Despite recent corporate headaches over quality, Toyota has come up with a new ad campaign that lambasts smug suburban couples. The ads focus on the 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan and star a supercilious couple who call their Sienna a “swagger wagon” and try to justify their purchase of an “uncool” minivan. See the entire series of commercials here on YouTube.

Here is one of them…

The children’s television program Sesame Street recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. Since its inception in 1969, Sesame Street has been a pioneer in the field of educational television. The enduring show continues to have an audience among young children and parents, perhaps due to its ability to stay relevant and the appeal of its cast of Muppet character puppets.

Sesame Street is the longest-running children’s television show in history, a tribute to its value and appeal. Its combination of live actors, Muppets and live animation are used to capture children’s attention and teach them something. In addition to teaching basic skills in reading and math, the show touches on social issues such as making friends and protecting the earth. Life issues such as birth, death and divorce have been covered. The careful thought put into each episode has made Sesame Street popular with many generations of children ages 2 to 5.

Did you know that a baby’s crying is a form of communication? Since babies can’t talk, it their way of getting help. It’s also serves as a stress release mechanism. It can be frustrating trying to figure out what a crying baby needs. Sometimes just checking all possibilities will lead you to a solution.

These are a few suggestions on what to check when your baby cries.

A jogging stroller allows a parent to get a workout and give young children an outing at the same time. A jogging stroller is a great way for a mother to get back in shape, though many pediatricians recommend waiting until a baby is 6 months old and has a stronger spine for more support before using a jogging stroller. When shopping for a jogging stroller, look for these features:

See a review of the Schwinn convertible bike trailer and jogger in this YouTube video:

Credit: Paul Cioca

Daylight savings time has arrived and families can enjoy an extra hour of sunlight each day. This is a good thing, but it can also mean sleep disruptions for babies and toddlers. Some children need at least a week to adjust, and parents may not realize that their child’s crankiness is due to lack of sleep. Luckily, children who regularly sleep through the night do adjust and are back to normal before too long.

If you struggle with bedtime and getting a full night’s sleep at your house and your baby is beyond the newborn stage, you can help your baby establish a regular sleep schedule. When a regular bedtime routine and sleep schedule are in place, changes such traveling and the switch to daylight savings time will be minimally disruptive. Having a set bedtime and following a bedtime routine such as bath time followed by reading following by lights out will help your child get to sleep and stay asleep all night. For more information, see this article on babyzone.com.

Springtime will officially begin this month and before long green grass and blooming flowers will be replacing snow and rain. This is a good time to plan some outdoor photos of your baby. The light of sunshine and the beautiful backdrop of nature are perfect for baby photos. An added bonus — you don’t need to worry about red eyes from the camera’s flash when taking pictures outdoors.

Here are some tips for outdoor portrait in springtime:

Every parent wants to create the perfect nursery for their baby. But before you know it, that baby is ready to move out of the crib and into a bed. That’s when you need to think about redecorating the nursery for your child’s changing needs. Here are some tips to help get you started:

The children’s television series Sesame Street recently celebrated its 40th anniversary on the air. One of the older and favorite of the Muppet characters is Ernie, who was famous for his love of a familiar bath toy. See Ernie’s song about his Rubber Ducky in this YouTube video. You can also view Sesame Street videos at www.sesamestreet.org or see a different Rubber Ducky video on the Kideos website.

There are many options available to today’s parents when it comes to diapers for their baby. Disposable diapers continue to be popular because of the convenience of just throwing away dirty diapers. However, disposable diapers are expensive, and eco-friendly, biodegradable versions are even more costly. Because disposable diapers are highly absorbent, there is some feeling that children are more susceptible to diaper rash in disposables, since babies may wear dirty diapers for longer periods of time.

Cloth diapers come in two varieties – wash them yourself or from a diaper service. Washing them yourself is the least expensive option, but even a diaper service can end up being less expensive than disposables. Many people picture safety pins when they think of cloth diapers, but cloth diaper wraps with Velcro closings have eliminated the need for pins.

In the end (excuse the pun!), each family must decide which diaper option works best for them. Before deciding on disposable by default, it’s worth looking into the pros and cons of cloth diapers.

Here are some interesting diaper facts:

For more information on diaper choices, see this Consumer Reports article.

Kideos is a kid-friendly version of YouTube that’s perfect for children up to 10 years of age. Although YouTube has plenty of G-rated content, parents can’t help but worry about what young children might come across if they’re set free on YouTube. The videos on Kideos have been screened by a team of parents and educators and categorized by age. You can also search for videos by theme or characters. With hundreds of videos to choose from and the ability to make playlists of favorite videos, parents can feel good about letting their kids visit Kideos for a quick entertainment break.

Kideos is free for all users, but visitors are asked to make a voluntary donation to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.