Babble

First, in the interest of full disclosure, David Netto (an occasional contributer to Babble) makes my favorite children's furniture.  We've had a Netto crib, changing table and dresser in our house for over four years now. Back when I was shopping for children's furniture in early 2004 there wasn't much out there, and if you ...

 We talk about Netto a lot around here; their baby furniture is a design-y parents dream and David Netto himself stops in from time to time to tell us what he finds particularly drool-worthy.   This month, we’re sharing the love with you in a big way. We will be giving away some of Netto’s finest – a sleeper and station ...

  Time is running out to join the September Members giveaway on The Babble Playground. Why should you drop everything and join the parenting social networking site that is sweeping the nation? Fun, friends and free stuff!   In addition to being able to post photos and enter contests, you can also start your own blog, ...

  My daughter Kate loves to play with food, talk about food, feed her dinosaurs imaginary food — she'll do anything but actually eat real food herself. I say, if you can't beat 'em . . . buy 'em a wooden Sushi Playset ($20). The fantastic Genius Jones store in Miami has a million treats for you, but this one takes the ...

  How cool are these? All kids want to be scientists for at least part of an hour each day, and these amazing Shell X-Rays ($16), which I picked up at the incomparable KIDO in New York City, actually let you look inside shells and talk about what goes on in there. Hold them up to the light, tape them to a window, or — if you really want ...

  I really was happy with the Baby Bjorn I carried my first child around in, but there was always a slight dork factor that nagged at me — that, and the fact that after walking around for an hour or so, back pain worthy of an octagenarian water carrier set in. Well, the second time around, we're using the awesome Deuter KangaKid Child ...

  Skip Hop has kind of been on a roll doing kitchen products, though they are better known for their excellent diaper bags (my favorite is blue camouflage). First they came out with a really nice bottle-drying rack, very futuristic, and now they have this baby food organizer ($24, in white or red), which I'm crazy for. You always have ...

  If you're into crusty, quirky, handcrafted things, you will love these dolls. If you're not, you might find them a little creepy and be glad you don't want something that costs $95 at Kido (a fabulous NYC store, one of the real pioneers of stylish baby). My hunch is, a little girl will dig their oddness in a world of Barbies ...

  All kids love architecture, whether they know it or not, and this set of blocks ($14) will help them get in touch with those feelings. The Chrysler Building. The UN. The Statue of Liberty. MoMA has slipped its own 1939 building in here too, presumably to make the grown-ups chuckle (after all, it doesn't have quite as high a profile ...

  B. Braithwaite in Atlanta is one of the most beautiful kid stores in the world. It's like a fantasy shop you'd see in a 1930s movie. You simply  step into a white cloud of luxury when you enter. Everything they sell has great style, very particular to its buyers: owner Chaffee Braithwaite and her mother, Nancy, go to Paris ...