Monthly Archives: January 2010

Probably Unnecessary Gadgets for New Parents

I was reading about the Itzbeen Baby Care Timer over at Free Range Kids and it got me thinking about how many gadgets parents are encouraged to buy for their new babies that they probably don’t need.

I mean, I agree that there are situations where a parent might need a timer like the Itzbeen for a special needs or premature baby, but for your average, healthy baby at home I just can’t see it. I have no doubt that such things are priceless to parents who have genuine medical concerns for their baby or possibly for daycare situations.

But even with my youngest baby I knew when to feed her, and she’s quiet about that. Diaper changing is also easy to figure out… not sure when you last changed the diaper? Take a look! If it’s wet or soiled it’s definitely time for a change.

Similarly there are many other gadgets parents are encouraged to buy or put on their baby shower lists that just make me say “What a waste!”

Video baby monitors

Cute, but do you really need to watch your baby sleep? There may be few things more precious than a sleeping baby, but for most purposes a regular, audio only baby monitor or just listening for baby should be quite enough.

Wipe warmers

In most climates I just can’t see this one. So long as you aren’t keeping the house really cold the wipe temperature is probably just fine.

Another interesting point I saw on the reviews for one wipe warmer is the possibility of infection. Warm, moist environments certainly are great places for germs to breed.

The Zaky

This is a fancy sleep positioner. Nothing more. It’s supposed to feel like the mother holding the baby.

WhyCry Baby Crying Analyzer

I just don’t get it. Pay attention to your baby and you can generally figure out why they’re crying pretty quickly. Hungry, wet diaper, sick, just needs held… especially in the early days there aren’t a lot of needs to go through before you get to the right one if it’s not immediately obvious.

Padded crib bumpers

Yes, they look cute. Then you have to remove them by the time they might do some good, and there are some indications that they aren’t perfectly safe.

Baby helmets and knee pads

Babies are going to bump their heads and scrape their knees as they learn to explore their world. It’s a part of life, and mostly not a bad thing.

I had the necessary kind of helmet for my son (he had craniosynostosis, the helmet was to reshape his head), so I can tell you some of the big problems with using any kind of helmet.

First of all, they’re hot. They make baby’s head sweat, especially in summer. That will quickly make the helmet stink too, even if you clean it out every day.

Second, the day will come when the helmet must come off. Baby outgrows it. Then baby learns what it really means to bump one’s head. Believe me, my son was utterly shocked at how awful it felt the first time he bumped his head without his DOC-Band helmet on. He had no idea.

I suppose helmets might help if baby is always on tile floors or something, but that’s not the case for most babies.

Knee pads I’m almost in sympathy with after watching my youngest learn to crawl, but not quite. Our carpet here is pretty rough, and her knees had a hard time of it. Know how we handled it?

Long pants! No more carpet scraping her knees. Simple and we already owned them.

Now when they’re learning to ride a tricycle, skate, etc., helmets and knee pads are an entirely different story!

Baby Einstein

You know, there’s a reason why they’re offering money back if you are disappointed that they aren’t educational after all. They were talked up as being really good for babies. Yet television watching in general is considered to be bad for vocabulary development in children under two.

Yes, I was given some. My kids have watched them, just a little. But they’re entertainment, nothing more. You don’t need them, and if you want to expose your baby to classical music you can probably buy plenty of high quality classical music off iTunes and play it on your computer. Just don’t expect that to make baby a genius either.

Walking Wings

So your baby can learn to walk with your help.

You know, I kind of figured that most babies will learn to walk eventually anyhow. This is the exact phase my youngest is going through, and yes, she gets frustrated. Frustration within reason is GOOD for children. It helps with emotional development. Life does not throw everything at you easily.

On the other hand, if your child has a definite disability, then yes, this might be good. But not for the average baby who will learn to walk on his or her own in time.

What Is It With Toxic Metals in Children’s Jewelry?

This is really ridiculous. It seems that since lead levels in children’s jewelry is being monitored, now cadmium is being used. Just trading one toxic metal for another.

This is why I don’t like to buy cheap jewelry, for children or myself. You don’t know what you’re getting in most cases.

The Smart Mama even tested some children’s necklaces she bought at Target and found high levels of cadmium.

There has also now been a call for the use of cadmium to be banned from children’s toys.

It’s good to see some quick action, but at the same time, couldn’t they have looked at this back when they were overreaching with CPSIA? I mean, if you’re going to go so far overboard in other ways, at least be thorough with the things that should be regulated.

I’ve never been big on children’s jewelry, and the main reason is how often I hear of it being recalled. It’s ridiculous. Before CPSIA it seemed like one sort or another was always being recalled over lead levels. Now no doubt it’s going to be cadmium too. Some issues are just best avoided.

Check Your Tire Pressure – Green Step By Step

Have you checked the tire pressure on your car lately?

This is a green habit that you should try to do regularly. It’s quick, simple and can save you a lot of money while making your car more efficient.  It’s something you can even get non-green friends and family to do in the name of saving money, gas prices being what they are.

Having the right amount of air pressure in your car’s tires not only improves gas mileage, it’s better for the tires so they last longer.

Keep the pressure within the range recommended by your car’s manufacturer. They do have reasons for the numbers they quote. Some of it is your comfort, as the more pressure in the tire the firmer the ride of the car, and most people don’t like feeling the bumps that much.

Use Those Old Cereal Boxes

Many families go through cereal boxes quite regularly. The good part is that they’re recyclable, but what if you could add a step before recycling your cereal boxes?

Depending on the ages of your kids, you might be able too.

A simple idea is to just cut the boxes up and let the kids paint or draw on the plain insides. Kids don’t have to have fresh paper for that, and sometimes a firmer surface is nice to have.

Boxes can also be cut up into simple puzzles. This is nice for kids who are just starting to enjoy puzzles but aren’t up for anything too complex yet. They probably know pretty well what the end result should look like.

You can also cut out the larger letters for children who are just learning their letters or how to form words. Playing with the letters can be much less frustrating than having to write the word when first trying to figure out how to make a word.

And of course, you can leave the box whole to wrap appropriately sized gifts.

The nice part about these ideas is that in many cases you can still recycle the boxes after the kids are done with them. You’re just making a little more use out of them first.

First Week with the Organic Produce Club

As I noted in my post for the One Small Change challenge, I joined an organic produce buying club, and this past Saturday was our first pick up. It went pretty well, except I forgot my reusable bag and our produce had to just rattle around in the trunk. Not quite ideal.

But the produce looked and looks mostly good. A small container of blueberries was included, which delighted the kids. The selection was pretty good, including some fresh cilantro and some other herbs along with the vegetables and fruit.

The organic carrots are gone already. One of my nieces came for a visit over the weekend. She’s an exceptionally picky eater but has learned to love carrots. At home she always gets those “baby” carrots that I’ll admit are quick and convenient, but lack any other advantages.

She loved the organic carrots. Nice, whole, just wash and eat carrots. It was really good to see that she could cope with them looking different from what she gets at home because that’s very often a big issue for her. And now her parents know that they can just buy her regular carrots if they want.

The produce included some collard greens, which I’m not so familiar with, but that’s a part of the plan, to have to figure out how to use certain foods. I didn’t want to do that this weekend with the picky eater possibly demotivating my kids, but now it’s all fair game!

I don’t know if we’ll make it out every week or so… that’s something I still have to discuss with my husband. The price is good for organic produce, I must say. We’ve been eating conventionally grown produce so long that the price difference is still there, and on our budget I do have to think about that. But we’re definitely doing more weeks. The exposure to different foods is worth it, as is supporting local farms with at least part of the purchase and getting organic produce.