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Kids/Babies Nutrition/Hydration

Proacmom smart baby bottle delivers push-button heating

The problem with baby bottles is that it can be really hard to get the milk inside them to reach the perfect temperature for babies and to then stay at that perfect temperature for very long. That’s especially the case while traveling.

Proacmom is a smart, rechargeable baby bottle designed to solve that problem. It heats milk in the bottle with just the push of a button, then warms and promises to hold the milk temperature for hours. Proacmom features an LCD thermometer strip that gauges the milk’s temperature, enabling feeding to be done at an optimum temperature. Its double wall insulating layer reduces thermal loss and retains heat, so frequent reheating isn’t needed. Included are a detachable lithium-ion battery and control unit, and Proacmom can be charged using a Micro USB mobile charger, car charger or PC.

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Kids/Babies Networking

Torch router sheds a light on how kids use the Web, can make access flame out

Every day it seems there’s some new service cropping up on the Internet that draws time away from something else. Monitoring the length and safety of screen time of kids online can be a constant battle.

Seeking to shed light on that situation, though, is Torch, a simple router designed to help parents monitor where kids go on the Web and how much time they spend there. Its Web management console includes sections to pause and track data usage by child and search history.

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Connected Objects Kids/Babies Sleep

REMI tracks and trains tykes and toddlers through sleep, helps twitchy parents take a load off

For the first 10 years of a child’s life, making sure they receive adequate amounts of care and attention can be difficult. Often, parents are winging it, slowly learning from the advice given by others and the mistakes they made. Their lack of sleep makes it that much more difficult.

REMI is a Bluetooth-connected sleep alarm looking to kill two birds with one stone by being a device that exists as a sleep tracker for babies and as a sleep trainer for children. By tracking sounds at night, REMI’s sleep tracking capabilities create sets of information parents can use to make informed decisions about their general well-being. As a sleep trainer, it’s designed with a cute, customizable display that lets children know when it’s time to get up in the morning.

Categories
Kids/Babies

Lullafi bably sleep aid is the next best thing to creating a cribmobile

Lots of new parents know that sometimes, when their baby won’t go to sleep, they have to try the car. For whatever reason, babies love sleeping in the car. Parents have been known to embark on trips to nowhere in the wee hours in the hopes of quiet slumber.

patent-claimedLullafi has figured out why the car works for getting babies to go to sleep. In order to save parents the hassle of late night driving, Lullafi mimics the soothing effects of the car for babies. This small device clips onto cribs and produces soft vibrations and soothing sounds to get baby to fall asleep. In addition, it has Bluetooth integration which lets parents stream whatever they want to the device, whether it’s ambient noise or their child’s favorite lullaby.

Most parents welcome any solution to restless babies. If Lullafi really performs as promised, it’ll make a welcome addition to the baby product market. Parents interested in this product will need to donate $55 for estimated delivery in September 2015. Lullafi is hoping to raise an ambitious $190,000 with the help of Kickstarter.

Categories
Cycling Kids/Babies

Swedish Påhoj offers a stroller and bike seat in one for the young on the run

Travelling with a toddler or small child can be quite the chore. Especially when you consider carseats, strollers, and other safety measures that must be taken.

The Swedish-made Påhoj hopes to make transporting kids a bit easier. This combination child bike seat and stroller clips onto bikes, but also has wheels for ground travel. The black seat looks like a much sleeker bike seat with holes in the back for ventilation. It comes equipped with foot rests and a retractable handle that stays out of the way on a bike, but comes in handy for the stroller. Påhoj is lightweight and has an adjustable harness for kids of different sizes.

The only thing missing from Påhoj’s campaign is specification of which ages the product is appropriate for. Other than that, this product will definitely come in handy for parents, especially those in bike-friendly cities and countries. One will cost kr2,260 (~$249) with estimated delivery in December 2015. Påhoj is looking for kr500,000 (~$57,800) in funding on Kickstarter.

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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.

Categories
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.

Categories
Tech Accessories

VexBox vexes procrastinating Web-surfing teens

It’s a common parental dilemma these days. Teens are supposed to be doing homework, studying for a test, or doing household chores. But instead they’re surfing the Internet.

patent-claimedThe VexBox is a small, black electronic device roughly the size and shape of a Rubik’s Cube that gets hooked up to a home’s main router and creates a new hub for kids’ devices. A parent can then use the device as an Internet throttle that can slow the speed of the Internet on those devices down to a crawl–well, 56k anyway. Backers who pledge $39 will get one when it ships in June. VexBox is hoping to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter.

The device holds some appeal for the parents of some procrastinating teens. It seems likely, however, that there are many teens who, if they can’t use the Internet, will just find some other way to waste time instead of doing their homework or household duties. Still, VexBox offers an interesting way to limit Internet usage without eliminating it altogether.

Categories
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.

Categories
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.