Baby's First Flight - flickr:jyri

Many parents take their new baby to see grandparents and other relatives during the holiday season.  This may involve an airline flight.  With some forethought and preparation, you can avoid some of the problems that can occur when flying with your baby.

Every Christmas season seems to have a hot toy that everyone wants, and this year is no exception. Zhu Zhu Pets, which are inexpensive robotic hamsters, are this year’s must-have toy. The designer of this toy is Cepia LLC, a company with 16 employees located in St. Louis, Missouri. The toys are actually made in China, where a factory of 30 people is unable to keep up with the demand for the toys. According to Cepia LLC, Zhu Zhu Pets are a great alternative to live hamsters because they don’t “poop, die or stink.” They also don’t bite.

This YouTube video shows Zhu Zhu Pets in action.

If you have young children, then your life is probably already pretty hectic.  For many people, the holiday season is a stressful time filled with shopping, gift wrapping and decorating.  According to surveys, 4 out of 5 people wish they could enjoy a simpler holiday season, with more focus on family and providing for people in need.  While your children are young, why not create some family holiday traditions of your own that will allow you to slow down and enjoy the beauty of the holiday season?

This fall saw the recall of 2.1 drop-side Stork Craft cribs, which was the largest baby crib recall in U.S. history. This is the latest in a rash of drop-side crib recalls due to poor design and faulty manufacturing. Over the past 2 years, more than 5 million cribs have been recalled, including half a million Stork Craft Cribs in an earlier recall. In response, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering banning drop side cribs altogether.

See this additional information about sleep safety for babies.

A security camera captured this amazing video showing a train slamming into a baby stroller that rolled onto the tracks just as the train entered the station. You can see the anxious mother rush to the tracks, but she is too late.  The stroller was dragged 200 feet, but the six-month old baby was not seriously injured by the train. Rescue workers said that being strapped into the stroller is most likely what saved the baby’s life. The collision occurred in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

Photo: Sweet Dream Bed

If you have a little girl who dreams of being a princess, you can make her dreams come true with the perfect princess bedroom. A company called Sweet Dream Bed will create a custom bed for your daughter that resembles a princess castle. The castle is actually a fine piece of furniture, with storage shelves and drawers built in. Sweet Dream Bed will also paint your castle bed with stonework, climbing vines and flowers and other realistic looking details. For more details, see this eHow article.

Making sure you use your baby’s car seat correctly is one of the most important safety measures you can do as a parent.  The Parents Magazine website has created a safety guide for car seats.  Here are a few of the most common mistakes to avoid:

You can see the entire guide at the Parents Magazine.

Brian Vogan is a music educator, songwriter and performer living in Seattle, Washington.  He specializes in early childhood music education and has recently release an CD of music for children called Little Songs.  Just in time for fall, there’s now a music video for That’s How a Pumpkin Grows, one of the songs from the CD.  You can see this wonderful animated video on You Tube:

According to child psychology experts, nurturing your baby’s creativity and imagination is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. An active imagination is an important component of intelligence, allowing your child to become an original thinker. Many of today’s high-tech toys purport to be educational, but some old-fashioned toys actually do a better job at encouraging creativity. For example, building blocks are versatile toys that can be used for a variety of activities besides stacking, such as sorting by color.

Other ways to boost your child’s imagination are by encouraging free play and make-believe. Repurpose everyday items for playthings, such as socks that have been made into puppets and bean bags made from dried beans. Planning a variety of fun outings is another way to encourage your child’s imagination. Perhaps most important of all, don’t rely too much on TV and other electronics as a way to keep your child entertained.

Many parents can’t wait to buy their baby’s first pair of shoes, but pediatricians advise that until a baby begins to walk, there’s no reason to buy shoes. In fact, going without shoes allows a baby’s feet to grow without restriction. But when you take your baby out, it’s often too cold to go barefoot. Here are some cute baby shoes that you can make yourself from felt. The Martha Stewart website has complete instructions and a pattern for cutting the shoes. These booties are simple to stitch up and you can personalize them with decorative stitches, buttons, bows and trim.