Category: Kids/Babies

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Kids/Babies Maker/Development

Codie steers its way to teaching kids simple programming concepts

There are many apps and Web sites that help teach young minds how to program. In addition to being a worthwhile pursuit in and of itself, it helps students learn lessons in logic and problem-solving. However, in this era of connected devices, it’s helpful to see the ways in which coding can affect objects in the real world.

Codie is a small robotic set tank tread that has various sensors in it. Unlike many kits that combine development and robot-building, it is ready to go right out of the box. A companion app allows beginning programmers to implement very simple instructions and logic to control the bot via Bluetooth. Codie includes a microphone, proximity sensor, light sensor, ultrasound sensor, accelerometer and gyroscope. Not everything Codie does depends on its wheels. It can even be used as an alarm clock.

Codie includes a rechargeable lithium ion battery that allows it to run for about four hours of continuous play.. Codie’s use of Bluetooth and simple companion app are part of what set it apart from Romo, another crowdfunded kid-friendly programmable tread-based robot.

The makers of Codie compare it to Lego Mindstorms, a far more expensive and elaborate — albeit expandable — early robotics kit that is used in introductory robotics. Codie is certainly better geared toward younger kids and has a lower price. The Budapest-based team seels $70,000 by May 15;  Codie costs $169 and should be delivered by November.

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Kids/Babies

Bye Bye Bubba can help tame toddler tantrums

Every parent appreciates pacifiers. After all, it’s the ultimate tool for stopping the screeching sounds of a crying baby. This all works great until a baby becomes a toddler and it’s time to wean him or her off of the pacifier.

Bye Bye Bubba was invented to sooth the squealing and shrieking that often accompanies this sometimes challenging transition. Comfort from a pacifier comes from the sucking motion, so the Bye Bye Bubba gadget works in three distinct stages. Each stage includes a pacifier with a shorter nipple, making it more difficult for toddlers to get any satisfaction from their pacifier, which is then supposed to lead to them kicking the habit.

It’s questionable as to whether this product can truly persuade toddlers to put down their pacifiers because there are days when it’s easier to negotiate with a terrorist than a toddler. Nevertheless, it may be worth checking into further. Other items that may help parents sneakily modify their kids behavior include GeoBunnies and WetHeads. This campaign seeks to raise $98,730 by April 30, 2015. Early bird backers get one three piece set for $15 with an expected delivery of October 2015.

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Kids/Babies Sleep

Glow Away may help kids scare off the boogeyman

Convincing kids to sleep in their own bed when they are afraid of the dark is a borderline impossible task. Indeed, many parents consistently and actively seek out solutions designed to keep their little ones under their own covers and sound asleep through the night.

Glow Away is one such solution. Glow Away consists of glow in the dark bedding coupled with a 20 page illustrated storybook. The main character in the book teaches kids a mysterious spell. Then, the spell “magically” appears atop of the covers, in glow in the dark form, when the lights are turned off. Kids are led to believe that the spell is very real, with the glow in the dark blanket serving as irrefutable proof.

While some may see this as creative, the product arguably cheats parents of the opportunity to teach their children about legitimate tools that they can use to deal with fear. VeggieTales DVDs and books offer more solid solutions as both convey learning foundations that extend beyond childhood. Other creative sleep items for kids include Nap Time and Dreamphones. This campaign seeks to raise $20,000 by April 4, 2015. For $129, backers get a Glow Away book along with a coordinated fitted sheet or two pillow cases.

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Connected Objects Kids/Babies

Quiet Night offers music for baby and sleep for parents, allegedly

Babies are cute, except for when they wake up at all hours of the night. When most babies wake up, they don’t really need anything. Rather, they just get bored lying in bed, thereby leaving it up to the parents to rouse themselves to entertain their child back to sleep.

patent-claimedQuiet Night offers a way for parents to sleep through the night while keeping their alert baby entertained. This product consists of a handle that lives in baby’s crib. When the baby wakes up, he/she is supposed to grab the handle which will play music. The longer the baby holds the handle, the more the system will remember that song as soothing to the child. To change the song, the baby need only let go and pull the handle again. Quiet Night features over 125 classical/soothing/acoustic songs handpicked by child psychologists.

The whole idea of soothing classical music comforting a restless child is the stuff of WASPy dreams. The actual execution is doubtful, however. How is an infant supposed to know how to control the music or that holding the handle longer indicates that they like the song? The whole things sounds a little ridiculous and is made even more so by the flaunting of partnering up with child psychologists who supposedly helped design the product. Still, tired parents dazzled at the thought of a full night’s sleep can have one of their own for $59 with delivery set for October 2015. Quiet Night is looking for $100,000 in funding on Indiegogo with a campaign end date of April 23.

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Kids/Babies Wearables

Baby Check checks on your baby’s health so you can rest easy

When someone is sick, they tell the doctor what’s wrong. Babies, however, can’t communicate except through crying. So when there’s a problem, it can be hard to tell right away whether it warrants a visit to the doctor or not.

Baby Check is a wearable for babies. Like many adult wearables, it keeps an eye on health by monitoring temperature, sleep, position and medicine administration. It stays on the arm and is made from safe materials meaning that it’s fine for baby to wear all day and night. The information detected by the armband syncs up with an accompanying Android/iOS app. It tracks data over time and allows for high temperature alarms to be set so that parents know exactly when their baby’s fever spikes. Baby Check runs on a rechargeable battery with a life of about one year.

All in all, Baby Check appears to be another great product for helicopter parents, much like the Fever Smart. While temperatures and sleep patterns aren’t essential for parents to keep super close track of, there’s value in being able to keep tabs on sleeping positions as babies aren’t supposed to sleep on their stomachs. Parents can donate $50 for their own with delivery in June 2015. Baby Check is hoping to raise $35,000 in funding on Kickstarter by April 1.

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Health and Wellness Kids/Babies

UviCube emits rays to zap badness from baby bottles

Concerns about how to keep baby happy and healthy are on the forefront of any good parent’s mind. Cold and flu season can heighten that concern. UviCube was created to help keep baby’s bottles and eating utensils free of germs, and the UV rays it emits are touted as also working to kill 99.9 percent of germs on mobiles, remotes, and other items that are handled on a daily basis.

If one has a child that has special health issues, this product might help to bring some extra peace of mind. For all others, the dishwasher will be fine to sterilize bottles and eating utensils because of the temperature of the hot water. Or there’s always the old fashioned way of putting bottles, rings and nipples in a pot of boiling water to sterilize them. Other items can be wiped down with anti-bacterial sprays. Interested backers might also like to check out Phillup and WetHeads. This campaign seeks to raise $25,000 by March 23,2015. Early bird backers get one product for $199 with an expected delivery of June 2015.

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Health and Wellness Kids/Babies

BrushyBall stays a head by teaching kids how to brush teeth

Getting kids to brush their teeth is another one of those parental challenges, and it’s one that has the potential to make for some very long nights.

In order to motivate kids to brush their teeth and take the mundane routine out of it, BrushyBall  was created. As noted in Episode 6 of the Backerjack podcast, the battery-operated personal tooth brushing coach for kids has teeth that light up in a specific sequence of six sections. The toothbrush training toy, designed by a dentist, teaches kids by having them follow along with the flashing lights. Music and verbal cues are a part of the thorough process that lasts for about two minutes.

The plastic Muppet-like head isn’t too intimidating, and the developer would ideally like to license well-known characters to keep kids more engaged, but it seems to take up a fair amount of countertop space. Backers looking for a way to encourage kids to floss might want to check out Gummy Floss. This campaign seeks to raise 50,000 by April 5, 2015. For $20, backers get one product with an expected delivery of April 2015.

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Connected Objects Kids/Babies

Evoz monitors babies, captures special moments

There are many devices on the market that monitor babies, but few of them offer multiple functions, such as the ability to play lullabies, serve as a nightlight, and capture photos of special moments.

Evoz is a smart baby monitor that works in conjunction with an app for mobile devices, and alerts parents if there are any issues with the baby. Initial support is for Android and iOS devices, but its maker is working on compatibility with other unspecified mobile platforms. It features a wide-angle, Wi-Fi-enabled, 720p HD video camera, so parents can see everything that is going on in the baby’s room from the screen of their mobile device. The monitor has eight infrared LEDs partially hidden behind the black circle around the lens, which enables a 12 to 16-foot range for night vision video.

The device’s maker developed data mining algorithms to look for patterns in the baby data that experts have indicated are meaningful. That information is stored and can be accessed by parents at any time. As an example, if a baby is older than six months, and daytime naps are consistently less than 45 minutes, parent are presented with a step-by-step guide to teach them how to increase nap times. The device’s makers worked with therapist Kim West, the “Sleep Lady,” for more than two years to understand data trends and provide parents with information and expertise.

Evoz holds a lot of promise, offering a collection of features that competing devices on the market just can’t match. In addition to access to videos in which West offers advice, parents who use Evoz will get access to sleep and parenting experts that West trained and certified.

Evoz will ship in April of this year to those who back $169. Its maker set a goal of raising $25,000 by March 17.

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Kids/Babies Nutrition/Hydration

Jungle Bowl helps you tame picky eaters

Some kids can be really picky eaters. Some will eat anything they happen to find sitting around, whether it’s a food item or not. But for the parents of picky eaters, life can be a challenge, especially when it comes to trying to get kids to try new foods that are actually healthy. Jungle Bowl is offering a concept that seems to be borrowed from the “Happy Meal” idea.

If little Johnny or Suzie eats their food—as opposed to dumping it out, throwing it on the floor, or feeding it to Fido—then they get a toy. The toy shows up in a window at the bottom of the bowl. When enough food has been eaten so that the toy is visible, the parent can open the two part gadget and let the child have the toy. The product is touted as being designed in such a way that a child would not be able to open it without the help of a parent. It seems like an interesting idea worth checking into.

This campaign seeks to raise $40,000 by March 18. Early bird backers get one product for $23 with an expected delivery of September of this year.

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Kids/Babies Wearables

Cubi kids’ locator watch doubles as communicator

Every parent wants to know where their child is at all times. That’s what makes child locator watches such an appealing category.

Kids with the Cubi can use the device to send voice messages to other Cubi wearers, as well as to smartphones. When a parent’s phone is connected with Cubi, they can set up an emergency alert message from their phone. When in need, children can press and hold the emergency alert button on Cubi for three seconds and the parent’s phone will receive instant alert messages. The device will feature a dedicated Android and iOS app, and will also features GPS tracking functionality, enabling parents to always know where their kids are. Kids can also build their own network of friends using its NFC technology.

Cubi holds promise, but it is in just too crowded of a category now, with rivals including the Tinitell and FiLIP. Cubi somewhat pales in comparison to FiLIP, which seems more advanced, serving as an actual wearable cell phone. Some parents, however, will like the fact that there is no monthly $10 AT&T cellphone bill with Cubi like there is with FiLIP.

Cubi will ship in July of this year at $150 in either blue, green, orange or pink. Its maker is hoping to raise $100,000 by March 20.