droolicious : car

Wireless Wheeling for the Backseat Driver

JeanneSager — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:06:00 GMT

They've graduated to forward-facing, and now your tot is telling you how to go and where? Let your backseat driver take the wheel with this wireless farmyard set with their own mini steering wheel.

Hang the Tiny Love Wonder Wheel Farmyard board on the back of your seat and hand them the wheel, so they can get to work pressing buttons to make Old McDonald sing, the puppy bark, the cow moo and the whole thing light up. Thanks to the wireless set up, kids can hand the wheel back and forth to each other so everyone in the backseat has a go. They'll be so wrapped up in the lights and music, they'll forget to ask "are we there yet?"

Get it from Student Market for $29.95.

Beep And Build In The Bath

Lisa Estall — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:39:00 GMT

I am looking for bathtub toys and came upon The Beep and Build. I know my son would love this. This toy is a 3-D car puzzle and comes with an oil can that squirts water.

I think this can provide hours of bath time fun in our home and will encourage my kid to take his bath! The Beep and Build is recommended for kids age 2 years and up.

You can find it at Fao Schwarz for $14.

The Babble Review: Three Birthday Present Picks

editors — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:27:00 GMT

My daughter turns three today (Happy Birthday Esmé!) and that means this time of year we are working the neighborhood kiddo birthday party circuit. Since we all love cake and revelry, it is awesome. Trying to keep gift ideas fresh for each birthday boy or girl that will be in attendance at every event is a bit more difficult. This year I started early and have three sure-fire picks to make a big splash:

Rubbabu

I’ve given these felt-covered wheelies on more than one occasion. They were especially abundant during last year’s two-year-old celebrations. The first time I stumbled upon these rolling balls of cuteness they only had chubby cars, but this year – fuzzy animals! Ash is getting the blue giraffe. Don’t tell.

Get Rubbabu Fuzzy Cars and Animals at Nico and Zoe.

It’s Fairy Time

Lulu likes to dress up. She also likes to race around the house and jump off furniture so we’re not worried about over-emphasizing her girly side. Estella has a few fantastic things you can throw together for your favorite princess, fairy or whatever role they so choose. Start with a wand, add a fuzzy tiara and complete the outfit with metallic ballet slippers. Score! Also great for Valentine’s Day gifting.

Get wand ($10), tiara ($16) and slippers ($15) at Estella NYC.

Charlie & Lola Talking Dolls

If your giftee doesn’t have the DVDs of this clever and sweet kid show yet, pick up one of those first to get your toddler properly schooled in Charlie and Lola-ese. Then blow their little mind with this talking Lola doll complete with trunk set and a change of clothes. The British accent makes Lola’s plaintive, “I’m not tired and I don’t want to go to bed” sound adorable instead of annoying. Your little ones who dig dress up will love the hanger and drawer option, you’ll love the fact that you can close everything up in one compact case and put it out of site. - April Peveteaux

Get Talking Lola Doll and PJs Trunk Set at FAO Schwarz for $42.

Take Your Kid For A Ride - In Vintage Style

SunnyChanel — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Do you have a little speed demon in training on your hands? A car crazed kid with an undeniable urge to cruise? A aesthically pleasing answer for you and them is this super stylish Metal Speedcar Racer from Design Within Reach. This ride-on foot powered car is based on the roadsters of the 1930’s and this vintage-styled metal racer will surely give them one sweet sweet ride. Best of all, it’ll look like a piece of eclectic art in your home, flat or apartment. You can get your kid their own rider here, or one for you to have as a whimsical conversation piece ($120).

Tummy Shield Is A Seat Belt For Pregnant Moms-To-Be

Chris Ford — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:59:00 GMT

Here's something I came across for all of the Droolicious moms-to-be out there. The Tummy Shield is an Australian seat belt contraption for pregnant women that supposedly keeps the baby-to-be safely in-utero while mom is traveling in the car. Which, all things considered, seems like a pretty good idea to me.

The way it works is, there is a seat cushion that the mom sits on with a buckle that goes between the legs. Then you put the shoulder strap seat belt on as normal, except you buckle it to the center between your legs, preventing the lap belt from going across the pregnant middle. It's kind of hard to explain, but you can see how it works from the photo, and there is also step by step instructions here.

It's an Australian product so I don't know anything about if it has passed U.S. safety tests or not, and I'm not vouching for it personally, but it looks like something new-moms-to-be might want to check out.

Check it out at Tummyshield.com.au (via InventorSpot.com).

Toy Car from Switzerland Runs On Solar Power

Chris Ford — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:03:00 GMT

Design Within Reach may no longer offer it's "Jax" catalog for children's products, but you can find a kid-related thing in there every now and then. For example, check out this toy Solar Car - just the thing to teach your kids about energy independence.

The Solar Car is a wooden toy car (made in Switzerland, if you couldn't tell from the design) with a solar panel and a small motor. As long as the car is in a sunny place, it will move on it's own.

But what's the real lesson learned about solar energy? It's expensive. The Solar Car will set you back $125 from DWR.com.

7 Days of Car Seats: Graco Nautilus 3-in-1

Chris Ford — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:06:00 GMT

When I'm thinking about what makes the perfect car seat, I'm thinking about three things. How safe is it? How many years will I be able to use it (reasonably)? And does the color match my car? Since Erin already took my favorite Britax car seat for toddlers, I'll tell you about my other favorite - the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat.

So for the first criterion, I'm convinced it's very safe. The five point harness works up to 65 pounds, it's steel reinforced. and has a high back. It also lets the child sit more upright than a lot of toddler-only car seats out there which I like too.

As for how long it will last, the cool thing about this seat is that it's a convertible seat. It converts from a toddler seat (with the 5 point harness) to a high-back booster to a backless booster. You'll be getting use out of this one until your kid is old enough to sit up front, which is pretty cool.

And the colors are happily neutral. In my world, kid-stuff like car seats shouldn't match the kid, they should match the car. So if you're looking for ducks and bunnies this might not be for you, but for my car it's perfect.

Check out the Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat (it retails for around $150) at GracoBaby.com

Automoblox X9X SUV Toy Car

Chris Ford — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:02:00 GMT

We've told you about Automoblox before, but there's a new car out that is even better. The Automoblox X9X SUV is green, rugged and might just be the coolest toy car I've ever seen.

Automoblox is a toy that comes in parts (blocks), and with a little work assembles into a car. The X9X SUV has running boards, a roof rack, spare tire and skid plates. It looks like fun to put together and fun to play with once it's done. And the green tires and windshield? I'm guessing that means it's an Hybrid.

Automoblox X9X SUV, $40 from Unica Home.

7 Days of Eco-Friendly Toys: Playsam Cars

Chris Ford — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 21:34:00 GMT

I'm not exactly sure what an "eco-friendly toy" is, but when I think about my favorite wood toys that we own, this toy car from Playsam is always at the top of the list.

The Streamliner F1 is the most simple of toys. Basically it's a smooth oval body, four wheels and a little guy that you can take out. Made entirely out of wood, it's the sort of thing you just love looking at. It doesn't make any sounds or require any batteries, but both of my girls loved playing with it. A word of warning though, make sure the little guy is out of the hands of teething toddlers, as he will inevitably get chipped.

Check out the Streamliner F1 and all of the toys from Playsam at Playsam.com.

Car Seat Covers Cuter Than A Duck's Butt

Chris Ford — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:03:00 GMT

Car seats are a necessity that we as parents all have to deal with, and like a lot of baby stuff they can be kind of an eyesore. Cuter Than A Duck's Butt makes reversible car seat covers in all sorts of patterns to match your car, child, or both.

At $119.99 for a seat cover they're probably more than they should be, but for something you'll probably look at every day for the next four years, it might be worth it. I'm partial to the black skull and crossbones pattern (detail pictured below) but they've got all other sorts of choices from pink camo to furry flowers. They're designed to go over your existing car seat cover, and supposedly work with all brands of car seats.

Cuter Than A Duck's Butt Car Seat Covers, $119.99 for Toddler or Infant from ctadbgear.com.

CES 2008: Sirius Backseat TV

Chris Ford — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:27:00 GMT

Sirius Backseat TV is a product squarely focused on marketing to parents of young children. Working alongside your current Sirius Satellite Radio service, it's a system for getting children's programming to backseat video monitors.

The content is all for children - Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel and Cartoon Network Mobile - and seems like it would be something that might be worthwhile if you already have video monitors in the back seat. It costs $6.99/month (on top of your Sirius Radio subscription) and is available as a feature in some new Dogde, Chrysler and Jeep vehicles. A kit to install it into your current vehicle will be available in the second quarter of 2008.

Check out the product page at Sirius.com.

Green Baby: Zoom in Natural Style with a Plan Toys Sport Car

Mir — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:03:00 GMT

It's the style of a much more expensive metal car with the ease of the ubiquitous plastic ride-ons; yet this retro-styled sport car from Plan Toys is not only fashioned from recycled rubber wood (and colored with vegetable dyes), it's just $99.95 shipped from Amazon. Good for the planet, good for your wallet, and good for cruising for chicks. (Um, in the driveway, anyway.)

Droolworthy: Classic Cruiser Silver Speedster for Baby Andretti

Karen — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:05:00 GMT

Ever since Mir featured this Audi via Daddy Types, I've been on the lookout for something for say, less than $13,000. Colour me crazy, but I didn't want to pay that and I doubt you would either.

Enter this affordable car that blogger Stephanie Nielsen raves about in her interview with Cookie.

Also available in pink:

For $68 at Baby Style.

Go Anywhere Table and Footrest from One Step Ahead

chrisjordan — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:21:00 GMT

Attempting to make long drives in the car with your kids slightly more enjoyable than stabbing yourself in the eyes.

Footrest relieves pressure points in the legs, while the versatile snack/activity tray keeps little passengers occupied. At least until they drop their markers, or paper, or their snack rolls away.

But for those 5 minutes it occupies them... pure bliss.

Available exclusively at One Step Ahead for $49.95

Design with David Netto: Baby's First Saab

davidnetto — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:00:00 GMT

I'm not usually seduced by retro styling but . . . they got me. Something about looking at Playsam's classic roadster Saab ($503) on the floor all day just puts me in a good mood. Maybe it's the serious color combined with the cute form. In any case, this would make one hell of a birthday present.