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Our family of four spent last weekend at Bass Lake near Yosemite National Park. That meant we spent the better part of three days in water, near water, soaked by water, or riding on top of water. As with many lakes, the shores of Bass Lake are very rocky – in fact, my 2-year-old’s favorite activity was standing among the palm-sized (to him) smooth, erosion-rounded stones and throwing them into the water to delight at the “plop!” sound they made.

Happy feet!

Instead of stressing out about the boys losing their balance and falling among the slippery rocks, I made them wear the mesh water shoes that Lands’ End sent us to try. Basically, they’re like sneakers for wearing in water. The 2-year-old wore them all weekend without complaint, which is saying a lot because he, being 2, complains about everything. In fact, he even requested them using one of the few words he knows: he would hold them up and cry “Soos!” when he knew we were getting ready to head down to the water.

The rest of us appreciated the stability the shoes afforded us at the lake’s edge. I found my pretty coral shoes to fit a bit loosely on my feet, so I won’t be using them to run through creek beds at high speed. Not that I would do that anyway. My 4-year-old was not immune to the whines – he didn’t like the way the sand got caught inside the shoe after running around on the beach for a while. Plus, the shoes seem to run large for his size, too, and he started to get irritated. For this boy I would go with a sandal next time.

And speaking of sandals, my husband tried the Men’s River Trekkers, which would have been perfect except that this shoe runs on the narrow side, and my husband has Neanderthal feet. As such, his pinkie toe stuck out the side and this bothered him so much he didn’t care about walking barefoot on the rocks. Our travel companion, Patrick, inherited the shoes, and his more slender feet found a love connection with the Trekkers, so we all lived happily ever after.

Big brother, you forgot your water shoes!

Here’s another nifty product that I picked up at the ABC kids show in September and have not gone a day without using ever since…

Baby Human spoons teach baby self feeding skills at an early age. Because they are curved and two sided, they work for both lefties and righties. My baby loves to teeth and chew on the soft silicone and I love that the shape of this two headed spoon is gag-less. I would never hand him a regular baby spoon to chew on at 7 months as I know he’d be likely to injure himself, or at least gag himself with that spoon!

Leo really adores to try and feed himself, even at this early age. Which is why it’s great to have one of these spoons to hand him while I am feeding him. He gets busy trying to use his, while I continue feeding him with another one. Good thing the spoons are sold in packs of two. It may seem silly to rave over a spoon, but in all my years of feeding babies, this one is the most versatile and ingenious. And often it is the little things!

Volvo City Safety On The Road video

I recently had an opportunity to test the brand-new Volvo XC60 Crossover with City Safety installed, and was extremely impressed with the system. 

Basically it allows for the vehicle to stop automatically if it senses a pending collision and you are going between 2 and 18 mph. As long as you are not actively steering, accelerating,  or braking the system will apply the brakes at up to 50%. Under 9 mph this will result in a complete stop and accident avoidance, between 9-18 mph this will result in a near-stop, and accident reduction.

On a test track Volvo had laid out for us, the vehicle did in fact stop and avoid the obstruction, but only on my second run. First time through, I braked before the system had a chance to kick in. When City Safety does stop the vehicle, it feels very abrupt to the driver.

This is another safety innovation from Volvo that for now is only available on the forthcoming XC60, and will only prevent collisions with objects resembling another car in shape and size. 

Volvo safety engineer Thomas Broberg, inventor of the City Safety system, let us in on a little secret: it will protect pedestrian/bicycle collisions when it becomes available on the 2010 S60. My guess is, knowing Volvo, all future models after 2011 will have some version of the feature.

Do you know what the temperature is in your infant’s room? Is it within the pediatrician recommended range?

I know what my thermostat is set to, but this does not always correspond to the actual temperatures in my son’s room, which is the farthest in the house from the heating/cooling unit. And when we are away from home, in a hotel or staying with family, I am at a loss as to what the temp really is.

The Grobag Egg has been so helpful because I now know at a glance, what the temp is in the room where my son sleeps. The egg changes color based on the temperature. Blue for too cold, Red for too hot and Yellow for just right.

Once I know the temperature I am able to adjust my son’s night-time clothing accordingly. And rather than put (not recommended for infants) blankets on him, I have been using a breathable cotton sleep sack from Grobag as well. We no longer worry about him waking in the night due to discomfort with the ambient room temps. I love that the Grobag Sleeping bag comes in a travel version that works in the carseat or infant swing as well as in the crib. It has a two sided zip with pass through. So even when my son (who has reflux) sleeps in his carseat, he is perfectly and safely dressed.

The Grobag sleeping bag comes in a bunch of cute prints and embellished solids.

The IIHS came out with a booster seat study today, highlighting the need for parents to be more conscious of their choice of carseats. A comprehensive study found that several popular models of booster seats were failing to do their job properly.

In a nutshell, belt positioning boosters only work to restrain and keep a child safe if the booster elevates the child to a seating position where a lap/shoulder belt fits across their body properly. A poor fit can actually increase the risk of abdominal injury in a crash. Although this premise is a simple one, the differences in the car seats and belts in various cars, and the assorted shapes and sizes of kids who might be seated in a booster, make evaluating booster seat fit complex and difficult. Additionally, boosters that can be used with and without the backrest portion, need to be evaluated as two separate entities.

In the end, the IIHS came out with a list of seats that performed (best and worst), when tested in several car models by an average sized six year old. Interestingly, many of the models that performed poorly are "convertible" styles that advertise themselves as the only seat you will ever need to buy. These same seats may have received favorable ratings in their five point harness and/or rear facing modes, but fall down miserably when used as a backless booster.

The study, while canning several models of boosters, is also a reminder of our need to be vigilant. It’s not enough to pop our kids in a booster seat, if the seat does nothing to keep our kids safe. We need to check the belt fit in every car/booster combination that our children ride in. Also of note – price had little to do with the list of seats recommended. Favorable ratings were giving to seats in multiple price categories.

If nothing else, this study is a good argument to keep kids in five-point harnesses as long as possible.

No one wants to plan for an emergency, but a little bit of planning goes a long way towards making the most of your vacation days and can help prevent a tragedy. Worth the effort!

If you are planning a trip then you will want to check out some of the offerrings at the Chicks and Cubs website.  Some picks to consider:

1. Physical IDs for children to have all the information they need, ON them, to get back to parents quickly if they become lost. ID bracelets, Shoe Stickers, Shoe Tags, Dog Tags, Temporary Tattoos, Electronic Child Locator ($8.00-$30.00)

2. Wallet IDs These are great for putting all the important information in one place. Parents carry the card and hand it over to authorities if you child is lost. Also great for giving to other caregivers (child care on a cruise, playdates,…). This can also be a physical ID for tweens/teens – since they don’t have a drivers license yet. ($10.00 for 5 cards)

3. Parking Pal Magnet This is a magnet that you put on your car. It gives children something to do while you get babies and/or other gear out of the car so they don’t dart out into traffic in a parking lot. (set of 2 magnets for $16.00)

4. Information for before you go on a trip (to busy, crowded places!!). Kid Escape! from Child Abductors DVD – teaches kids physical moves to try there very best to ESCAPE from an abductor.  ($12.00)

5. Mini First Aid  Kit This first aid kit is great for little scrapes. Great size for diaper bag, camera bag, purse. ($6.00)

It’s a hot topic in California. Should pets be allowed to ride on their owner/drivers laps? What do you think? Whether you think Fido should be free or tethered, this should make you laugh.

A compelling reminder of the importance of protecting your kids around other drivers.

Car safety is a serious subject but you’re gonna be tempted to laugh when you watch this!