Toys for kids

Flats for kids? Dress up this sweet sloth romper from Finn + Emma for cute photo ops, or down for playdates at the park. The brand is known contempory looks that come in sustainable fabrics and are produced in fair trade settings. Baby shoes are notorious for somehow always coming off. That’s why parents love Zutano booties, the brand that finally came up with soft baby shoes that actually stay on. Two snaps around the ankle make them easy to put on but difficult to fall off and they come in cozy fleece or lightweight cotton.

The Pognae line of baby carriers is super popular in Australia and Europe, and they’ve received tons of awards for their style, versatility, and overall quality. It’s a premium baby carrier that comes at a premium price close to $200. The company itself is based in South Korea and only over the past few years have these hipseat baby carriers been available in Europe and the US. We got our hands on their number 5 version for testing late last year. And to be honest, we were super impressed with it! Starting with the basics, it supports babies from 3 months old up to 3 years old, so it’s not ideal for newborns but we prefer using a good wrap for newborns anyway. The maximum weight is 44 pounds, which is pretty high for any baby carrier, second only to the LILLEBaby. It claims to have 6 carry positions, which is a little amusing considering 3 of those positions are just the hipseat alone without the rest of the carrier: one where you lay the baby down partially on the hipseat (a good position for feeding), one where the baby is sitting on the hipseat facing outward, and one where the baby is sitting on the hipseat facing inward.

Folk Style: This year we’re seeing more and more designers getting inspired by traditional folk ware and adding their own modern twist. We saw this style back in hippie days of the 60s, and now it’s making a comeback. This look includes feathers, floral embroidery, beads, geometric patterns, intricate thread work, and pom-poms.

New parents will quickly discover that buying clothes for kids is a fraught affair: On one hand, you want them to look nice, but on the other, kids often outgrow their clothes within a single season, which means you’ll have to spend more money to buy new clothes, while the old ones pile up.

The Baby K’tan has the benefits of a wrap, without you having to actually do any wrapping. Made of a 100-percent natural cotton (with a bit of stretch!), this soft carrier keeps little ones close and cozy. The double-loop design evenly distributes weight across your shoulders and back in any of the carrying positions. Better yet, there isn’t an overwhelming amount of fabric to figure out—it goes on like a T-shirt in three easy steps. The included sash adds extra support and does double duty as a carrier storage bag. The K’tan comes in sizes ranging from 0-24, so you can find a good fit for your body. But the downside is that you can’t share it with a caregiver that isn’t your size. Some parents say the fabric gets a little too stretchy (but goes back to normal after it’s washed), so you may want to go down a size to ensure a snug fit. See additional information at https://bestchildstore.com/.

This is likely the most obvious acceptable item, because babies grow fairly quickly out of their clothes and keeping up with their growing bodies can be a challenge on a budget. Meghan Slocum, a California-based blogger writes that upcycling is also a great way to reduce clothing waste: “Buying used clothes is good for the environment because you’re making use of clothes that have already been produced. Those clothes don’t have to go to the landfill or be recycled, AND you save on the use of the resources that would be needed to produce new clothes.”