Monthly Archives: June 2011
Happy Father’s Day!
Happy Father’s Day! May your day be filled with love, joy and lots of hugs and kisses from your children.
And don’t forget to enter our Father’s Day Contest to win $100!
Helping Your Children To Eat Their Vegetables
Today is national Eat Your Veggies Day (we are sure a mom thought of this holiday 
) To celebrate, we have some fun ideas to help your children eat a variety of healthy vegetables.
Tips for encouraging children to eat their vegetables:
- Introduce a variety of vegetables early on and often. If your child has repeated opportunities to sample new foods, at least some of them will be accepted.
- Include vegetables in foods your children already like – make zucchini or banana muffins instead of chocolate or sugar-filled muffins.
- Switch from soda or fruit drinks to 100% fruit juice.
- Make fruit smoothies. This will give your child fruit and calcium!
- Make a healthy trail mix for a snack with raisins, nuts, and non-sugary cereal.
Fun kid-friendly vegetable recipes:
- T-Rex pizza
- Mini Technicolor Veggie Pizza
- Galloping Good Eggplant
- Creamed Dill Potatoes
- Red Pepper Walnut Dip (great to dip veggies in!)
How will you celebrate Eat Your Veggies Day?
Moms (and Dads) Matter at Kolcraft!
We know that Moms and Dads are up close and personal with baby products. At Kolcraft we want to make sure we are manufacturing products that work for you and your family. Before a product hits the market we survey parents about the product and at times have them test a pre-release sample of the product so we can see what works and what needs to be improved.
This group of parents who test our products are called Mom Matters (Cute little connection to our Baby Matters blog. Clever right? ). If you would like to be part of this group (Dads are included! It’s just we liked the sound of the double M), please send an email to marketing@kolcraft.com and include your:
- Name
- Address
- Phone number
- Preferred email address
- Ages of your children
If you live in Chicago, we are teaming up with the Active Moms Club for a lunch and learn after the Biceps, Babies & Buggies class. You can sign up for Mom Matters then!
Please note that there are different specifications for different products that need feedback. If you don’t hear from us for awhile, know you are still on the list – we are just waiting to send a survey or product that fits your children’s ages.
A Dad’s Perspective on Raising His Daughter
With Father’s Day around the corner, we wanted a dad’s parenting perspective. The following book review is by one of our Kolcraft Dads, Pete Collins.
When my wife and I found out that we were having a baby girl, I’m not sure if my first feeling was happiness or shock, but I’m sure that my face expressed that “glazed-over” look usually reserved for teenagers. My friends with sons offered congratulations and wished me well in my future life filled with pink. My friends with daughters, however, looked at me with wry smiles and sympathetic eyes, as if they knew I was heading on a paddle-less voyage up a creek.
I had been aware of the concept of “Daddy’s Little Girl”, and knew that fathers and daughters had a special bond, but it was not until I received the book, Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters, by Dr. Meg Meeker, that I realized the importance of the father-daughter relationship.
Through her experience counseling teens and parents, and by providing poignant examples to illustrate her points, Dr. Meeker outlines the very specific areas of development where fathers are necessary to provide guidance and influence on their daughter’s lives. Additionally, and most importantly for me, the book provided insight into the characteristics and behavior young girls NEED and EXPECT from their father. The explanation of how fathers’ actions are viewed and interpreted by daughters gave me a unique insight that I would never have known, and which I believe will help me to send the right message and be the figure of stability that my daughter will need throughout her life.
By detailing and explaining daughters’ needs and how fathers’ actions affect daughters throughout their lives, I believe that Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters is the paddle I will need to help me navigate my relationship with my new daughter.
Pete Collins lives in Chicago with his wife and soon-to-be born baby girl.
Summer Safety Tips
Summer brings the joy of the outdoors and in order to enjoy it safely we have to remember sun safety tips and how to avoid other summertime accidents that can put a damper on summer fun.
- Keep Heat in Check – Kids love to play outside and sometimes forget that with heat comes heat exhaustion. Make sure your child is constantly re-hydrating with water while playing outside.
- Banish Bugs – Prevent pesty mosquitoes, ticks and other bugs from having a feeding frenzy on your child. Be sure to spray them with insect repellent when they are outside during high bug times.
- Poison Control – make sure your children know what poison oak and poison ivy look like so they can avoid it. If they do come in contact with it, be sure to wash the area with soap and water for ten minutes and apply calamine lotion. Always call a doctor to make sure it doesn’t turn into anything serious.
What summer safety tips do you have to share?
Win $100 Gift Certificate At Our Father’s Day Contest!
Kolcraft loves to celebrate parenting and are excited that Father’s Day is almost here! To celebrate, we are giving you the opportunity to win a $100 American Express gift certificate!
It’s easy to enter. Just visit our Facebook page (if you aren’t a fan, now is the time to become one!) and answer one or both of the following questions:
- What is the greatest lesson your father has taught you?
- What is something you hope your child learns from his/her father?
The contest will run from June 13-20. It ends at Midnight CST on the 20th. Entries will be judged on originality and meaningfulness.
Good luck!
Fruity Frog Craft for Friday Fun Day
Fresh fruit is in abundance during the summertime and this fruity frog craft makes healthy eating fun and delicious for kids!
Ingredients:
- One green apple (makes four apple frogs)
- Cream cheese
- Chocolate chips
- Grapes
- One piece of green construction paper
- Scissors (adult use or supervised use by children)
- Knife (adult use only)
- Pencil
Instructions:
1. Cut the apple into four pieces and remove the core.
2. On one piece cut a thin wedge, and remove, to create a mouth
3. To create the eyes, shape the cream cheese into two half-inch balls. If you are making four frogs you will need eight cream cheese eyes.
4. Insert a chocolate chip, either direction, into each cream cheese ball.
5. If you are making one frog, cut three grapes in half. Two halves will be the arms. Cut the other four halves to create toes.
6. Draw a lily pad on a piece of green construction paper. Cut out the shape.
7. Place the apple slice on the green lily pad. Add the eyes (cream cheese balls) on top. Place the two grape halves on both sides. Slice lines to add the toes/feet.
Serve your child their healthy, delicious, and frogalicious lunch!
Do you have nutritious tips for families? Please share in our comment section!
Thanks to FamilyFun.com for sharing this frog craft with the Kolcraft family.
For more ideas about healthy eating with children, visit these Baby Matters archives:
Kolcraft Celebrates 65 Years of Serving Families
Kolcraft has kicked off a 6 month celebration for our 65th anniversary. We are super excited about this because we are celebrating the journey of parenthood that we have shared with generations of families.
We have a special 65th anniversary website where you can read the history of Kolcraft, read about our family of brands and enter our Sweepstakes. Our Sweepstakes kicks off with the Families on the Go with Jeep promotion running from June 5, 2011 through July 16, 2011. During this promotion you can win baby products like the Jeep Liberty Limited 3 wheeler stroller, Jeep Baby Carrier and other products for your family like a 5 piece Jeep luggage set! It’s everything a family needs to be on the go this summer.
Every 6 weeks there will be a new Sweepstakes package featuring products for baby and family from Sesame Street®, Sealy®, Contours® and Kolcraft. Be sure to continue to check the website to learn about all the exciting prizes including a new Sealy adult bed mattress!
We are truly thrilled to share our anniversary celebration with you. As our President says – you are the reason Kolcraft lives our mission of helping families on their parenting journey.
We are overjoyed to be celebrating 65 years of making parent’s lives easier with quality products families have depended on for decades, said Tom Koltun, President and third-generation owner of Kolcraft. There’s nothing more important to our success than the families who choose Kolcraft baby products each and every day.
Thank you for being a Kolcraft fan and welcome to our 65th Anniversary celebration.
Having Fun on World Oceans Day!
Today is World Oceans Day when aquariums, zoos and other family-friendly places celebrate our oceans. Our oceans cover 72% of Mother Earth so it’s pretty important that we care for them. You can teach your children how to care for our oceans and have lots of fun!
Check out these fun World Oceans Day Activities!
- Plymouth, MA is hosting a Seabird & Whale Tales wildlife cruise
- Olympia, WA is showing Oceans at the Sea Cinema Film Festival
- Santa Monica, CA and NYC are hosting beach cleanups
- Sarasota, FL is hosting a family festival celebrating the oceans at Mote Aquarium
- Watertown, SD is having a Dr. Seuss themed oceans program
If you can’t make it out, grab a book about fish or the oceans and share it with your child or do a fun fish themed activity or craft.
Your local aquarium, libraries, and zoos also have activities to celebrate World Oceans Day. Google World Oceans Day for events near you so you can join the fun!
Pool Safety Tips
Temperatures are reaching above 90° and nothing can cool you off more than a nice dip in the pool, but keep in mind a few pool safety rules.
- Never leave your child unattended even in a small kiddie pool. It only takes a few inches of water for a child to drown.
- Keep your child away from parts of the pool that can become entrapments like drains, pipes, etc.
- If your child is missing, look for her in the pool first.
- Do not let your children run at the pool or jump into shallow water.
- Keep a telephone near your pool in case there is an emergency.
- Keep pool chemicals locked away.
- Make sure all caregivers know pool safety rules.
A little knowledge and prevention can help stop pool related deaths. For more tips, visit the Government’s pool safety site. And don’t forget the sunscreen!
