Destiny Baby

Here at DestinyBaby we usually focus on educating toddlers and preschoolers, but sometimes a little parental education is in order! If you are looking for a nice gift for a new parent in your life, consider this book of real-life parenting stories. There are 31 funny, shocking, and heartwarming stories to be found, each of which could make you laugh or cringe (depending) but mostly smile with recognition as you read what other parents have gone through (good and bad) with their newly willful two and three year old toddlers. The authors keep it real, with stories that include incidents where parents have (regrettably) found themselves yelling or swearing to or in front of their kids, and one where a parent is fantasizing after being bored in a park on a playdate. Those chapters might ruffle some feathers, but I appreciate other parents sharing honest moments. I’ve had some days where I wished I could have handled my son’s temper tantrums or bouts of extreme silliness a little better, and it is interesting to see how others deal with those trying moments. Bottom line, the book is a good read and mostly about the funny times and amazing ways our youngest children can open our eyes to appreciate the world in whole new ways. (Read more…)

This is the Zhu Zhu Hamster, Num Nums.

This is the Zhu Zhu Hamster, Pipsqueek in Yellow. He chatters, scoots and scurries like a real hamster.

This is the Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster,Chunk, in white.

If you’ve been looking for popular toys to get for your own toddler, preschooler or other young children in your life this holiday season, you’ve probably come across the newest craze, Zhu Zhu Pets. What are they? Zhu Zhu Pets are cute robotic toy hamsters that come in a variety of colors along with a whole world of accessories, from carriers to blankets to hamster wheels to activity tracks and more. Each pet has some life-like characteristics, able to squeal and scurry around just like a real hamster (though without the poop to clean). Each Zhu Zhu Hamster has its own unique personality and accompanying whimsical sounds triggered by different modes. For example, in Loving Mode you pet them, show them affection, and hear them chatter. In Explore Mode they will scoot and scamper across the floor. Things get even more interesting when you provide them with a full on Hamster Habitat.

And in our opinion therein lies where their potential educational value from these toys resides. Real pets like hamsters are a wonderful way to teach children a bit of biology and geography, like where different kinds of animals and animal species come from and their characteristics. For example, Hamsters are nocturnal burrowing rodents that live in Asia and Europe, living as loners after they leave their mothers, and surviving on seeds, grass, fruit and small insects. With Zhu Zhu Pets, you can simulate this kind of learning risk free, start with preschoolers at a very young age, avoid the sadness that comes with the inevitable passing of a real pet hamster (they have a lifespan of only about two and a half years) and for the squirmish among you (like me), you can be at ease with the psychic satisfaction of knowing the Zhu Zhu hamsters are not real rodents!

Below we’ve gathered some of the most popular Zhu Zhu Pets and accessories. Depending on how you use them, these toys have the potential to be both fun and educational learning gifts for this holiday season.

You might consider dressing up your toy hamster with a carrier, blanket and bed, in matching colors. This is the Zhu Zhu Hamster carrier and blanket in purple.

You might also get the blanket and bed. This set is Orange.

It also comes in Green and Pink.

These are the special ZhuZhu Pets (habitat accessory wheel and tunnel). They love to jump on and off the wheel all by themselves! ZhuZhu Pets hamsters sold separately.

ZhuZhu Pets Patches the motorized hamster loves to scoot, scurry and scamper around the (Funhouse environment). Includes large kitchen/living room, connecting hallway and large bathroom areas. This playset habitat has lots of openings for additional playsets.

Special ZhuZhu Pets habitat accessory Spiral Slide and Ramp. Hamsters love to climb the ramp and whirl and twirl down the slide. ZhuZhu Pets hamsters are sold separately.

You could go all out and build your very own magical hamster city! This Surfboard and Sleep Dome set includes, surfboard, sleep dome and connector. The Hamster and Funhouse are sold separately.

Kids Honey Cottage Style Low Beadboard Bookcase – Bookcase (White)
From: The Land of Nod

Recently we looked at the scattered sea of toys and books around my son’s room and declared enough! We were in desperate need of a well-designed easily accessible place to store all the books, educational games and toys we had bought for our preschooler. I love this “Low Rider” toddler/preschooler bookcase for being appropriately sized for young children (or sized just right to fit beneat a window!) with a wide surface for placing your child’s favorite toys on top or even a place to lay open a book she or he wishes to flip through. The shelves are adjustable, sturdy and roomy and come in a wide variety of colors (honey, chocolate, antique or regular white, tomato, and navy) to match any decor. The Land of Nod even provides complimentary samples so you can check out the materials their products are made from before you even buy it.

My son and I have had lots of long-lasting fun with floor puzzles. I was surprised with his patience, at two and a half years old, to try out many, many different pieces to form complete images. The activity kept his mind occupied and it’s always a peaceful yet fun time together. This cool 100-piece floor puzzle measures 4 feet long when finished and features scenic images of the hidden rain forest world while helping them to building spatial and motor skills. (Read more…)

Recently we reviewed a lovely rainforest floor puzzle. This is another beautiful floor puzzle by Melissa and Doug featuring detailed images of pets. Measuring 3 feet by 2 feet, it will stimulate your curious toddler with its 24 large and colorful extra-thick pieces to make building it easy and fun. This puzzle also has an easy to clean surface that will keep the pieces looking shiny and new! (Read more…)

When your little one is riding around in the car seat, you’ve got to protect them from too much sunlight in the car, right? Well don’t get a dark, no-frills shade that just pulls down and blocks the sun and obscures their view. (Although I have to say nothing is quite boring to an enterprising young toddler with nimble fingers and a knack for figuring out how things work–our son always managed to push the automatic release button on the window shade causing it to fly up and him to cry!) We could have done better. Now you can do better. The Lamaze Car Shade not only provides year-round safety protection against harmful UV rays, it has a cool removable bar feature with three non-removable plush characters to entertain your baby as you’re riding around. Plus, each character has its own unique developmental feature–squeaker, crinkle, or rattle!