Classy and Opinionated Lifestyle Mom Blog
Summer is here and many kids across America are “hot sleepers”. One way to help your child get a comfortable night’s sleep is by providing them with a LUXEAR Cooling Throw Blanket for Kids. This blanket is breathable, feels super-soft againt the bare skin and …
Children love bean bag chairs and I can’t say that I blame them. They’re portable, light-weight, and comfortable. They can sit in them or lounge for a nap. They come in various sizes, colors, and shapes. With proper care a good bean bag chair can …
A car seat is among the many important purchases new parents should make for their kids. Unfortunately, like other baby essentials, choosing car seats can prove stressful and challenging. You should not only choose a quality seat but also ensure that the car seat fits your car. Below are a few tips for new parents looking to buy a car seat.
1. Choose a Tested and Approved Seat
Car seats are tested and approved under the UNR 129 and ECE R44 size regulations. You should choose a car seat that has been approved under these standards. Car seats with ECE R44 approval have been approved for forward-facing and rear-facing positioning. On the other hand, UNR 129 approval means the seat has been tested and approved for side impact. All Diono car seats have passed these tests.
2. Scope Out Your Car Before Shopping
You should read your vehicle’s manufacturer’s manual before purchasing a car seat. Car seats are primarily designed to use a seat belt or LATCH system. Scoping out the provisions in your car can help in choosing a seat. Choose a car seat based on the installation provisions, either a LATCH or a belt system.
If you prefer the LATCH system, ensure that you can locate the LATCH attachments in your car. Some vehicles don’t have attachments in the middle and rear-facing positions, which are the safest positions. That aside, you should measure the back seat to determine the space available for the car seat. Car seats with large bases may not fit small cars. If your car has small seats, you should opt for seats with a narrow base.
3. Focus On Important Features
Car seats are available at different price ranges, mostly determined by the features. On the lower end, between $80 and $200, you can find models with a 5-point harness, extra air or foam pads for side-impact protection, and LATCH system compatibility. If you can afford a premium car seat, expect more features, such as an anti-rebound bar, cushier fabric, a larger canopy, and more.
4. Choose the Correct Car Seat for Your Child’s Age, Weight, and Height
Car seats are grouped into three main categories. They include:
Baby car seats – Best for newborns to 12 months old kids. You should advance to the next car seat if your kid grows beyond the height requirements of these seats.
Toddler car seats – UNR 129 regulations require kids to remain rear-facing until they are 15 months or older. Some toddler car seats are rear-facing and allow for conversion into forward facing. Children outgrow these seats when they reach the uppermost point of the seat’s headrest.
Booster seats – Children should use booster car seats until they are 12 years old.
5. Comfort
You should purchase a car seat that assures comfort. Your baby should be comfortable enough to sleep soundly in the car seat. Traveling with your babies crying in their seats is very irritating. You should purchase car seats made from breathable materials with extra padding for assured comfort.
Car seats are an expensive investment, so you should ensure that you purchase a high quality option. Apart from the price and the considerations mentioned above, you should also look at the ease of installation, maintenance, and portability.
Kids often view gifts as reflections of how they see themselves and others. Giving gifts that emphasize that you understand your child’s preferences will help reduce sibling tension. Moreover, it will also help your child appreciate the gift more. Giving gifts should be an enjoyable …
This month I’ve been planning and preparing for my son’s upcoming birthday party. He will be turning 7 years old in less than 2 weeks. Oh my, where has the time gone?!? This year we’re hosting the party outside in our backyard with a barbecue, …
Two weeks ago I went into our local Dollar Tree store to pick up items for my grandchildren’s Easter Baskets. When shopping there you can find all kinds of affordable Easter Basket fillers such as: mini coloring books, crayons, markers, temporary tattoos, stickers, watercolor paints, mini containers of slime and modeling clay, hair barrettes & ponytail holders, mini diecast cars, puzzle books, travel-size games, etc. Of course you can find candy…but you’ll find so much more!
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I set a budget of $20 per child before I went into the store. Once I got in there I put two shopping baskets into my shopping cart, so that I could keep track of what I was buying for each child & keep it separated.
Instead of doing baskets I selected sand buckets. These buckets serve as Easter baskets now but will be used down at our beach house too! Each one costs $1.00 and they had at least 15 different styles and colors in-stock on the day that I was there.
We have pets so we don’t mess with the faux-grass that you use as a basket filler. That stuff is very harmful to pets! Instead I like to buy $1.00 bags of candy where all of the candy inside is individually wrapped. At our store they were clearing out large bags of Valentine’s Day themed skittles candy. Each bag had 20 individual bags of skittles inside. I knew that splitting that up to 10 bags per basket would make a great filler for the bottom of the baskets. Kids don’t care that it’s Valentine’s Day themed and the price was right!
When you view the photos the shark sand bucket is for my grandson and the blue sand bucket is for my granddaughter. So, now I’ve spent a total of $3.00 (buckets and skittles). You can see the list below for each child and I ONLY spent a total of $20.00 + tax per kid. Not everything is shown in the photos because I couldn’t fit everything in the baskets. Hence, I did pick up 2 Easter themed gift bags which will double as second baskets.
Granddaughter’s Easter Basket
Sand Bucket
20 Mini Bags of Skittles
White Chocolate Cross
Milk Chocolate Bunny
Full-Size Nestle Crunch Bar
2 Small Coconut Cream Eggs
1 Small Peanut Butter Egg
1 pkg. Peeps – Cotton Candy Flavor
1 pkg. Robin Eggs
2 packs of bubble gum
2 packs of cream-filled sandwich cookies
4 snack size cups of chocolate pudding
4 snack size cups of jello
bottle of nail polish
pack of nail files
pack of nail decals (stickers)
pack of ponytail holders
pack of Sloth themed stickers
toothbrush
travel-size toothpaste
Grandson’s Easter Basket
Sand Bucket
20 Mini Bags of Skittles
Milk Chocolate Bunny
White Chocolate Egg
Full-Size Nestle Crunch Bar
1 Small Coconut Cream Egg
2 Small Peanut Butter Eggs
1 pkg. Peeps – Birthday Cake Flavor
1 pkg. Robin Eggs
2 packs of M&Ms
2 packs of cream-filled sandwich cookies
4 snack size cups of chocolate pudding
4 snack size cups of jello
small die-cast car
small die-cast fire truck
pack of temporary tattoos
pack of pirate theme’d stickers
pack of flash cards (to teach math)
toothbrush
travel-size toothpaste
You can pick up all kinds of Easter themed items at the Dollar Tree for a buck! I got egg painting kits, stickers to put on our painted eggs, decorations and other goodies that we’ll be using to get ready for the Easter holiday. I love bargain shopping!
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Disclaimer: All items featured were purchased by the writer who is sharing her personal thoughts and opinions about them with the readers of the TCC blog. This post is NOT sponsored by any company and no monetary compensation was received. Post may contain affiliate links.
I’m currently homeschooling my 5 year old and 11 year old. I’m always looking for new S.T.E.M. projects that we can do at home. The projects need to be easy, educational and fun to hold my children’s attention. Everything that we need to do the …
The new normal for school children is distance learning. Thank goodness for technology. However, you can’t do everything through the computer. That’s where Griddly can help. The company is fielding bursts of inquiries from parents who have now increased their role as parent-teacher-facilitator for all …