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When Vans first contacted us to review their new custom kids shoes, the first thing that came to mind was Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High airbrushing some slip-ons while eating a slice of pizza.

Ok, enough 80′s references. Today Vans bills itself as the “original skate shoe manufacturer since 1966″ and designs products for and supports action sports including skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing and BMX.  And while the company appears to have offered custom shoes at retail locations from the beginning, now anybody can order them via the Vans website.

We jumped at the opportunity to look at the shoes because:

1. I was curious to see what my 3-year-old would create
2. Creating custom anything on the web appeals to the geek in me
3. My daughter goes through shoes faster than anyone I’ve ever seen

We started our shoes by selecting one of three styles at shop.vans.com/custom:

• Era -  $60
• Slip-On – $45-60
• Old Skool – $70

All are available in sizes for men, women and boys, but only the Slip-On is available in youth and toddler sizes, so that’s the one we chose.

After selecting a style, you start your design with a solid black or white shoe or one of a variety of pre-existing designs. Once you’ve selected your starting point, you can mix and match options for the following:

• Top, Side and heel(48 solids/patterns each)
• Vamp binding (20 colors)
• Foxing (black or white)
• Foxing stripe (20 colors)
• Elastic gore (black or white)
• Collar lining (black or white)

Don’t worry if those names don’t mean anything to you. The image of the shoe updates as you hold your mouse over each option so you can easily see how your choices will look before selecting them. You can also view your shoe from the side, top and back. Finally, you can change your choices at any time, even after you’ve added your custom shoes to the cart. This last bit is a particularly nice feature if you (or your child) change your mind just before ordering.

My daughter and I had a blast playing with the shoe designer. We spent a lot of time mixing the patterns to create some very, umm, “original” footwear. But the folks at Vans wanted us to check not only the shoe designer but also the shoes, so we settled down to design something my daughter would actually wear. Her favorite color is pink, so her first creation was a solid pink shoe. It may have been a “custom” pink shoe, but it was still just a pink shoe.  After playing around a bit we swapped out some of the pink for some purple and added a star pattern and we were set.

And that’s where we hit our only snag: Our new shoes were listed as “available in 5-7 weeks.” This seemed to be the case for all the shoes we tried to create.  In today’s “get it now” world, 5-7 weeks seems like an eternity. In a toddler’s world, it could mean a completely different shoe size. I’m not sure if this is the normal time for custom Vans, or if it’s because this is a new service, but it’s definitely something to be aware of if you’re ordering your custom shoes as a gift.

After taking a gamble on ordering a full size larger we gave the shoe one last look and submitted the order.

Overall the process was simple and we had a great time playing with the shoe designer. I would have liked the ability to upload images or pictures to print on the shoes, but there are still lots of options to mix and match. The custom shoes are more expensive than the retail Vans ($45 vs. $27 for the toddler Slip-Ons), but I could see these being a great gift not only for kids who already like Vans, but also those who want to express their creativity. Plus, there’s no Spicoli. But then again, you have to bring your own pizza.

We’ll be reviewing the shoes themselves once they arrive, so stay tuned.

Summer in Southern New Hampshire means nice temps and (hopefully) more time to spend enjoying them. Why not take advantage of the warm weather and treat your family to a free movie shown under the stars?

So far we’ve found schedules for free family movies shown under the stars in Manchester and Nashua. Both schedules are on the SNHParents calendar, but I’ve also included them below. I’ll add other schedules to this post (and the calendar) as I find them.

Manchester, NH

Downtown Film Fest
Veterans Park, downtown Manchester, NH

Area opens at 6:30 and show time is approx: 8:30. Films will be shown on a new 40-foot screen.

• 7/16 – Madagascar 2
• 7/23 – Hotel for Dogs
• 7/30 – Journey to the Center of the Earth
• 8/6 – Kung Fu Panda

Sponsored by  Southern New Hampshire University, The Sausage King of Nashua, BOSE Professional Sound, Community Events, Mayor Guinta’s Office and Intown Manchester

Nashua, NH

SummerFun 2009 Plaza Pics
Greeley Park Bandshell, 100 Concord St., Nashua, NH

Pre-movie entertainment starts at 7:30 with the movie following at dusk.

• 7/10 – Journey to the Center of the Earth
  Pre-movie entertainment: Mad Science demonstration
• 7/17 – Tale of Desperaux
  Pre-Movie entertainment: Stories by Mrs. Susan
• 7/24 – Kung Fu Panda
  Pre-Movie entertainment: Demo by Anctil’s Martial Arts
• 7/31 – Madagascar 2
  Pre-Movie entertainment: Wildlife Encounters (live animals)

The 2009 Nashua SummerFun schedule has been posted on the Parks & Recreation site and the fun starts on June 6.

We’ve added the big events to the calendar, but be sure to check out the full schedule for lots fo great (and free) family activities.

It’s no secret that my daughter has been playing on the computer for quite a while. And although we limit screen time, she’s still managed to memorize the songs from several movies, and even some of the standard commercials on PBS Sprout.

So while I encourage her curiosity, I also realize that TV, and to a lesser extent, computer time can have negative effects on young children. But other than the standard “no TV before two-years-old” recommendation of the American Pediatrics Association, what do we really have to worry about?

Fortunately, this subject has become the subject of greater study as the number of electronic distractions in our lives increases. Of course, I’m not saying that we should ban all electronic entertainment from our children’s lives…I’m not even sure that’s realistic. But it does make sense to be aware of the risks.

If you want to learn more, you may want to check out a free screening of “Consuming Kids,” April 29th at the Marlboro College Technology Center in Brattleboro, VT.

I know a lot of tech-savvy parents are SNHParents regulars. What are your thoughts on how much screen time, computer or TV, that’s right for your kids?

Additional details from the press release follow:

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Press Release

April 2009

Film Screening of “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood”

Brattleboro – The new documentary “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood”, will be shown on Wednesday, April 29th at the downtown campus of the Marlboro College Graduate School. Co-sponsored by Know Media, Healthy Media Choices and the Windham Child Care Association, this film will be shown at 7:00 and is open to all. The film is not recommended for viewing by children.

“Consuming Kids” is a Media Education Production that targets the multi-billion-dollar youth marketing industry and takes a close look at the effects such marketing is having on children today. “We decided to show this film so that parents and other child care-givers could learn to make their way through the challenges of commercialization”, says Robin Rieske, coordinator of Know Media. Rieske also adds that although the American Pediatrics Association recommends no screen time before the age of 2, “marketers love to make parents feel guilty if they don’t feed their kids a steady media diet of TV, computers, and so called ‘educational’ videos”. As Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia states “This powerful, disturbing and heartbreaking film has the power to change the way we treat our children. It is the best possible parent education product. I recommend it to schools, universities, churches, mosques and synagogues.”

The film showing will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with members of Know Media, Healthy Media Choices and Windham Child Care Association. The discussion will include helpful tips on navigating the media culture with children. For more information about this event, please contact Robin Rieske at Know Media, (802) 258-2402. The film is free to the public. Donations are accepted to cover costs.

A light refreshment will be provided.

Calendar Event :

Wednesday, April 29th, 7:00 – “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood” –which takes a close look at the effects such marketing is having on children today. Film screening –Marlboro College Technology Center in Brattleboro. Donations accepted. (802) 258-2402. Know Media.

Mary L. Rothschild, Director
Healthy Media Choices
www.healthymediachoices.org
Brooklyn, New York
Brattleboro, Vermont
Host: The Healthy Media Choices Hour
Tuesdays 1pm ET
Streaming at www.wvew.org

Date: This Event has Been Postponed
Location: Rick’s Pond View, 92 Route 125, Kingston, NH
Price: $20 (pre-registration required)
Website: kidsafe1.eventbrite.com/

Leslie Poston, the founder of Uptown Uncorked social media and business development consultancy and a co-author of the upcoming Twitter for Dummies, will be teaching a lunch and learn session for parents or guardians who want to know how to keep their kids safe on the internet.

Topics will include:

• How much should you watch?
• How do you recognize signs of trouble?
• What is the etiquette for being in your child’s “Circle of Friends” without intruding or damaging your relationship?
• What does an online predator look like?

To register or learn more, visit kidsafe1.eventbrite.com.

I don’t like flying.

Actually, let me clarify that: I don’t have a problem with flying, but I really don’t like airlines or airports. After frequent trips, I’ve learned to expect things to go wrong and try to do everything to reduce the hassles caused by the inevitable delays and cancellations. For example, thanks to my wife, we now pack a change of clothes for everyone and enough books and toys to keep our daughter busy, no matter how short the trip is supposed to be.

But you don’t think about some things until after they happen. For example, a few years ago United Airlines lost our car seat and stranded us at the airport with no safe way to get our 21-month-old to our destination. Although we were able to get her to our relatives and eventually got the car seat back, we swore we would do everything possible to avoid letting that happen again. Unfortunately, it seemed that this meant taking the car seat on board with us on all future trips. Not a big deal, but I wasn’t looking forward to moving between gates with carry-ons, a toddler AND a car seat. Plus some car seats won’t fit some plane seats, or even being allowed aboard by some flight attendants, something you typically won’t find out until you’re boarding.

But then we found CARES. To put it simply, this is the harness of your car seat, without the actual car seat.* Made of the same material used in seat belts, the harness weighs about 1 lb. and stores neatly in its own carrying pouch. See that picture to the left? That’s CARES in its storage pouch sitting in my daughter’s regular car seat. Which one would you want to carry through an airport?

CARES is FAA-approved for children over one-year-old and 22-42 lbs. and shouldn’t require special documentation to use on US flights (see the CARES website, www.kidsflysafe.com, for international information). But if you’re nervous, the CARES website  also includes links to FAA documents you can print out just in case. Before our trip I also printed the relevant pages from our airline’s website and highlighted the parts that mentioned CARES  to cover all the bases. See, I told you I didn’t like airlines.

Before our trip we watched the instructional DVD and practiced putting CARES on a chair. Installation is simple: you slide a loop around the back of the seat, tighten it, and run the seat’s lap belt through the bottom loops on the CARES belts. That’s it! Once everything is in place, you have a nice 4-point harness.** It takes just a few minutes, but I recommend trying it a few times at home so you know what to expect before you board the plane.

After four flights I can definitely say that CARES is awesome! Yes we had to arrange for a car seat at our destination, but it was worth it to avoid lugging a car seat around the airport. Plus our daughter loved having her own “special” seat, and stayed happily buckled-in except when we she stretched out to snuggle against us while sleeping.

We had no trouble using it on the planes and the only questions we fielded were from other passengers curious about CARES. This must be a common occurrence as the CARES package includes several small information cards you can hand out.

On most planes, the CARES belt fits underneath the tray table of the seat behind you. However, on some you’ll need to run the belt over the seat tray which prevents its use. The DVD mentioned this and we did come have a few flights with this issue. In each case,  we just asked the person behind us to tell us when he wanted to open the tray so we could loosen the belt a bit. However even if the person behind you isn’t cooperative, you should still be able to use the CARES during takeoff and landing when seat trays are required to be closed.

At $75 (plus the costs of purchasing/renting a car seat at your destination), CARES is expensive, but it’s worth it if you frequently travel with your children. You can also find people renting CARES on eBay for around $14 for a few weeks. This is another option, but not one I’d recommend unless you’re very comfortable with the person from whom you’re renting.

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*It’s important to note that CARES cannot be used in cars, so you’ll still need to arrange to rent or borrow a car seat at your destination.

**Unlike a typical car seat, CARES doesn’t have an anchor between your child’s legs. While not a safety issue on planes, it does mean that your child can slip out from underneath the harness if she tries and could be an issue if your child squirms around a lot.

Disclaimer: A CARES harness was provided to SNHParents in exchange for this review. No additional compensation was received and the opinions and thoughts expressed are those of the author.

Building forts is part of growing up. It starts with hiding under blankets and develops into creating complex structures from blankets, chairs, couch cushions and whatever else is around. Unfortunately, blankets, chairs and heavy books limit you to only basic structures. But the folks at The Happy Kid Company in Princeton, MA came up with a product that revolutionizes childhood fort-building.

At first glance the Fortamajig doesn’t look like much more than an 8′ square piece of lightweight, ripstop nylon and while that’s accurate,  this is definitely a case of less being more. Arranged around the Fortamajig’s outer edges are 24 adjustable Velcro loops so you can easily attach it to just about anything. An additional 9 Velcro loops on the surface further extend the attachment options. Velcro not long enough to fit your plans? No problem! Just connect one or more of the six additional Velcro straps where you need them. Unlike blankets, the lightweight Fortamajig is easily supported so it can span longer distances without drooping. There’s also a door and a window, both with Velcro to keep them closed if  they don’t fit your design. And because it’s made from the same material used to make tents, it’s also durable enough to be used outside. Check out the Fortamajig gallery for examples of both indoor and outdoor forts.

My daughter and I decided to try the Fortamajig out in the dining room. This idea wasn’t met with much enthusiasm from my wife, but when she saw that the Fortamajig was so light (under 2lbs) that it wouldn’t pull down the chairs she gave us her reluctant blessing and we proceeded to create a variety of tunnels, forts and caves. Fortunately, my wife wasn’t around when my daughter decided to climb the fort’s roof, pulling some of the chairs down to the floor. Luckily no toddlers or chairs were harmed and we simply adjusted our design and continued playing. When we were finished, we just disconnected the Velcro, stuffed the Fortamajig back into its bag and put the chairs back under the table.

The Fortamajig is available in two models, a $70 single layer and a $90 reversible dual-layer. Both come in a variety of colors. The Happy Kid Company also sells the $90 Fortamajig Connectables, a set of eight panels with Velcro connectors that can be used on their own or along with the Fortamajig (buying them together will save you $20). Yes, the Fortamajig is more expensive than a blanket, but comparing the two is like comparing a Leatherman Tool to a butter knife. The Fortamajig’s durability and flexible design allow it to do so much more than a blanket and also make it more likely to engage your child’s imagination. That’s definitely worth at least $70.

Disclaimer: A Fortamajig as provided to SNHParents in exchange for this review. No additional compensation was received and the opinions and thoughts expressed are those of the author.

About a year and a half ago my husband and I talked about how we could probably get our daughter potty trained within the first few months of turning two. To that end, we’ve had the Boon Potty Bench in our bathroom for probably close to a year. I think somehow we thought exposure to a potty chair at 1 3/4 years would pique her interest and thus magically lead to a potty trained child. I’ve since come down off that cloud and understand that she will be potty trained when she wants to be potty trained and I’m okay with that. I can’t bring myself to put her on the potty every 30 minutes, have her run around naked, or let her wet herself to prove some kind of point to her (she still thinks it’s fun to rub yogurt all over her face!). Besides, who is really being trained when I do that anyway?  So we have decided that three is a good age to really start potty training in the official sense. While there are tons of differing opinions on this topic, this is what we are comfortable with.

So while the formal potty training has yet to be implemented, we have introduced the potty to our now 2 3/4 year-old daughter and she uses it “as the spirit moves her.” During this phase we’ve found the Boon Potty Bench very useful for a couple different reasons.

First, when the lid is closed, it serves as a bench so kids can use it to stand up at the sink. Ours is placed at the end of the bathroom cabinet so she can stand on it to brush her teeth or just hang out with us.

Second, as a potty it’s simple but functional. The height seems comfortable for her and she’s able to get on and off easily. It’s also very stable, so if she moves around at all it can’t fall over. But perhaps best of all, it’s simple to clean with a “drawer” that pulls out and can be emptied and rinsed out easily. There are also two storage compartments, one with a toilette paper holder.

But recently I found another reason why I love this potty bench. It doesn’t have the distractions that appear on other potties. While visiting Grandpa’s this past Thanksgiving, my daughter used a potty chair that had all sorts of bells and whistles (literally). While my daughter sat on this potty a few times, she never used it for its intended purpose. Instead, she just played with it. She would “flush” the toilet over and over to make it say “You flushed the potty!”  She also enjoyed spinning the “toilet paper” lever, causing it to sing out praises for that as well. I don’t know about you, but these are things we are trying to discourage at our house. I can appreciate positive messages that encourage a child when they are successful, but there is a limit. Besides, I think my husband and I can out-sing and out-praise a potty chair any day.

Overall these potty toys, as I call them, probably won’t cause irreparable harm. But if you’re looking for something functional and simple, I would definitely recommend the Boon Potty Bench. It—and a lot of patience—should get your through your potty-training!

Disclaimer: A Boon Potty Bench was provided to SNHParents in exchange for this review. No additional compensation was received and the opinions and thoughts expressed are those of the author.

Back in October I mentioned that several people had suggested letting kids use a digital camera to record the road trip for themselves.  Although my 2.5 year-old understands the basics of using our regular camera with supervision, there’s no way a Canon, or any other “adult” digital camera, could survive the occasional drop, not to mention drool, sticky fingers and who knows what else, that she would dish out during regular use.

But these toddler traits aren’t a problem for the $40 VTech Kidizoom digital camera. Available in blue or pink, this toddler-tough camera features a two-handed design with non-slip handles to help children hold it properly. The handles also seem to help cushion the camera during the inevitable drops. Although our first sample stopped working (ironically while I was the one using it), the second one has taken a beating and continues to work fine. Included with the camera are a USB cord, audio/video cable for connecting the camera to a TV, software CD (Windows only), wrist strap, two interchangeable faceplates and a manual. The camera can be connected to a PC or a Mac, but only comes with Windows photo software.

After popping in 4 AA batteries and taking a quick look at the menus, I handed the camera over to my daughter. With a little bit of guidance she was able to begin taking pictures. And although the binocular eyepieces may be easier-to-use than a standard viewfinder, she preferred to use the 1.8″ LCD screen on the back.

A joystick on the back is used to navigate the simple menus after clicking the “Mode” button. However, moving the joystick without first pressing the button either browses previous images (up/down) or cycles through cartoon graphics that can be added to the image (left/right). This is a great idea, but the joystick is a bit too easy to hit by mistake and many of our first pictures had a cartoon Viking helmet in the middle of them because our daughter accidentally hit the joystick just before taking a picture.

Photo Quality

Photos taken with the Kidizoom will never be confused with those take with a more advanced digital camera. The Kidizoom doesn’t perform well in low light and is susceptible to motion in all but the brightest light. This leads toward “blotchy” or blurred photos in many cases. However, given the $40 price, I can’t fault the quality of the Kidizoom’s pictures too much. Still it’s something you may want to consider before purchasing. I’ve posted a collection of my daughter’s photos on Flickr to give you an idea of the Kidizoom’s image quality (as well as the things a toddler considers worth photographing). VTech also has a gallery of customer photos on their site.

Ironically, the weaknesses of the Kidizoom may actually help your child take better pictures as she gets used to working around them. In the last two months I’ve noticed that my daughter is choosier about her subjects and seems to bet getting the hang of holding still after she presses the shutter button. Both of these skills will serve her well when she is ready for her next digital camera.

Additional Features
The Kidizoom camera includes several features that will interest older children, including:

• Photo Workshop: As I mentioned earlier, the Kidizoom only includes Windows software. However, the camera’s built-in Photo Workshop allows you to add frames and stamps to your images, duplicating much of the software’s basic features. You can also add animations or voice memos (up to 10-seconds) to photos, but the animations can’t be saved and voice memos can only be played by going back into the Photo Workshop.
• Games: 3 simple games (Tic Tac Toe, Matching Pairs and Rotation Puzzle) are accessible from the camera’s menu.

While neither of these features is reason to buy the Kidizoom, they do add value to the camera. There’s also the movie mode I mentioned earlier. Although the movies are noticeably low quality, this is a nice bonus and a feature that appears unavailable on other toddler cameras.

Software
The camera comes with VTech Photo Editor, a Windows-only program that is an expanded version of the built-in photo tools. The software includes a larger selection of stamps and frames and the program can be used with any BMP or JPG file, not just those taken with the Kidizoom camera. The software can also increase the resolution of the Kidizoom images to 2.0 Megapixels, but don’t expect any drastic improvement in image quality.

Conclusion
The rugged Kidizoom is a great first camera for toddlers who are old enough to be interested in taking pictures, but still not ready for a “grown-up” camera. As long as you don’t expect the same photo quality you would get from a $100+ digital camera, it’s a great deal, particularly when you consider the fun you’ll have seeing the world through your child’s eyes.

The New Hampshire Neighbors Helping Neighbors blog provides information on charitable programs that benefit New Hampshire residents. The site is a great resource for New Hampshire families who want to help make a difference locally, but aren’t sure how to begin. And while there are programs for donations of all sizes, many of the programs listed require only a little bit of money or personal time.

“In these tough economic times, even the smallest acts of kindness go a long way towards helping our neighbors,” said Traci Bisson, owner of The Mom Entrepreneur and creator of the blog. “All NH residents are struggling this season, but the majority still want to support their neighbors any way they can.”

If you haven’t made your holiday donations yet, or even if you have, give the site a look and see how you can help.  Thanks to the recent financial downturn, many of us might be tempted to cut back on our usual charitable giving, but this year our neighbors could our help more than ever.