Monthly Archives: June 2010
Celebrating 4th of July with Kids
Who doesn’t love holiday BBQ, picnics and fireworks? Since the 4th of July weekend is coming up, we thought our Wednesday Wonder should have some fun kid recipes. (Check back on Friday when we will have 4th of July activities for kids!)
Healthy Fruit Kabobs your kids can make!
What you will need:
- 1 apple
- 1 banana
- 1/3 c. red seedless grapes
- 1/3 c. green seedless grapes
- 2/3 cup pineapple chunks*
Utensils:
- knife
- 2 wooden skewer sticks
- large plate
*substitute your child’s favorite fruit for any of the above
Directions:
Prepare the fruit by washing the grapes, washing the apples and cutting them into small squares, peeling the bananas and cutting them into chunks, and cutting the pineapple into chunks, if it’s fresh. Put the fruit onto a large plate.
Let your child slide pieces of fruit onto the skewer and design their own kabob by putting as much or as little of whatever fruit they want! Do this until the stick is almost covered from end to end. Makes 4 fruit kabobs.
No-bake cookies your kids can make!
What you will need:
- 8 whole-wheat graham cracker squares, finely ground
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons honey
- 4 teaspoons unsweetened coconut
How to make cookies: (so easy it’s ridiculous!)
Combine ground whole-wheat graham crackers, raisins, peanut butter and honey in a small bowl. Pat into 8 cookies and press lightly in coconut. Yields about 8-12 cookies depending on size.
Add some more healthy flair to your BBQ with a salad and dressing. Your child can help make the dressing. He or she will love shaking the ingredients in the jar and seeing the ingredients swirl around. Our favorite easy-to-make healthy salad and dressing comes from the kitchen of Jamie Oliver.
What kid friendly recipes do you have for a holiday BBQ?
Bonding with Your Baby While Meeting New Parents
You spend most of your day making baby talk with your baby and you cherish the time you have with her because you know soon enough she will be going to school, graduating…you get the picture. In the meantime, however, you are craving a little more communication with adults. You could try a meet up group, but maybe that’s not your thing.
Here are a few ideas where you might find other moms and dads like you who would like to meet other understanding parents and don’t mind if the conversation is interrupted with a diaper change or feeding time.
- Parenting Yoga Class - get fit and meet other parents!
- Park District Activities - experience new adventures (most of them for free) while you meet other parents!
- Movie theaters with Kid Friendly Movie Times – enjoy a movie in a cool theater and meet other parents!
- Gym Classes - help baby develop basic skills while bonding with other parents!
If you need a break from baby babble but don’t want time away from baby, meeting other parents can be the perfect solution.
What tips do you have for connecting with other parents?
Great American Backyard Campout Winner
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Great American Backyard Campout Contest. Random.org has chosen Noah as the winner.
Please email us at marketing@kolcraft.com to claim your Jeep stroller!
Congrats!
Under the Microscope with Dad Labs
Dad Labs – is it a lab where dads are grown? Well, sort of. 
It’s a very hip, get all sorts of info, witty, smart, fun site all about dads for dads. We can’t contain our excitement over this site and had to share our interview with Daddy Troy who is one of the dads from Dad Labs.
We love the whole idea of a web space (forums, blog, video) for Dads. Can you share with us the “birth story” of Dad Labs?
We were all friends before we had kids, working as teachers at a school in Austin. Then everything changed: kids. One night we were all hanging out and realized that a lot of the things we were reading about “parenting” were actually for moms and that as men we were participating in the parenting adventure differently than previous generations. Dad Labs was born, and we left teaching for an even bigger classroom.
What would you say is the biggest challenge facing dads today?
In the history of humankind, there is little to no precedent to men being as involved in parenting and in the domestic space. As a result, there is no playbook or communal wisdom for us as dads. So we are figuring it out – what does it look like to be a man who parents and participates in the home alongside his partner?
What would you say is one of the most important things a dad can do in supporting his partner in raising his children?
Be deliberate. It is human nature to think that parenting just happens. Instead of following the path of “My parents did it, and I turned out ok, so I will just approximate what they did,” do your homework. Engage with friends and experts. Read about human, specifically kid, psychology. There is a lot more research and thought about parenting now and even if it does not speak to you, at least you will have thought about it and act accordingly.
We want to get to know the 3 dads behind Dad Labs so we are going to fire off random questions.
• Which dad at Dad Labs is the most serious/intense? Daddy Troy
• Who of you is most likely to goof off during a video shoot? Daddy Clay and Daddy Brad share this honor.
• Who comes up with the craziest ideas? Daddy Owen
•What was one of the biggest misconceptions you had about being a dad when you were expecting your first child? When you have a child, you know your life will change. But the misconception is that you will be adding a child to the mix when in reality the whole mix changes. Your life, who you hang out with, how you spend your alone time, your relationship to your partner – it all gets rewritten.
• What child rearing stage has been the most difficult? The one you are in now. Right when you figure it out, your child will change.
• If all 3 of you dads had a day to yourselves to chillax together, what would you do? Early Happy Hour on the deck at Opal Divines.
• What is your must have baby care product? According to Daddy Brad, who has a baby right now – Boudreaux’s Butt Paste®
• What’s the one baby duty you would swap out in a New York minute? Don’t fence me in here – gotta share in all the duties. But if I had to choose, laundry was particularly difficult in the baby stage since my wife and I have different standards of cleanliness, and to meet here standards I had to go the extra mile.
• If someone was going to put Dad Labs to music, what genre would they use and what would the title of the song be? Its going to sound cheesy, but I am serious about this one. There are many dad’s on our site, and they all have their own soundtrack. We are working hard to create spaces for lots of different types of dads. One of the problems in the emerging world of new fatherhood is that, just like motherhood, there are many ways, types, methods and opinions. What unites us is our interest in our kids.
Three Fun Summer Water Activities for Kids
With temperatures crawling over 90 degrees across the US, a little water fun can help active kids keep cool and entertained. Today’s Fun Friday features three quick and easy water ideas you can try out this weekend!
- Water Coloring – get some bathtub crayons and head outside. Go wild drawing on your child’s arms, legs, feet, face and tummy. Let them do the same to you. Run through the sprinkler, wash off & start again!
- Marco Polo – remember this game from your childhood days? Teach your children an old favorite. Head to a pool or lake, play a few rounds of Marco Polo. Whomever manages to be “it” the least, becomes King Poseidon or Queen Ariel of the pool. You can even buy a crown from the Dollar Store to crown them for the day. The crown can get passed to the new King or Queen in the next round.
- Water Tag - bring cooling off to a new level with super soakers! Play tag, but instead of tagging each other with your hand, tag each other with a stream of water. It is a fun way to cool off and get your exercise. We noticed that our local grocery stores have super soakers available for as little as $4.00!
What ways are you keeping cool this summer?
Kolcraft Taking Part in Chicago Community Baby Shower
Kolcraft is excited about the Community Baby Shower that will be held this Saturday at the Harvest Dome in Chicago. When we were approached by the People’s Community Development Association of Chicago (PCDAC), we were thrilled to be part of this city-wide event and give back to the community. In a time when Chicago has been particularly challenged by the declining economy with an 11% unemployment rate over the nation’s 9.5% average, PCDAC has responded by helping people find housing, jobs and now by hosting a huge baby shower.
The event will include raffles for a Baby Room Makeover, Baby on the Go Package, and a Romper Room package. Kolcraft donated umbrella strollers, tandem strollers, walkers and bassinets for the shower.
If you are in Chicago this Saturday, stop by The Harvest Dome on 3570 W. Fifth Avenue in Chicago. You will be in for a special treat.
The Great American Backyard Campout!
Join Us for the Great American Backyard Campout!
Ready to have some summertime fun with your kids that won’t break your bank account? Join the National Wildlife Federation for their Great American Backyard Campout this Saturday! Just think – you and thousands of other families will all be celebrating an event that helps kids appreciate the outdoors and healthy living. You can campout as a family, you can organize a campout with friends, neighbors – the sky is the limit!
Register at backyardcampout.org. Once you sign up you get resources such as camping tips, campfire songs, packing lists, activities, etc.
We love how camping promotes children having the opportunity to be “unplugged” and connect with nature. To celebrate the Great American Backyard Campout, we are giving away a Jeep Wrangler All Weather Umbrella Stroller. All you have to do to enter is post your Great American Backyard Campout photo in our Magical Moments online photo album. We will pick a winner on Monday, June 28th. We think our Jeep strollers are perfect for the outdoorsy family who is on the go and fit hand in hand with the Campout!
Will you be camping under the stars on June 26th?
Summer Sun Protection for Your Child
Yesterday was the official start to summer which means plenty of sunshine and a lot of time outdoors especially for kids. It seems like a good time to remember some family smart sun tips!
- It takes 20-30 minutes for sunscreen to kick into full gear. Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before your child goes outside instead of when they are heading out the door.
- It’s easy to forget to put on sunscreen especially when kids are excited to jump in the pool or run in the yard. Make sunscreen application part of your child’s daily routine when they are getting dressed so you don’t forget.
- Be generous in applying sunscreen and don’t forget ears and the back of the neck!
- Create a game of applying sunscreen. Make up a silly song about sunscreen and have your child wiggle his toes when you are applying on his feet, shake his arm before you put it on his arm, etc. It will be like your very own sunscreen hokey pokey!
- Don’t be afraid to try different sunscreens. Some kids prefer the spray sunscreen, others like the lotion or gel. See what works best for your little one.
- Choose a sunscreen that provides broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection.
- Have shade time where your child takes a 10 – 30 minute break under a tree or umbrella so she isn’t in the sun continuously.
- Re-apply sunscreen every 2 hours if your child is in the water or sweating.
- Check with your doctor first before applying sunscreen to your baby or child with sensitive skin.
- Kids learn by imitation. Be sure to always put sunscreen on yourself and your child will pick up on your healthy habits!
What sun safety tips do you have?
It’s Dad Monday
Kenny & Miloh from smonkyou.com
We stumbled upon a blog called smonk you: a story about being a dad. With a title like that, how could we not read more? We laughed at posts about flying bologna and ooo’ed and ahh’ed over pictures of little Miloh. We couldn’t keep this blog to ourselves. We are proud to bring to you the author of Smonk You!
You said in your blog that you weren’t sure of the whole “kid thing.” What was your greatest fear/hesitation about becoming a dad?
I should start by saying I knew I wanted a kid, I was just a bit scared of all babies in general because I haven’t spent a good amount of time around any. I guess my biggest fear comes from that…I couldn’t relate to kids and had no idea how to entertain or care for a baby. Plus I think babies are super smart because they are taking all sorts of information…that’s a bit freaky.
Is parenthood anything what you imagined it would be?
Not at all, I though it would be really chaotic, like an episode of M.A.S.H. Miloh is really mellow and easy. Plus I’ve realized that I’m innately able to do the things I thought I couldn’t. I’m having a blast right now.
Is there a stage of child development that you are looking forward to & one that you aren’t that excited about?
It will be awesome when he’s walking and talking…I’m looking forward to those, I can’t wait to start seeing his personality. I’m really looking forward to being able to teach him to ride a bike, because I have my old BMX bike ready for him…and if he likes snowboarding it will be great to ride with him…until he thinks I’m not cool enough/too embarrassing to hang with him.
If you could receive ‘expert advice” on one aspect of parenting, what would it be?
That’s really tough…I often ask for advice but rarely follow it, so I probably shouldn’t ask.
Random fun with Kenny
What is your must have baby care product? I dig my diaper bag…it’s a fleurville DJ diaper bag, it’s a good man bag. I also think a good camera is super important…a DSLR.
Favorite pastime pre-baby? Biking and snowboarding.
Favorite pastime post-baby? Just hanging out with Miloh and my wife. I’m biking less than I did last year, but also doing more photography than I did last year…not just of Miloh but a new project I’ve been working on.
What’s the one baby duty you would swap out in a New York minute? It sounds cliché but diapers…when he’s got a poo it smells like he’s been eating hay…and I hear it only gets worse.
If someone was going to put your life to music, what genre would they use and what would the title of the song be? The genre would either be punk (I’m thinking the Clash) or maybe something like Flight of the Conchords (because of my weird outlook on things.) I can’t really think of a title, I mean I could probably come up with something but it wouldn’t be right…but I’ve been listening to Bishop Allen lately and they have a song called Charm School…that probably fits me well.
Thanks Kenny. We really had fun getting a glimpse into your world.
If you have any questions/comments for Kenny, please leave them in our comment section.
How can you not fall in love with this little cutie?
Stroller Strides and Father’s Day Contests!
Kolcraft at Stroller Strides for Wishes
There is a lot going on at Kolcraft this weekend and we hope we get to meet some of our fans virtually or in real life.
This Saturday is the annual Stroller Strides for Wishes 5K at Brookfield Zoo. Kolcraft will be there raffling off a Jeep Tandem stroller and answering all your stroller questions. Check in on Foursquare for the Kolcraft Stroller Strides Booth & get a free prize.
Speaking of prizes, there is a $100.00 gift certificate up for grabs at our Father’s Day Facebook Contest. The contest ends Sunday at midnight CST. It’s easy to enter. All you have to do is post of picture of the dad you are nominating and in 100 words or less tell us why he’s the world’s greatest dad.
Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing dads out there!
What are your fun plans this weekend to celebrate Father’s Day.
