Posts Tagged ‘babies-toddler articles’
Childrens Bedroom Furniture – Three Mothers Share Their Buying Habits
Just two months ago, a group of mothers from three generations (Gen Y, Gen X and Baby Boomer demographics) shared their buying habits with retailers and manufacturers on purchasing childrens bedroom furniture and baby products. This occurred at the fifth annual Kids Today conference in Bonita Springs Florida.
Author and entrepreneur Maria Bailey, an executive in the fields of publishing, marketing, and business development, was the keynote speaker at the conference and a moderator for the panel. Maria Bailey has worked for numerous companies, including Automation USA, AutoNation, Discovery Zone, The Miami Herald, Broward Community College, and McDonald’s. Her experience as an executive and the mother of four young children led her to specialize in assisting mothers in balancing their home and work lives. Bailey explained the importance of marketing to mothers of different ages.
Even though there were some differences there were also many similarities. One baby boomer said she found information from other mothers quite useful. She tried shopping for childrens beds and other bedroom sets for her boys baby nursery at a baby boutique or a shop for kid furniture and found it was above her budget. She registered for designer baby bedding at one baby boutique but this particular parent found that shopping at a consignment shop for her boys bedroom furniture was the way to go.
A Gen Y mom used hand-me-down bedroom furniture, rather than shopping at a furniture store for her baby and put the rest of the items that she needed on her gift registry. The items she did not receive as baby gifts she purchased at Target and Kmart. She did however find a lot of her ideas (such as themes for luxury baby bedding) at a boutique. She said she would purchase only bedroom accessories, baby bedding, other items that she thought were original at a boutique or baby shops.
Although most of the parents claimed that they mostly shopped at discount stores, they admittedly would make more extravagant purchases like luxury baby bedding or hard-to-find toys at baby boutiques if there was something they really wanted for there kid. A Gen X mom talked about children strollers. She paid $300 for a stroller because she liked the features. Then a Gen Y mom said she paid about $200 for a hard-to-find toy that retails normally for about $50. She said she bought the toy not only because her son wanted it, but because of the educational value. Parents are willing to spend more money on educational toys.
All moms stressed importance on bedroom furniture that would grow with their children. One baby boomer mom said she was in the process of looking for a bed that would take her toddler through high school. A Gen X mom said she would try to redecorate while keeping in mind that she wanted the décor and products to not be changed or updates until her daughter was at least 12.
I personally feel that this type of survey it tough to gauge?not only should they have to consider the age demographics but financial demographics as well.
I know that my friends and I are the same age but due to financial reasons we all have made very different choices on the bedroom sets, etc. we purchased for our kids. Take the changing table for instance. I chose one of those dressers with a built in changing table. When your child is older you flip the dresser over and it converts to a normal dresser top (which by the way I planned on using these dressers for a long while since I had purchased one of those convertible infant cribs).
My other friend decided to forego the changing table altogether, she would change her daughter directly on her crib mattress by using a waterproof disposable pad. While another friend bought an extremely fancy changing table and a bedroom set with armoires, hand carved dressers, etc.
I am sure someone like Brittney Spears would have very different buying habits than someone, the same age, but on a very modest income. So although I am sure the retailers and manufacturers were able to gather some useful information from this conference, hopefully they are considering all the demographics of the parents interviewed.
© Copyright Best-Baby-Furniture.com, All Rights Reserved.
Teresa Schahczinski is a frequent contributor to Best Baby Furniture. For more Articles and tips on Selecting
Childrens Furniture, Baby Cribs and Kids Furniture visit http://www.best-baby-furniture.com
The Personality Traits of an Aquarius Baby
Your Aquarius Baby..
January 20 – February 18
Your Aquarian baby will be outwardly calm, relaxed and delightful and grandparents in particular will dote on her. Aquarians are quick thinkers who want to analyse everything and everyone. An Aquarian child will often be totally unpredictable and come up with with lots of ideas; and she will also be sensitive and intuitive. You may find your child will rebel against commands and rules, but if you leave her to think things through she will normally come to a sensible conclusion on her own. Young Aquarians like to have many friends, although few will be very close, and will be generous towards them. Parents should watch out for the typical Aquarian absent-mindedness.
An Aquarian child will be constantly on the go and needs plenty of opportunity to make discoveries. Your child will thrive in a peaceful, calm, harmonious environment. These children are sensitive to any underlying tensions. Aquarian children can look more confident than they feel and so need genuine encouragement and praise from their parents.
Young Aquarians should be encouraged to think logically and practically. Their minds are always working quickly, sometimes too quickly so they often get in a muddle.
The typical Aquarian child is very healthy.
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Author: Tony Luck who runs a site with advice for moms-to-be and new moms. Included on the site is the fascinating Chinese Pregnancy Calendar which supposedly tells you whether your baby will be a girl or a boy; and a Conception Chart to find out when baby will be born.
Choosing Baby Names
Take Your Time The worst thing you could do when choosing a baby name is to rush into it. Settling for second best may affect you and your child for a lifetime! Don’t commit yourself to the first name that you fancy. Keep searching until you find a name that you are 110% happy with. And don’t forget that you don’t need to have a name for your baby before birth. Some parents have been known to wait 2 or 3 weeks before deciding on that perfect name.
What Does it Mean? Some parents don’t really care for the meaning of their baby’s name, where as others base their decision soley around it. But, in our opinion a quick check couldn’t hurt. Do you really want your big strong boy to have a name that means “pretty flower”? If you have a meaning in mind, but don’t know what names contain that meaning, visit NamesToBe.com.
Spelling Try to make sure you don’t choose a name that ends with the same letter that your last name begins with. This can sometimes make pronounciation a challenge. There are some exceptions to this rule, but in general it is best to keep it in mind when choosing a baby name. Try it for yourself and you’ll see what we mean. Letters like “l” and “s” are especially bad.
Say it Out Loud Instead of refering to your unborn baby as he or she or “the baby”, try using one of the names that you like for a week or so. Saying it out loud and using it in common sentences will give you a better idea of how much you really like the name. Don’t forget, some names look great when written on paper, but sound terrible off the tongue.
This article was written by Sarah Mitchell from www.namestobe.com Find thousands of baby names, their meanings, origins and genders at www.namestobe.com
The Character Traits of a Scorpio Baby
Your Scorpio Baby..
October 23 – November 21
Young Scorpios have strong personalities. They know what they want and will go out and get it. Very loving and loyal to family and friends, Scorpios can, however, be wary of strangers. Your child may develop a trait of keeping his thoughts secret, but at the same time will be adept at finding out everyone else’s secrets. Scorpios can often bear pain well so parents should learn to recognise small signs of discomfort from their babies.
At play a Scorpio baby will learn from people seen as being stronger than themselves. If anyone should break one of his toys, Scorpio will seek revenge. Scorpio children enjoy a good fight, and they intend to win.
Your child will be active, quick to learn and intelligent. Scorpio children often develop an almost insatiable curiosity about almost everything, but especially anything hidden, mysterious or forbidden. Parents will need to develop a tactful way of guiding their child away from unsuitable subjects. Scorpios love to have a private place of their own, either a room or a secret hiding place. This gives them a sense of security. Scorpio children will thrive if they believe that people around them will always be loyal.
The typical Scorpio child can be prone to accidents because of their need to do things or be places more quickly than anyone else. Typical health problems involve the nose and throat and many Scorpio children will get more coughs and colds. However, they will recover quickly.
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Author: Tony Luck who runs a website for babies and new moms, and includes the fascinating Chinese Pregnancy Calendar which is supposed to be able to tell you whether you will give birth to a boy or girl!
Baby Shower Games to Make Your Baby Shower Exciting
The perfect way to spoil the baby shower games is when there is less involvement and participation from your guests. Have you ever been to a baby shower party, any kind of party, and been bored to death? Well, I have, and let me tell you, they are as boring as they get.
Also you don’t have a choice but to grin and bear it because you don’t want to demotivate or offend the guest of honor. Would you like to have that kind of baby shower game party for your guest of honor? I know the answer would be a big NO.
Baby shower games keep the party lively and entertaining:
No two ways about it. Baby shower games when introduced in the party and managed well will make the guest want to stay longer and give your expecting mother a lot of warmth and fun.
The best thing about the baby shower games is that it relieves the expectant mother of the stress which comes with being pregnant. As you might know yourself, being pregnant can be a very stressful time. She gets to be involved in the fun and enjoy the baby shower games with joy.
Tips on making baby shower games look better:
There is a lot of pressure on the baby shower hostess to provide fresh baby shower game ideas. You have a lot to do with a limited amount of time to prepare for the baby shower.
The best games for baby showers will be the ones which match the age group and gender group that is coming to the baby shower. The games you choose will also depend upon if you are going to be more formal, or casual in your clothing choice.
Finally, if you have decided on a baby shower theme for your shower, the games should fit in with the theme. You also need to figure out how many, and how much time is needed to play the shower games. I would consider about three games for a two hour baby shower.
This gives the baby shower guests plenty of time to do all the other things you have planned for the baby shower, like opening of the baby shower gifts, serving a meal or appetizers, getting to know each other and sharing time with the expectant mother.
You might also consider giving out small but useful items as door prizes and/or prizes for the game winners. You don’t need to spend much for the baby shower game prizes. Maybe a phone card, fancy bar soap, manicure set, picture frame, shampoo, notepaper, cookie cutters, sewing repair kit, chocolates, storage boxes, or other small but useful items that won’t break the bank would be ideal prizes for the games.
There are many kinds of games for baby showers, including free shower games and printable shower games you can purchase for a very reasonable price. Some online merchants sell kits that have everything needed for a baby shower. Then there are other merchants who sell themed baby shower kits with games, single games and/or baby shower game kits. Most of these come as downloadable games you can print off your computer, while a few merchants sell games that are shipped to you. Whatever your needs, you can purchase or find free games to fit all your baby shower needs.
© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.
Randy is owner of http://www.planning-a-baby-shower.com where you will find further tips on baby showers and baby shower games.
The Mystery Around Colic
You are a proud parent of a happy and healthy 2 week old baby. You and your spouse have both now gotten into a routine that is comfortable concerning nightly feedings, changing and enjoying your new little one. Your life seems perfect.
Then all that changes as your baby begins to cry uncontrollably and you can not find a reason. He will not take a bottle, he doesn’t need a diaper change, he is not running a fever, but he will not stop crying. What could be wrong? The answer more than likely is colic.
All babies cry, but babies with colic cry more than usual for their age and this usually happens around the same time each day. This does not mean they will cry each and every day. Remember, colic and its causes are still a mystery.
The symptoms are basically the same for any baby with colic and is if your baby starts suddenly fussing and crying without any known reason which last more than three hours a day, for more than three days a week, and for more than three weeks. Your baby’s face may turn red and the area around his mouth may even appear pale. His stomach or abdomen area can be swollen and hard. Most infants with colic curl up in a ball and make fists with their hands. The colic episode may end when your little one is exhausted and falls to sleep.
Colic is not considered an illness, disease, and there are no known real cures. It can occur during the second or third week of your little ones life and can continue to occur until 6 months of age.
There is no reason to worry as about 20 percent of all babies have colic. It is not something you or any caregiver has done.
Jason Rickard is the owner of http://www.yourfavouriteshop.com – Offering White Noise and Relaxation CDs
