours.

InniPad comes with a number of kid-friendly applications including an MP3 Player Video Player an Interactive Globe, a Friends List, a Calculator and a cool clock to help kids learn and develop. Of course, you can load up on extra cartridges sold separately that teach essential skills in reading, logic and creativity.

Christmas time just brings out the festive in us. What’s the best way to celebrate this season of giving? Give out eco-friendly kids Christmas gifts. This way, you don’t just give presents and put smiles on children’s faces; you can basically feel Mother Earth heave a sigh of relief.

The advent of the environmentalist movement has sparked many a group and individual to find different ways to help save our planet. From saving whales to fighting pollution-causing industries, environmentalists have moved from the fringe to the mainstream and the movement is reaching our kids. It is never too early to teach our kids the value of saving the planet with the help of eco-friendly toys.

Whether you’re a hardcore environmentalist or not, it would not hurt to give out eco-friendly kids Christmas gifts. Here is a list of popular green kids Christmas gifts in the market today:

1. Recycled Christmas cards. In this era of fast-paced internet connections, social networks, and virtual hugs and hohohos, Christmas cards are putting up a fight. You can send out hand-written greetings to loved ones anywhere using recycled cards and papers.

2. Wooden blocks. Go old school with wooden building blocks. You can buy blocks made of sturdy wood that come from a sustainable source. Some toy companies who use wood for their products return the favor by conducting tree-planting and other ecological activities. Also, wooden blocks are free of harmful BPA and lead which makes them perfect eco-friendly kids Christmas gifts.

3. Wind-up toys. These eco-friendly contraptions have been with us even before the visionary Leonardo da Vinci presented King Louis XII with a wind-up lion. Even then, wind-up toys were only given to royal bloods. Make your little one feel like a prince and surprise him with green kids Christmas gifts like wind-up toys and other modernized clockwork gadgets.

4. Solar-powered gadgets. Harvesting the sun’s energy is not confined to homes and cars anymore. Solar panels have made its way through to the toy section. Available in the market today are solar-powered toy cars and robots.

5. Pull toys. There is a variety of wooden dancing pull toys in the eco-friendly section of most toy stores. Like wooden blocks, they are safe and fun to play with.

Why do you think St. Nick rides a sleigh pulled by flying reindeers instead of a turbo-powered gas guzzler? That is because Santa loves the environment and so should all of us. Be green this holiday season and give away eco-friendly kids Christmas gifts. Do so and you’ll surely be on Santa’s list!

The Christmas buzz is on this year, and kids all over the place are asking for these awesome Air Swimmers radio-controlled toys! Air Swimmers are available in the Clownfish and Shark style and these helium filled RC flying fish will be your kid’s favorite toy this year, guaranteed! They can fly the enormous sea creature balloons around your house in the winter, and then outside in the year or at the park the rest of the year!

These radio-controlled fish friends are not just fun for the whole family, they are a great way to introduce your little ones to the wonders of the ocean, and the beautiful animals that live there. Nemo and his Shark friend are the favorites of kids everywhere, and these amazing toys will remind your children of their most beloved characters!

MultiBlocks are one of the best new eco-friendly products for toddlers out there! Designed by Brad Singley, and made in Michigan, these awesome kids blocks come in easy-to-stack sets of wooden square and rectangular cubes in four different lengths. Each set has 42 blocks – six of the 8-blocks, twelve of the 4-blocks, eight of the 2-blocks, and sixteen of the 1-blocks.

And the material? Basswood is renewable wood that is sustainably grown and harvested in Michigan. The blocks come in a recycled cotton storage bag made from 80% Ecotec and 20% recycled soda bottles.

If your little ones love to build (perhaps you have a budding engineer or architect on your hands) then these blocks will foster that kind of creativity.

We’ve been scouring the web, looking for great eco-friendly gifts for kids, babies and toddlers for the holiday season. When we came across Hut-Hut – we knew we had to add it to our collection. Hut-Hut is unlike any rocking horse you’ve ever seen, in fact, aside from the fact that your child sits on it, and it rocks – its a complete stranger to the classic rocking horse we all grew up with. Selected as one of the top products at the 2010 Salone del Mobil, the Hut-Hut is made from 100% Recycled Sustainable resin and comes in 5 vibrant colors: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue and Pink.

The Hut-Hut is a toy with a safe low distance to the floor, so its a great way for kids to explore and learn balance.

To make this even more of an appealing product, the Hut-Hut is also available in 5 FSC Certified sustainable materials: Bamboo, Black Locust, Black Walnut, Cork and Maple. The Hut-Hut is available at Kalon Studios.

Gone are the days of a flimsy plastic carpet sled that constantly rolls itself up when you’re trying to lay down on it to get down the hill. This is the future of sledding, and this holiday season, give your kids the ultimate sled. The Stiga Snowracer Supreme GT is the Porsche of sleds. Not only will your children be leaving the other kids on the hill in the (snow) dust, they’ll be doing it in slick style.

Featuring Stiga’s new front ski, the Curve is designed to move much faster on the snow and is a lot easier to control. The twin-tip front ski and rear skis will make sure your kids stay safe and stable, and even allow for backwards sledding.

If your little ones have been good this year, reward them (and encourage them to get off the video games – and to get some fresh air and exercise) with an amazing sled like the Stiga Snowracer.

Do you have a budding artist in your house? Do you want your kids to learn more about art history in a way thats fun and interesting? Check out the Master Kitz art kits for children!

The Starry Night Master Kitz includes everything your kids need to create their own Starry Night painting and the learning materials to give them an appreciation of the original painting by Van Gogh.

Each Starry Night Master Kitz includes: A sturdy, re-usable art tool box with magnetic closures, 3 Custom Acrylic Paints (child friendly), 5 Custom Oil Pastels (child friendly), 1 van Gogh Roller specially designed to replicate van Gogh’s active stroke, 1 re-usable Starry Night Cyprus Stencil, 1 standard paint roller, 2 pieces deluxe art paper, 1 low tack “Mesmerizing Stars” sticker sheet, easy-to-understand van Gogh learning materials, and easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions.