Category: Kids/Babies

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Kids/Babies Luggage and Bags

Lugabug turns a rolling suitcase into a convenient seat for the little ones

Family vacations can be a lot of fun, and create some beautiful memories. But weary little legs can be taxing on the arms of mom or dad. Lugabug offers an innovative seating solution that fastens to a rolling suitcase with a couple of straps that clip together and slide over the suitcase handle. The child sits in the seat and can then be pulled along with the luggage through the airport, bus terminal, or train station.

There does not appear to be any type of seatbelt, but the seat seems to be fairly deep. Lugabug folds flat when not in use, and can double as an extra pocket that holds a couple magazines or a tablet. It’s recommended for children ages 2 or older, with a 70 pound weight limit.

This seems like a great idea for parents who like to do a lot of traveling with their little ones. Backers who love family vacations might also want to check out RuitBag and Share Foil. This campaign seeks to raise $25,000 in funding. Early bird backers get one product for $60, with an expected delivery in June.

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Kids/Babies Nutrition/Hydration

Milk Nanny lets you make baby’s formula from your mobile device

Most new parents find themselves worrying about whether their baby is growing properly and getting the right nutrition. The “well baby visits” to the doctor often help to calm these concerns, but for those in between times, Milk Nanny can help to fill in some gaps.

The baby formula making machine mixes baby formula perfectly and dispenses it into the bottle at the press of a button. It also offers a mobile app that will allow formula to be made right from the user’s mobile device. There is an interesting long-term plan for this product to offer what they are calling “Hospital in a Cloud” that can offer professional medical advice to new parents for monitoring baby’s growth and health. Hopefully, that cloud will have some sort of security fire-wall to help prevent hacking and illegitimate access to medical records.

Nevertheless, seems like an interesting product that is worth watching develop. Backers might also like to check out Moozi formula pod and NapTime. This campaign seeks to raise $100,000 in funding. Backers get one product for $199 with an expected deliver of May 2015.

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Kids/Babies Maker/Development Toys

Cirkits sewable electronic kit encourages STEM skills, no old ladies in sight

Sewing is an action most popularly associated with the dry cleaners most go to when tragedy strikes their favorite pair of pants. As such, most people don’t thinking of sewing as a fun activity, a huge reason why more and more children are growing up without it.

The team behind the Cirkits sewable electronic kit thinks sewing can be a valuable part of a children’s play, and are harkening back to a time when sewing kits for children were an inspiration for everyone from Charles Eames to Frank Lloyd Wright. Their product brings sewing into the 21st century by combining it with the ability for children to make simple, series, and parallel circuits to animate the circus-themed cards packaged within the kit.

Beginner Cirkits cards come with a plastic sewing needle, conductive thread, a battery, and sewable LEDs, while advanced cards also enclose a motor, a sound buzzer, and a microcontroller for movement and sound, all to encourage storytelling, imaginative play, and curiosity in the sciences. A basic set of cards is priced at $30, while a set of all six cards of various levels is priced at $80. The $15,000 campaign is looking to ship Cirkits by December 2015.

This product certainly has a place alongside the many other toys no doubt occupying the attention of little ones all over, especially as more and more toys are released that aim to teach more STEM skills. Products like Bildy, XYZ, and Assembly are all in good company with Cirkits, and make for more engaged children—as long as they can be pried from their tablets and game consoles.

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Kids/Babies

Phillup color-coded kids cups cut down on waste

It’s amazing how a cup collection seems to grow in each child’s room like a massive weed, and how that seems to sprawl into many others rooms in the house. Phillup was created to help control the outrageous number of cups that get used by kids on a daily basis and cut down on the frequency of washing them.

The hangable kid cup consists of a cup with a loop that can be hung on a matching hook. The cups come in several colors, so they can be color-coded and each child assigned a color. Then they can just reuse their cup throughout the day when drinking water. The cups are also BPA-free and dishwasher safe.

This does seem to offer a solution to a pretty common problem, though there is also the option of just buying plastic cups and writing each child’s name on it with a permanent marker. Backers with little ones might also like to check out WetHeads and Puggle. This campaign seeks to raise $30,000 on Kickstarter. Backers get one product for $8, with an expected delivery of May 2015.

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Connected Objects Kids/Babies Wearables

NapTime alerts parents to baby’s crying, still gives them a chance to sleep

New parents have it rough. They have cute little babies who end up keeping them up all night. It’s difficult to be constantly watching a child when sleep deprived.

NapTime is a baby monitoring device that divvies up the parenting work. The device uses a camera and microphone to monitor the baby. When he or she wakes up and starts crying, the camera sends that information to the accompanying smartphone app. In turn, the app will send a notification to one of two wristbands worn by each parent. In order to keep things fair, the app alternates which wristband vibrates so only one parent will have to get up at a time.

In addition to its practical applications, the app also allows parents to customize their sleeping patterns. This way, if one parent is out of town, the app will only notify one wristband. Similarly, it also keeps track of the baby’s sleeping patterns. Each wristband is rechargeable via a micro USB cable. NapTime can also be used as a silent alarm clock so as not to wake a partner in bed.

New parents struggle with the jarring sensation of being woken up in the middle of the night to care for their child. With NapTime, both parents can get just a little bit more sleep. Its design is clever and will certainly delight parents everywhere. To make their product extra convenient, the creators should consider adding some kind of failsafe in case both wristbands run out of battery. Parents can have their very own system for $150 with delivery in June 2015. This product hopes to raise $100,000 on Kickstarter.

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Cycling Kids/Babies

ZumZum balance bike teaches tykes to zoom along in safety

Balance bikes for young children have remained generally unchanged since their inception in the mid 1800’s: they employ seats that gradually rise up until it the child is too big for it, at which point they can move on to an actual bike with ease. Just because they work as well as they do doesn’t mean they aren’t due for an upgrade, which is exactly what the ZumZum does.

Made from durable birch plywood, the ZumZum is the balance bike for the age. Made from three main components, the handlebar, frame, and wheels, the ZumZum is one of the lightest on the market at only 7.5lbs. The birch plywood and the product’s overall design facilitate natural suspension disconnected from the ground, so that children can avoid potentially damaging shock to their still developing lower backs.

ZumZum is as much a toy as it is a bike, so indoor and outdoor use is encouraged with its non-marking rubber tires. An interesting addition is the NFC tag built into the frame that, when tagged, displays information about the owner and the warranty of the bike. Useless for the most part, but a nice touch. Early birds can grab the ZumZum for $149, while everyone else will pay $199. The $50,000 campaign is looking to get this product shipped by March and April of 2015.

NextGen Bikes, LLC have created something that is fairly unique. Smart, sleek design come together to streamline a tried and true design. As tried and true as it may be, kids have proven to not have become any easier to deal with, so prospective backer/parents giving this the look over may want to also consider the Follow Me Bicycle Handle as well.

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Apparel Kids/Babies

MittGrips hold onto kids’ mittens, keeps their little wrists warm

Little kids love the winter. For them, it’s a time of sledding, snowman building and tubing. For parents, it’s usually a hassle trying to get kids all bundled up for the outdoors. Those little ones always seem to lose their mittens and risk getting frost bitten.

MittGrips are a solution to this problem. These mitten holders slip over mittens or gloves after they’ve been put on. There’s a thumb loop that keeps them secure. After putting them on, then goes the jacket. This way, kids can keep their mittens on while also having a layer of protection against the cold and snow.

While this is a fun project that will prove useful to all wintertime families, it’s so simple that a pair can actually be made from an old long-sleeve shirt. However, for those who aren’t as handy, one pair can be had for $10 CAD (~$8 USD) for estimated delivery in March. MittGrips is hoping to raise $18,000 CAD (~$14,900 USD) on Kickstarter.

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Kids/Babies Wearables

FixSit fixes kids sitting in a W shape; prevents pain later on

As children grow and develop, their habits can have major consequences for the future. For instance, children who W-sit, meaning sit on their butts with both legs bent and splayed out awkwardly, are at risk for back issues later in life.

FixSit hopes to prevent such issues. Designed for children, this product is a wearable device that affixes to both ankles. It can detect when the child is W-sitting. When this behavior is detected, an alarm is sounded. This way, children are provided with instant feedback about their position and can adjust accordingly.

Best of all, each FixSit looks like a toe-less sock. Made of black stretchy fabric, this product will work great on children because it’s not a bulky piece of tech, like other wearables.

One concern about this product is the use of a loud alarm to correct behavior. However, the campaign states that the creators are adding a vibrate mode so the little nose-miner won’t be disturbed at school by the alarm, smart. For their very own, backers can donate $300 for one “production unit” or pair for estimated delivery in October 2015. FixSit is hoping to raise $75,000 with the help of Kickstarter.

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Kids/Babies

Sporklet makes mealtime less tedious for toddlers, parents alike

If it wasn’t for the fact that someone has to clean them up afterward, it might be amusing watching a toddler learn how to use a fork or spoon at mealtime. Chasing those peas around while trying to stab them with a fork, bite sized bits of carrots that miss the mouth on the first couple tries, and spaghetti is always a fun one. It’s enough to make one wonder if the fork or spoon winds up on the floor out of frustration or by accident.

Sporklet was designed with young ones and their developing motor skills in mind. The spoon-fork gadget also has a wrist attachment so that it can be loosely fastened to a child’s wrist and is less likely to wind up on the floor. Not entirely convinced it’s any better than any other toddler spoon or fork already out there, but it may be worth checking into further for the wrist attachment. This campaign seeks to raise $32,000. Early bird backers get one Sporklet for $16 with an expected delivery of July 2015.

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Kids/Babies

WetHeads spew water to amuse kids into washing hands

It’s almost like a daily wrestling match: in one corner, there’s mom or dad and in the other is little Johnny or Suzy. The bell is the sound of mom or dad’s voice saying, “Go wash your hands.” And it’s all downhill from there. The one hope in all of this is that maybe a secret weapon such as WetHeads can help pin kids to the “mat” of the bathroom sink. Thankfully, this battle will not be complicated with any special tools for installation. WetHeads pretty much just screws onto the faucet, though it’s not clear whether or not it’s compatible with the majority of bathroom sinks out there. WetHeads also controls soap usage since there isn’t a dispenser to press down on, kids just rub the bubble mechanism instead.

The idea seems to have potential for persuading kids to wash their hands for maybe a few weeks or so, but kids tend to get bored with new things pretty quickly, so it may not be lasting.  This campaign is looking to raise $33,000 CAD (~$29,000 USD) by mid January 2015. For $20 CAD (~$18 USD), backers get WetHeads with an expected delivery of February 2015.