Tag: parents

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Connected Objects Technology

Appiom censorship app gives parents control over kids’ Wi-Fi usage

As more and more Lifetime movies revolve around the dangerous effects the Internet can have on young ones, parents are beginning to think they should limit online usage. However, these damn millennials are smart and have figured out ways to get around a lot of censorship tools.

Introducing Appiom. A little box and app that casts a safety net over the kids. The app allows users to choose different profiles and collect devices for each profile. For instance, one child’s profile may include their smartphone and laptop. With Appiom, parents can block certain apps entirely, like Facebook, or for just one hour. Similarly, they can set a timer on Internet usage, blocking kids from going online after their bedtime. Understanding that these kids are much more tech savvy than any other generation, Appiom also has capabilities to block 4g and LTE usage, preventing kids from switching from Wi-Fi to phone data to surf the Net.

Installation for this product is quite easy, requiring no router configuration or software downloads. Best of all, for smartphones at least, it only blocks certain apps, letting parents customize phone time for their kids. It would beneficial if there could be some sort of Web site blocking customization too for laptops. Still, this is an easy-to-use product that allows parents to be reasonable in their control over Wi-Fi time instead of downright Web Nazis. One will cost backers an affordable $29 donation for delivery in March 2015. Appiom is hoping to raise $25,000 on Kickstarter.

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Kids/Babies Tablet Accessories

Bizee Baby faces inevitable outrage for gluing baby’s eyes to iPads

Trying to enjoy a meal in a non-fast food restaurant with one or more small children is generally something of a hairy situation. Little ones usually don’t have the patience to wait for food to arrive at the table. That’s why BizeeBaby was invented. This gadget keeps little fingers, eyes, ears and, of course ,the mouth busy and stimulated so that mom and dad and maybe even a couple of friends can have an actual conversation that lasts longer than six seconds. While this won’t eliminate the need for a diaper bag, it might be ideal for slipping inside of one, especially since it folds up. And when toys don’t seem to keep baby busy enough, there is an iPad holder so that baby can watch something onscreen.

While the BizeeBaby seems like a quick way to keep your kid distracted, ultimately it doesn’t seem to solve a larger problem of public misbehavior. Pushing the child aside and keeping their attention glued to a screen may not be the best way to parent your kid. This campaign seeks to raise $55,000 by November 28, 2014. For $100, backers get one product and an expected deliverance from mealtime insanity sometime during May 2015.

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Connected Objects Kids/Babies Lighting

BabySleep is a connected nighttime lamp for kids

Toddlers and small children are notorious for refusing to go to sleep. Even when they can barely keep their eyes open, they insist on staying up, unwilling to miss any action. Babysleep is a clock designed for these types of kids, teaching them when it’s time to go to sleep and wake up. Looking like a little wooden birdhouse, the product has a sun and moon on it. When the sun is lit, it tells the child that they should be getting up. When the moon is lit, it’s time to go to bed. Parents have several options in controlling Babysleep. They can either set times from the product itself, from a computer or even use an accompanying app. Times can be adjusted easily for nap time, traveling or sleepovers. Brightness of the lights as well as colors can also be customized.

The campaign included testimonials from parents claiming that Babysleep has become a fun nightly ritual for their child. It also goes into the detrimental effects of the often erratic sleep patters of terrible two-year-olds. Other children’s alarm clocks focus on different goals, such as the Onaroo Alarm Clock. This product urges kids to stay in bed longer so that their parents can sleep. Babysleep focuses more on the child’s well-being than the parent’s. Backers can donate £99 (~$160) for this Italian product. Babysleep is looking to raise £50,000 (~$80,600) on Kickstarter.

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Food and Beverage Kids/Babies

Perfect Baby Bottle Maker brings the coffee pod concept to formula

For parents with newborn babies, quick and efficient bottle making is a must. Screaming babies are like a bomb that has gone off and a delicious, warm bottle is the only way to assuage them. However, making a formula bottle isn’t so easy to do quickly. Scooping, mixing and getting the temperature right can make for a lengthy preparation period while your baby screams and screams.

The Perfect Baby Bottle Maker aims to solve this very problem. Picture a Keurig machine, but for a younger crowd. Powdered formula is held in sealed cups. When ready, place these cups in the capsule and hit start. Perfect Baby Bottle Maker will mix the formula for you right into the bottle and will do so at a perfect 98.6°F temperature. This machine gives you several size options and features a filter for the water to pass through to ensure clean water. In addition, each capsule’s formula is first passed through a UV light to eliminate the possibility of bacteria. One will cost parents $85 on Kickstarter. This product has a campaign goal of $15,000.

When looking at this product, one thinks that it’s an amazing solution for moms and dads. Parents who have their hands full, literally, with their baby will rejoice at the convenience of the Perfect Baby Bottle Maker. However, this isn’t the first of its kind. The Baby Brezza operates in a similar manner, but has a large chamber for formula and doesn’t use the individual capsules. While this is certainly more convenient, this model goes for about twice the price of the Perfect Baby Bottle Maker. All in all, this product is innovative, easy to use and fairly cost-effective for new parents.

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Automotive Kids/Babies

SafetyBib takes a low-tech approach to backseat baby reminding

SafetyBibThis idea was most likely borrowed from the handicapped placard. SafetyBib is designed with parents of small children in mind. It hangs from a vehicle’s rearview mirror to remind the driver that a sleeping baby is in the backseat. But even if mom or dad is so distracted that the SafetyBib gets missed by them, the other side is brightly colored so that the public can be alerted to check for a baby in the car. While this idea is nice in theory, it’s questionable as to whether the general public would notice much less take action even if they did happen to see the tag. This is a lower tech and more affordable method than the similar Babeep. Backers can test it out for themselves for $5 with an expected delivery of December 2014.

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Kids/Babies Wearables

1Decision Bracelet alerts you when the little one wanders off

1decisionKids have a nasty habit of wandering off at the worst of times. There’s nothing scarier than realizing your child is not where you thought he or she was. The 1Decision Bracelet offers safety and security for your child out in public. One bracelet is worn by the child and the other by the parent. As the fearmongering campaign video shows, it is programmable so that when the bracelets are out of a predetermined range from one another, the parent’s will vibrate alerting them that the child has begun to wander off. Unlike GPS bracelets and watches, however, it doesn’t provide any clue on how to find them once they;re out of view. One set of bracelets costs an early donation of $55 or a regular donation of $75 for delivery in October 2014. The 1Decision Bracelet hopes to raise $65,000 in a 40-day Indiegogo campaign.