This past rainy, New England,
Columbus day,
we decided to get a jump on this year's Christmas shopping.After brief stops at the craft store, the
shoe warehouse and Marshall’s,
we landed at the “Worlds Biggest Toy store”, Toys R Us.
After about 30 minutes in the place, I noticed a disturbing
trend.Nearly all of the toys have some
kind of button that makes it talk, plays a song or causes some kind of
movement.After extrapolation of all possible
outcomes, I was gripped by fear. My fear was that if I continued to buy my kids
the toys that they like, they are never going to have to use their imaginations
the way that I did as a kid.
I am a Pampers snob. I admit it. When my first kid was born, my wife and I tried most every brand at least once. And we kept on going back to Pampers. We tried to save a few pennies and go Huggies or Luvs but the Pampers leaked less, felt softer, and had better cartoon characters. We then tried to save a few bucks and go warehouse brands like Kirkland, Target, or Berkely and Jensen. Even if we felt a little better in the wallet, we felt worse when we were cleaning up poodad streaks in the crib and in the car seat.
So that's why when Noodad.com was approached to review the new Bear Hug Stretch diapers from Luvs , I was skeptical. Luvs is saying all the right things: "New Bear Hug Stretch premium elastic sides stretch to fit. Luvs® helps stop leaks as well as the pricey brands. For great leak protection, all you need is Luvs" Read the rest of this entry »
The oversize nails from the Hasbro Team Talking Toolbench can become
lodged in a toddler's throat, cutting off their oxygen. Two two
year olds have died from this.
Please always remember to follow the age guidelines for toys.
Also, watch younger kids when they go into their older siblings' or
friends' rooms. Remember, the safety of your children is
your responsibility. Babies and toddlers love to put things in
their mouth. Take it out of their mouth and tell them "no".
Be stern and repeat.
Part of an ongoing series aimed at helping Noodads discern fact from fiction when it comes to the promises and claims made by various baby products…
How cold is your freakin’ house? Maybe if you live in an igloo, this is a useful product because who wouldn’t be concerned about a wet wipe freezing to their kid’s ass?
Ok, open mockery aside, this seems to be one of the product ploys that new parents most often fall for.
In theory, a warm wipe seems like it would be much better received at 2 am but in all reality, if your infant is screaming during a diaper change, it’s not because the wipe is cold but rather because a) he’s getting his diaper changed, b) you likely have his feet held together in one hand up in the air, c) you’re wiping his ass and d) he’s a baby.
That issue addressed and with a dose of reality injected, wipes warmers have some serious practical flaws…space, waste and sanitation being chief among them.
The children in our household learned to surf the web before the age of five so I was not terribly surprised to find that they developed a level of sophistication that surpassed my own at the same age. This is progress. They seem a lot smarter than I was. Their little tastes and preferences seem much more refined. Maybe too refined. Take animation for example.
For $1.99 I recently downloaded Pixar’s short animated film One Man Band. My son has now seen this video about 100 times. The good people of Pixar, in their quest to develop incredibly realistic films, have raised the threshold of animation. One Man Band is perfect: wonderful animation, great music and a very amusing storyline. The boys love everything Pixar produces. One day I decided to test them, similar to the way in which one might try to test a top chef by substituting his foie gras with bologna. One day instead of Pixar’s shiny new animated feature I loaded a Popeye the Sailor cartoon; one that was clumsily crafted during the Eisenhower administration. Read the rest of this entry »
It's one of the parental question of all questions. The decision that could mean hundreds of cries, peace and quiet, or it could be anywhere in between. I'm talking about the decision to use a pacifier.
Pacifiers (or as some people call them, Binkys) work by simulating the shape of a nipple and thus satisfying the soothing sucking reflex that every baby has. So it simulates a boob. That rocks right? Not so fast Mr. Boobington: there are some problems that can occur when your kids get hooked on the pacifier. Yet there are many short term benefits to popping these suckers in their cry-holes. Below are some pros and cons: Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve been told I’m the luckiest guy alive. I’ve been told I’ve experienced the greatest moment ever. And neither of these platitudes have anything to do with the birth of my son, meeting a celebrity or finding a $100 bill on the street.
A couple of weekends ago, as Mrs. ReviewDad and I were running errands with ReviewDad Jr. asleep in the backseat, trunk full of über-sized loot from Costco, she said coolly and without looking at me (as if reflecting on an idea long considered) “should we get a Wii?”Take a moment to read that line again and let it sink in. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Yes. Those are the precise words that came out of my wife’s mouth. I shit you not.
Videotaping your kid's soccer game or ballet performance no longer means carrying a typewriter-sized box on your shoulder. Gone are the days where every school holiday concert is filed with dads in the aisles trying to catch the best angle for their Spielbergian masterpiece. But the absence of these situations is not because of the smaller video cameras out in the market. No, it is because companies are hiding behind their "value-add" and "professional quality" facades and gang raping parents in the auditorium.
So this is one of those critical junctions in the article where I have lost you or you already know where I'm going with this. Here's the deal.
My 4 year old daughter takes ballet lessons. Cool right? And she totally gets into it. She's got the shoes, the leotards, the tights, the whole nine yards. So at the end of the year we get to go watch her perform with her class. This mind you, is a performance where every class from every age group in the entire dance studio performs.
As some of you loyal Noodad readers know, I am also the Chief Blogger and Editor-in-Chief of iPhoneMatters.com . But even though I have been consumed by lust of this $600 device, owning it has not been the easiest thing in the world. The reason is simple: I may be a Apple fanboy and gadget lover, but the reality is I am also the father of three kids (2 toddlers and 1 baby).
This means that I have up to 6 miniature hands just waiting to rub snot, dirt, and god knows what else onto my new toy. That is why, as I have promised to all of you in the past, I will continue to deliver you with tips on fatherhood like this. Why Parenthood and iPhones Do Not Mix. Read the rest of this entry »
We’re guys. For most of us, germs aren’t something we worry that much about…especially when it comes to food. We relish “unusual” dining experiences – the “street meat” after the ballgame, a big burrito from the authentic Mexican place where nobody speaks English, Dim Sum from that place in Chinatown where the fish tanks give you the impression that it hasn’t been visited by the Health Inspector…well, ever. We dine in this way and with little care because we believe devoutly in the power of the human immune system. That and Imodium.
But germs became something to think (and to worry about) when our kids arrived and now you’re eyeing that high-chair at Denny’s with abject suspicion. That’s why we pack Purell in our diaper bags, own a Clean Shopper and give willing consideration to just about any product that plays to our germ-phobias and promises to keep our little ones clean and thereby healthier.
I am a Pampers snob. I admit it. When my first kid was born, my wife and I tried most every brand at least once. And we kept on going back to Pampers. We tried to save a few pennies and go Huggies or Luvs but the Pampers leaked less, felt softer, and had better cartoon characters. We then tried to save a few bucks and go warehouse brands like Kirkland, Target, or Berkely and Jensen. Even if we felt a little better in the wallet, we felt worse when we were cleaning up poodad streaks in the crib and in the car seat.
How cold is your freakin’ house? Maybe if you live in an igloo, this is a useful product because who wouldn’t be concerned about a wet wipe freezing to their kid’s ass?
The children in our household learned to surf the web before the age of five so I was not terribly surprised to find that they developed a level of sophistication that surpassed my own at the same age. This is progress. They seem a lot smarter than I was. Their little tastes and preferences seem much more refined. Maybe too refined. Take animation for example. 
It's one of the parental question of all questions. The decision that could mean hundreds of cries, peace and quiet, or it could be anywhere in between. I'm talking about the decision to use a pacifier. 
I’ve been told I’m the luckiest guy alive. I’ve been told I’ve experienced the greatest moment ever. And neither of these platitudes have anything to do with the birth of my son, meeting a celebrity or finding a $100 bill on the street.
As some of you loyal Noodad readers know, I am also the Chief Blogger and Editor-in-Chief of 
We’re guys. For most of us, germs aren’t something we worry that much about…especially when it comes to food. We relish “unusual” dining experiences – the “street meat” after the ballgame, a big burrito from the authentic Mexican place where nobody speaks English, Dim Sum from that place in Chinatown where the fish tanks give you the impression that it hasn’t been visited by the Health Inspector…well, ever. We dine in this way and with little care because we believe devoutly in the power of the human immune system. That and Imodium.
