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Get Gardening, Get Green Fingers, Get Tolo Tools for Tots!
Gardening is a relaxing and mentally stimulating past time for adults and children too. Whilst safety is crucial to consider whilst working outdoors with children, as parents we tend to shy away from allowing little ones to make use of tools and implements in and out of the house due to worries over safety. With proper adult supervision (preferably on a one to one basis) and careful mentoring, we as parents can enable our children to build essential life skills. Gardening enables children to become more aware of their environment and learn how to care for and tend to the natural aspects of their outdoor surroundings.
Don’t be frightened of getting mucky! Find some old clothes for both you and your child, select a patch of the garden in which you wish to work and allow your little one/s to watch and become involved in a wonderful, family activity which is a fantastic tool for learning and offers many opportunities to build further understanding upon the world in which we live.
Gardening stimulates all five of your child’s senses, it is hugely beneficial for all involved. Here are just a few reasons for you and your little one to ‘go green and get gardening’…
- Building an understanding upon growth within the natural World.
- Teaching and practicing patience
- Encouraging your child to care for and nurture their surroundings.
- Encouraging bonding between the family as the activity is carried out.
- Learning where food comes from.
- Building an intimate relationship with the Earth
- Spending time outdoors promotes an active and healthy lifestyle, we all know the wonders that fresh air can do!
- Encourages cooperation and team work.
- Builds learning within Biology and Science from an early age.
- Reduce Stress Levels for all involved.
Tolo Toys sell a wide range of gardening tools for young gardeners. Mums Baby Magazine put three of the tools (one hand held trowel, one hand held rake and one hand held gardening fork) to the test with our toddler tester…
Each tool is made from solid steel featuring a robust, plastic handle which is easy to grip and colourful, preventing the tools from becoming easily lost within the garden. Each handle has a hole at the end for easy hanging/ storage.
Children love to mimic and copy adults, whilst many toys are designed for this very reason (such as scaled down pushchairs, hoovers and such) the Tolo Gardening Tools are full sized and also function as adult gardening tools., for this reason parents need to spend time teaching children how to hold and use the tools safely before activities within the garden are carried out. The Tolo Gardening Tools are quite chunky and should not be treated as toys.
Our toddler tester enjoyed many hours of digging, raking and turning soil using the Tolo Gardening Tools. After use, the tools can be wiped down easily and should be stored somewhere safe as these gardening tools should only be used with adult supervision.
The Tolo Gardening Tools provides young gardeners with an enjoyable, relaxing and stimulating experience which helps children to develop a wide range of skills and understanding from an early age. Mums Baby Magazine give the Tolo Gardening Tools 10/10, The Tolo Gardening Tools are available from www.tolotoys.com for £4.99 each.
Swimming in a Snap with Monkey Doodlez Swimming Nappies
Monkey Doodlez Swim Nappies are made from high quality fabrics which are soft, durable and meet health regulations for use in public swimming pools. Available in a range of colours and designs, the Monkey Doodlez Snapper Swim Nappies feature a duo popper fastening system which is size adjustable whilst maintaining the Monkey Doodlez signature fit for comfort.
Most reusable swim nappies are designed to ‘pull up’ and pull down to remove. However, this particularr design has a flaw as if your little one does ‘fill their nappy’ then removing their nappy without creating too much mess can be difficult.The Monkey Doodlez Snapper Swim Nappies eliminate this problem as they are designed in a similar fashion to household nappies, featuring two tabs either side of the nappy which can be snapped into place using a double snapper system which is size adjustable.
Mums Baby Magazine put a Monkey Doodlez Snapper Swim Nappy to the test with an active toddler. We found that the nappy fit well and was easily adjusted, the fabrics are indeed soft and therefore gentle the skin. The ‘tabs and snaps’ are far easier to use than pull ups, especially when removing after use in the pool as skin tends to be moist and often pull up nappies can chafe whilst being removed, unlike the Monkey Doodlez Snapper Swim Nappy.
The Monkey Doodlez Snapper Swim Nappy can be washed easily in a forty degree Celsius wash load and should be dried naturally rather than tumble drying. Mums Baby 
Magazine were impressed with the quality and the design of these swim nappies, we therefore award the Monkey Doodlez Snapper Swim Nappy with 10/10
Available in a range of size (small, medium, large and extra large) the Monkey Doodlez Snapper Swim Nappy is available for $21.95 from www.monkeydoodlez.com
Nurture your child’s natural instinct to explore rhythm, beat and sounds with ‘Jazz Nursery Rhymes’ from Music for Baby.
Music is the food for life as the saying goes… Music can stimulate specific areas of the brain, as can movement and therefore moving to Music is a useful tool to stimulate brain development in the early years.
Movement to Music is a lively and fun activity for parents and children (from birth onwards), according to your child’s age stage you can vary the movement styles that you use. For example with a new-born baby, you may wish to hold them and sway to the beat of Music, bounce them gently upon your knee or move their arms gently to the motion of the Music, whereas toddlers will enjoy bouncing, jumping, swaying and spinning to to the rhythm and beat of Music.
There is no time too soon to introduce your child to Music, you can actually allow your baby to explore Music in utero! Whilst in the womb babies are able to hear ‘sounds from the outside’, although the sound may be muffled it allows children to build recognition of their parents voices and familiar sounds. Research has shown that parents who have chosen to play Music to their growing bump have found that the particular Music used will settle their child once born.
We have a natural instinct to move to Music (at all ages), Music is an excellent way to help memorise important information such as the alphabet, numbers, dates, and other important life skills through mnemonics, rhymes and patterns.
Music for Baby is a UK based company started by professional musicians who wanted to create the perfect musical soundtrack to their baby’s life. Music for Baby is a small independent record label, run by a husband and wife team. Music for Baby specialise in music designed to support development and different activities from pre-natal through to toddler and beyond. Music for Baby includes the following professionals:
Jacqui Hicks (vocals)
- Jacqui has worked with live artists Shakatak, Matt Bianco and Brian Dee. Jacqui has also worked on films including Tombraider II and Veronica Guerin
Mike Eaves (Guitars)
- Mike has worked in Film and TV performances and/or on-screen work including Hugo Cabret, Confetti, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, Cold Feet and Pop Idol. Mike has also worked with live/ recorded artists John Williams, Will Young, Chaka Kahn, Shirley Bassey, Russel Watson, Lulu and Symphony Orchestra. Mike has also been involved the West End Productions of The Lion King, Mamma Mia, Les Misrables and Blood Brothers.
Andy Pask (Double Bass)
- Andy’s appearances include Henry Mancini, Carl Davies. Andy is also mentioned in the album credits for Freddie Mercury, Madonna and Tom Jones. Andy’s featured film appearances include Evita, Little Shop of Horrors and Gosford Park. Andy is also in the composing credits for TV Theme ‘The Bill’.
Karen Eaves (Music Education Consultant)
- Karen set and run the The British Academy of New Music, she is the Business Development Manager and the Head of Curriculum at Access to Music. Karen is Secondment to Specialist Schools and Academies Trust to train UK creative media and Music Teachers accross the East of England.
- Karen has also won the award for Culture and Diversity sponsored by Arts Council England, presented by Sir George Martin at the BAFTA awards. Karen is also a violinist and has worked on sessions with Granada TV, Natural History Museum and BMW.
Mums Baby Magazine were give the ‘Jazz Nursery Rhyme’s’ CD from the ‘Baby Explore’ range to rate and review. Jazz Nursery Rhymes features jazz arrangements of traditional nursery rhymes, introducing your little one to a sophisticated genre of Music through a familiar melodic and lyrical content. Jazz Nursery Rhymes features the following soundtracks (all written and produced in a beautiful Jazz style).
- Old Macdonald
- The Muffin Man
- The Teddy Bears Picnic
- Hush Little Baby
- Pop Goes The Weasel
- The Alphabet Song
- Incy Wincy Spider
- Baa Baa Black Sheep
- The Grand Old Duke Of York
- Do Your Ears Hang Low
- Little Bo Peep
- Humpty Dumpty
- This Old Man
We began by using this CD as backing Music for general day to day play within the household. The nursery rhymes are recognisable yet the Music itself is slower paced and far more relaxing for both parent and child to listen to. We found that the Jazz Nursery Rhymes CD is the ideal backing track for 
when carrying out activities such as painting, drawing, model making, cooking or any specific activity which requires concentration and patience. For younger babies, this is a beautiful soundtrack to play to promote a calm and relaxing environment whilst building recognition of well known nursery rhymes.
Jazz Nursery Rhymes is just one of many CDs produced by Music for Baby, Music for Baby have also produced an App for smart phones which can be downloaded and features much of the Music created by this company.
We greatly enjoyed listening to the material produced by Music for Baby as will you and your child! Mums Baby Magazine give the Jazz Nursery Rhymes CD 8/10. Jazz Nursery Rhymes is available from www.musicforbaby.co.uk for £10
Sun, Sand and Swimming with Little Ones, We review the Monkey Doodlez Swim Nappy.
A day out swimming is the perfect past time especially during the hot summer months. However, taking a toddler swimming can be difficult at the best of times, make your day a little less stressful by investing in a reusable swim nappy.
Why reuse?
Would you throw away your swimming costume after you had used it only once? No… So why waste money upon disposable swim nappies when you could offer your child a comfortable and more affordable option?
Let’s look at the comparisons
| Disposable Swim Nappies | Reusable Swim Nappies |
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If you plan on swimming regularly with your child then the benefits of using reusable swim nappies far outweigh those of disposable swim nappies. Mums Baby Magazine put the Monkey Doodlez Blowfish Swim Nappy to the ultimate test:
We took two toddlers (one wearing a disposable swim nappy and the other wearing a Monkey Doodlez reusable nappy), a paddling pool and a range of floating toys out on a sunny day in the UK. Firstly, we ensured that both children were wearing children’s waterproof SPF Factor 50 sun protecting lotion, we then fitted the nappies onto the toddlers and added sunglasses, a protective sun shirt/ swim suit and sun hats. We then put up an oversized parasol to ensure that the toddlers were shaded during the afternoons play in the sunshine and then filled the paddling pool with floating toys to keep the little ones entertained while we watched and waited…
Disposable VS Reusable Swim Nappies at play
The first toddler (wearing a disposable swim nappy) entered the paddling pool with little hesitation, within minutes she decided that she wished to get out of the pool for a play in the sandpit. However, the disposable swim nappy was soaked and due to the ‘absorbent core’ in the nappy the nappy remained wet until removed five minutes later.
The second toddler (wearing a reusable Monkey Doodlez swim nappy) entered the paddling pool with and sat down in his reusable nappy. Upon noticing that his companion had left him for a sandpit, he decided to follow his friend and he too had a rather ‘wet bum’. However, after five minutes the reusable nappy had dried and the toddler wearing this item was able to continue water and sand play outside without being changed.
Disposable VS Reusable Swim Nappies when in water
The first toddler (wearing a disposable swim nappy) had now been changed into a new disposable swim nappy and once again wished to enter the padding pool to fill her watering can. We took this opportunity to take a closer look at the disposable nappy when in water and found that it seemed quite stiff and uncomfortable. We also found that it seemed to become bulkier when in water.
The second toddler (wearing a reusable Monkey Doodlez swim nappy) once again entered the paddling pool and sat down enabling us to investigate the reusable swim nappy when in water. We found that the material of the Monkey Doodlez Swim Nappy (bathing suit material) still felt soft and had plenty of give so that the toddler was able to move around happily without discomfort.
After twenty minutes of water and sand play, we took both children inside to get changed. We put two disposable swim nappies into the bin and then we took the reusable swim nappy and popped it into a waterproof bag along with the protective tee-shirts and hats ready for the wash.
What’s the difference between Disposable and Reusable Swim Nappies in terms of design?
It is worth considering that neither disposable or reusable swim nappies are designed to absorb urine, as if either of these nappies were to absorb moisture they would become heavier in the water, thus weighing the child down. Disposable swim nappies do have some absorbency but will not absorb swimming pool water. Some reusable nappies have a waterproof layer (similar to pair of plastic pants within the nappy) to try and withhold fluids whereas others have a simple mesh layer which allow fluid through but retain any solid materials from escaping. Both the disposable and reusable swim nappies are designed to contain solids.
What do I need my child’s swim nappy to do?
Swim nappies need to have snug-fitting leg gussets and waistbands in order to contain any solid materials when in the water.
What are the price comparisons?
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Reusable Swim Nappy x 1 |
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If we were to imagine that you took your child swimming every week for three months then the average price comparison per week between disposable swim nappies and reusable swim nappies would be a saving of £6.45 if you chose to use reusable swim nappies!
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Mums Baby Magazine were impressed with the Monkey Doodlez Swim Nappy. The toddler who wore this Monkey Doodlez Reusable Swim Nappy (Blow Fish Design) seemed to get along swimmingly in comparison with the toddler who wore the disposable swim nappy and required several changes which interrupted play and therefore got the thumbs down both us and our little tester!
The sizing of the Monkey Doodlez Swim Nappy seems accurate, the leg gussets are elasticated and soft for comfort and protection. The designs are bright and colourful, the nappy inner is lined with soft polyester mesh fabric to prevent any ‘little accidents’ from escaping and the Monkey Doodlez Swim Nappies can be washed easily along with other laundry at forty degrees Celsius.
Mums Baby Magazine give the Monkey Doodlez Swim Nappy 10/10 for comfort and protection in the pool. The Monkey Doodlez Swim Nappies are available in a wide range of sizes, colours and designs. Monkey Doodlez is a Canadian brand. However, this brand of Reusable Swim Nappies can now be purchased in the UK for £12.50 per swim nappy through www.cheeksandcherries.co.uk
‘A Simple Way To Teach Your Baby To Love The Water’, Little Dippers ‘Water Babies’ DVD brings water safety home.
Introducing your child to water can be a daunting experience for both parents and child, there are now a variety of swimming programmes designed for parents and babies to attend. ‘Little Dippers’ was founded by Lauren Heston and is now available in a range of locations throughout the UK.
Many parents find it difficult to attend sessions at the pool with their little ones for a number of reasons such as:
- day/ time unsuitable due to work/ family commitments
- no transport
- no lessons available locally
- high prices of sessions
- worry/ anxiety over introducing little ones to water
- worry/ anxiety over taking little one to pool alone
With many parents and children planning vacations this summer, it is worth considering building life saving, water based skills with your little one now before introducing them to water in an unfamiliar location. Almost one third of drowning incidents occur after victims slim or fall from land or structures (built over water). The majority of accidents in water occur at inland locations. A common reason for drowning incidents is the panic response. If little ones are able to learn to relax in water they are less likely to drown.
The Waterbabies DVD enables parents to watch lesson guides from the comfort of their own living room. Filmed by the award-winning ‘Waterbabies’ film team, ‘Waterbabies’ is a step by step guide on how to introduce your little one to water. Featuring Lauren Heston ‘Waterbabies’ uses a fortnightly lesson guide on how to develop your little ones confidence and skills in the water. Although this DVD is designed to last twenty one weeks, it will more than likely take much longer than this depending upon your child’s response and development during the training course.
The DVD begins with a rolling screen of safety information which is hard to take in due to the speed of the text roll, all the safety information is now clearly printed inside the DVD case. It is important to read and follow this information before beginning the Waterbabies course.
- Never leave your little one unsupervised by/ in water.
- Warm up before sessions by using revision and exercises from previous sessions.
- If your child is ill go back a few weeks to rebuild their strength and confidence.
- Ensure that your child is well enough to take part in sessions.
- Stop if your little one is ever displaying signs of stress or fatigue.
- Your child should never be submerged more than eight times.
- Never spend more than thirty minutes in the pool.
The Waterbabies ‘Little Dippers’ course builds ‘Self Rescue’ life saving skills such as
- Building confidence with the sensation of being in water.
- Back Floating
- Holding onto the side of the pool/ a bar
- Turning under water
- Swimming unaided
- How to deal with submergence
- Relaxing in water.
The Waterbabies Course uses ‘Word Association’ as the key stimulus and prompt for learning. Parents are encouraged to adopt a firm and positive voice, throughout the DVD parents are reminded to remain positive, responding to their little ones with reassurance, cuddles and praise.
Throughout the course your little one is aiming to build the four key ‘Self Rescue Skills’ which are:
- Landing in water
- Turning in water
- Coming to the surface and taking a breath
- Holding onto the side
Spending time in the water helps to build children’s lung capacity and increase the strength of their heart. Water based activities are therapeutic for little ones and can also help to improve coordination, confidence and self esteem.
The Waterbabies DVD encourages parents and little ones to have fun in the water together, spending time together in the water is an excellent way in which to bond. Many parents (both Mums and Dads) are featured on the DVD sharing their feelings and thoughts upon the Little Dippers course as they progress. Also featured on this DVD is an interview with Lauren Heston (the founder of Little Dippers), coverage of how the DVD was made and a photo gallery.
Waterbabies is a ‘shared adventure’ which with patience and a positive approach is fun for all involved. It’s never too early to introduce your little one to the water, this DVD offers parents a clear and concise programme which they can then use with their child to develop critical life saving skills.
Available for £18.99 from www.littledippersfilms.co.uk, the Waterbabies DVD teaches you how to turn your little one into a ‘waterbaby’! Alternatively this series is available to download from http://www.littledippersfilms.co.uk/order.php
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