Goodbyn Lunchbox

23 08 2009
Goodbyn Lunch Box Line Up

Goodbyn Lunchbox Line Up

Lunch boxes have been revolutionized with the new Goodbyn Lunchbox. The exterior surfaces of this 5-compartment lunchbox (with beverage container) come unadorned, so that the kids can use the included 250 stickers to customize it as THEY see fit.  The design is good for kids and the planet,  as it is BPA and Phthalate free and 100% recyclable.  It’s easy to open for little hands and should make kids more excited about packing lunch from home instead of buying pre-packaged or cafeteria foods.  Available in 4 colors.


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Categories : Green, Kid, Review

The BABYBJÖRN Plate and Spoon

1 08 2009

BabyBjörn has shown that they truly understand what children need when learning to feed themselves.  Unlike a typical bowl which allows food to get pushed around in circles, this plate is clover shaped with vertical sides which gives children more control.  A rubber edge on the plate keeps the plate from sliding around or being flipped onto the floor.  The spoon is slightly cupped and very broad which makes getting the food from the plate to their little mouths much easier and the handle fits perfectly in their little hands.  Most spoons are too small to balance the food or too deep to get the food out without spilling.  Available in 6 colors, sold in sets or individually.


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Categories : Kid, Review

Review – Balboa Park Playground

31 07 2009
Balboa Park Playground
San Jose Ave & Ocean Ave . San Francisco, CA 94112
Suitable for age: Toddler, 2-5 & 5-12 Clean: Yes Safe: Yes Rating: 5 of 5

Last weekend I was going to take my son to Jackson Playground but at the last minute decided to try something new. At a friend’s recommendation I decided to pay Balboa Park Playground a visit. Boy I’m glad I did! One of the first things I noticed was how nice and clean this newly renovated playground was. All the equipment including the flooring are new. Pumpkin orange is the playground dominating color, which makes the playground feel warm and welcoming. There are plenty of activities for kids of all ages to explore. In the age 2-5 area, the mini non-mobile school bus with open top is one of my son’s favorites. There are two big iron wheels that he can spin to his heart’s content, along with seating for his passengers. There is also a slide and stairs play structure in this area. Over at the age 5-12 zone, there are slides, stairs, drums, bells, crawling tubes and lots of nooks and crannies for the kids to explore. The nylon rope-net and the wall climbing area is a nice touch for the more agile kids. Finally, by the entrance there is the swing area with a big car seat chair, which is also my son’s favorite. Unfortunately all these activities didn’t tire out my son. So I took him over to the baseball field and let him run wild. All this time I felt very safe because the park, which includes the playground and the baseball field, is right next to the police station. How cool is that? In all, this is one of the best playgrounds we’ve been to and will definitely be coming back soon. I highly recommend this park. (jackson)


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Categories : Kid, Museums, Parks, Pools & Playgrounds, Review

Review – Mission Hill Playground

24 07 2009
Mission Hill Playground
1000 Mission Hills Drive . Daly City, CA 94014
Suitable for age: 2-5 Clean: Ok Safe: Yes Rating: 2.5 of 5

This is probably one of the most secluded parks I’ve ever been too. If you don’t live around here you probably don’t know this park exists. This is a very small playground and the few times I’ve been there it is always empty. It’s great because both my son and I can have the whole park to ourselves. As you can see from the picture the equipment is very limited but kids up to the age of 5 can still have a good time. There is a basketball court next to the playground and I often see young kids play basketball there. Even though the playground is quiet, (and sometimes too quiet),  I didn’t feel unsafe there. Overall, if you don’t mind the silence and happen to be in the neighborhood, this is an OK park to visit.


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Categories : Kid, Museums, Parks, Pools & Playgrounds, Review

Review – Randall Museum

18 07 2009

View Randall Museum

Randall Museum
199 Museum Way . San Francisco, CA 94114-1429 . (415) 554-9600
Suitable for age: All ages Admission: Free Rating: 3.5 of 5

Nestled up in the Corona Heights, Randall Museum is a nice little interactive museum for kids to explore. There is the tree house toddler exploration zone, a model train station in the basement, a mini petting zoo, and a live animal exhibit with owls, tortoises, hawks, tarantulas and snakes.  One of the more interesting areas is the earthquake exploration area, in which you build a Lego structure on a shaking table to test out how well your structure can withstand earthquakes, and this is definitely my kid’s favorite. For older kids, they may want to try their hands in a wood workshop or take an art or a ceramic class. In all Randall Museum is a great place for kids to visit especially on a rainy day. The facility is not new but as long as the kids have fun, who cares? The great thing about this place is that the admission is free. Drop by with your kid when you have a chance – you won’t regret it.


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Review – Charlie Sava Pool

8 07 2009
savapool03

(Image courtesy of SF Citizen)

Charlie Sava Pool
19th Avenue & Wawona . San Francisco . CA 94102 (415) 661 – 6327
Recreational Swim: Sat. 1:30pm-3pm; Sun. 12:30pm-2pm. For Mon-Friday please check the update pool schedule here.
Admission: $4 Clean: Yes Safe: Yes Good for Kids: Yes Rating : 5 of 5

My son loves water – water of any kind, including puddles of water on the floor, running water from the faucet, water in the toilet bowl, and ocean water at the beach. So when he was about 11 months old we took him to a pool and he absolutely loved it. Since then we’ve taken him to different pools and Charlie Sava Pool is one of the pools we like best. Located in the Parkside, this newly renovated pool has 6 indoor lanes, and a new locker room. The water temperature is supposedly kept at 80°F but feels cooler for some reason.  Other than that, the facility feels modern, everything is nice and clean. I highly recommend this swimming pool. You can read more Yelp here. (jackson)


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Categories : Kid, Museums, Parks, Pools & Playgrounds, Rainy Day Activities, Review

Review – Jackson Playground

4 07 2009
View Jackson Playground
Jackson Playground
1501 17th St . San Francisco, CA 94107 . (415) 554-9527
Suitable for age: Toddler, 2-5 & 5-12 Clean: Yes Safe: Yes Rating: 5 of 5

I had to take an early freeway exit due to a traffic jam, and found this gem in the Potrero Hill neighborhood. The park seemed nicely equipped for different age groups.  There is a ring-shaped toddler play area at the front of the park, with an age 2-5 activity area right next to it, and an age 5-12 play area towards the back of the park. There are two swing areas;  one for the age 2-5 kids and the other for ages 5-12. There is also something I hadn’t seen before, a seesaw, and my kid totally loved it. I was there around 4pm on a Thursday afternoon and found quite a few parents there playing with their kids. The park seemed well maintained and clean. I highly recommend this playground.


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Categories : Kid, Museums, Parks, Pools & Playgrounds, Review

iPhone App Review – iToyBox

4 07 2009
itoybox Publisher: nNovate, Inc.
Cost: $ 0.99
Rating: 5 of 5

If left in the car seat too long, my son gets fidgety. So  I often let him play with my iPhone to keep him quiet (please don’t judge me). I’ve tried many kid apps before and I have to say this is one of the best ones. ToyBox rolls 9 toys into 1 app all for $0.99! You get: a Xylophone, Pinwheel, Jack-In-The-Box, Color Sketchpad, Monster Drum Set, Kitty Piano, Frog Squeaky, Farm Animals, and a Sound Effects collection. You will not be able to change toy settings like you would in a standalone app but you don’t need to. The toys are pretty straight forward to operate and most importantly fun to play with. I highly recommend this app.


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Categories : Kid, Review, Technology, iPhone Stuff

Review – GoGo Kidz Travelmate

30 06 2009

Are you planning to take a trip with your kid on a plane? Not looking forward to  lugging around a 20-25- lb baby car seat all over the airport? Well have I got the product for you! Go-Go Kidz Travelmate is a product that attaches to the base of the baby car seat and turns it into a stroller. We bought one for our family trip to Hawaii and I highly recommend it.

The Go-Go Kidz Travelmate attaches easily to our Britax Marathon car seat but should work well with other car seat systems.  Once attached you can roll the car seat around like  carry-on luggage and the baby loves it. I don’t know about your kid but mine hates strollers but he doesn’t mind sitting in a car seat. So he absolutely loves it when we put his favorite car seat on a set of wheels and push him around the airport like he’s in a toy car. We love it too because we don’t have to carry the 25- lb car seat all over the airport.  Once we boarded the plane we didn’t have to take the ‘Travelmate’ off to strap the car seat in. All we had to do is to take the wheels off via the spring loaded push pin, thread the plane’s seat belt thru the back of the car seat,  tighten,  and we were done. Once we landed and had to get into a shuttle to get our rental car, we just reattached the wheels to the baby car seat and off we went.  Once we got our rental car, we popped the wheels off, strapped the car seat in and we were good to go. Very easy.

In all we had a great time in Hawaii, and Go-Go Kidz Travelmate made our traveling to and from the destination that much easier.  It’s not cheap and runs about $90. In my opinion,  it’s still worth getting,  even if you are going to use it only once. You can always pass it down to friends and family. I highly recommend this product and it gets an enthusiastic ‘Buy It’ vote from me. (by Jackson)

Go-Go Kidz Travelmate (amazon product link)


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