Toddler Beds | Grammy's Corner

Kid’s Rooms: A Firefighter Theme

Minden St. Jude Fire Company No. 1

This past weekend I had the chance to experience first hand behind the scenes of a charitable telethon. I totally admire all the work and volunteers that it takes to succeed in this endeavor. Minden, Louisiana has sponsored the St Jude’s Children’s Auction on Super Bowl Weekend for the past 36 years. I am told they raise more money than any other town in the United States in those four days for St Jude Children’s Hospital. Last year they raised over $850,000 and this year their goal is to top $1,000,000.

St. Jude Firehouse Double Door

Back during the summer, I was approached about furnishing children’s furniture for an ‘Olde Fire House Playhouse’ that was being built by the Minden Fire Department to be auctioned off during the St Jude Auction. The playhouse is electric on the inside, with a safety plug on the outside, allowing the homeowner to plug it in on their property. This awesome child size fire station comes completely wrapped in beautiful barn red with white vinyl siding with grey accents, including shutters on the 3 operating windows. The double front door allows a child-size vehicle to be driven inside with a side door for entering in and out. There are 2 outside lights with a pewter finish, vinyl wood flooring, and finished walls on the inside. A black metal ladder inside leads to the upper floor, where a stainless steel fire pole allows children to slide down the pole to the lower floor, landing on real fire hose wrapped around the bottom of the fire pole for a cushioned landing. Local artist, Vicki James, painted the inside with beautiful fire department themed paintings including an American Flag, Firemen bunker gear (jackets, pants, boots), children playing with nozzles, a

Babyiture Owners, Patricia and Edward Steele inside the St. Jude Firehouse Playhouse

Dalmatian dog, fire hydrants and nozzles, and much more. No firehouse is complete without a beautiful brass fire bell with lanyard for the children to ring. On the outside of the house, children will find a specially made real fire hose and nozzle to use to play firefighter!

Kidkraft's Fire Truck Toddler Bed & Fire Hydrant Table

To keep with the firehouse theme, I furnished the playhouse with durable, quality pieces from Kidkraft and Levels of Discovery. Kidkraft graciously donated the Fire Truck Toddler Bed, Firehouse Bookcase, and Fire Hydrant Toddler Table made of wood and sturdy construction. The toddler bed uses a crib mattress that is covered with a custom embroidered sheet. The side table has a drawer for storing important items and a shelf underneath. Levels of Discovery donated the Firefighter Rocker featuring cutout detail around a fire truck on the seat back and fire hydrant finials and ladder design arms. Babyiture furnished the Firefighter Table and Stools and the Firefighter Toy Chest and Bench Seat to help accessorize the playhouse. The Firefighter Table and 2 Stools

Levels of Discovery Firefighter Table and Stools

Levels of Discovery Firefighter Toy Chest with Bench Seat Seating

features a Firehouse storage box with working bell sitting in the middle of the table. The Firefighter Toy Chest with Bench Seat has a unique design with hydrant finials, a working bell and ladder design arms and a large sliding door opens for fire trucks and other vehicles to drive right up the ramp and into the fire station. All the furniture in this 10’ x 13’ playhouse creates a theme room that will keep children in awe for months. This playhouse is so unbelievable that your child may decide to move out of the house before he turns 18!

During Super Bowl Weekend this playhouse is being auctioned off at $10 per ticket. You can purchase your ticket at www.mindenstjude.com. The money goes to a great cause that has helped children from all over the country fight cancer. St Jude Children’s Research Hospital operates from donations from you and me.

Kid’s Safety: New Crib Safety Standards

Triplet baby boys standing in crib

The last few years the Consumer Product Safety Commission committed themselves to improving the safety of our children’s products. On December 17, 2010 the CPSI voted unanimously to approve new mandatory safety standards for full-size and non-full-size baby cribs take effect June 28, 2011. These standards which are essentially the same as the voluntary standards developed by ASTM International are designed to stop the manufacture and sale of traditional drop-side cribs, make mattress supports stronger, make crib hardware more durable and make safety testing more rigorous. Under the CPSIA cribs are defined to include new and used cribs, full-size and non-full-size cribs, portable cribs, crib pens, and playards.

The crib standards are different from standards for the other durable infant or toddler products because they apply not only to manufacturers, retailers, and distributors but also owners and operators of child care facilities, family childcare homes, and places of public accommodation such as hotels and motels. Cribs manufactured, sold or leased in the U.S. on and after June 28 will have to comply with the new standards. In addition, day care centers will be required to replace over the next two years any cribs that do not comply with the new regulations. Nancy A. Cowles, executive director of Kids In Danger, a nonprofit organization that monitors the safety of children’s products, said the new crib standards were “a huge leap forward” after years of relative inaction by the safety commission.

Starting in March, parents will be able to do in-depth research on products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is creating a new database in which parents can search for complaints about the safety of specific products. Scott Wolfson, a commission spokesman, said consumers would be able to search for safety complaints

Baby Standing in a Crib

about a stroller, a crib or a high chair. As it stands, consumers don’t learn about safety problems until a product is recalled.

Most of our children product manufacturers redesigned their cribs to cooperate

Deluxe Toddler Day Bed

with CPSC voluntarily. Many of the new cribs are multifunctional in several ways. Dream On Me has a portable, convertible crib that easily converts to a toddler day bed and twin size bed growing with your child. It is the ideal solution for those small areas that are unable to accommodate a full size crib. It features a stationary side rail on the crib with three-position mattress support. This 3-in-1 solid wood portable crib is a modern, yet classic style crib designed to transform with your child as they grow. This Dream On Me high density firm 3 inch foam portable crib mattress will provide your baby with a comfortable and restful sleep.

Solid Wood 3-in-1 Portable Crib

Rest easy knowing this mattress is 100% Bedbug Free and constructed with quality materials and workmanship in the USA.

As long as our manufacturers are safety conscious and our parents are safety conscious, then we can keep our children SAFE.

Kid’s Safety: Using Child Leashes

Child Pulling on Leash

As I was watching TV the other day, a special came on similar to the old TV show Candid Camera, where an adult was leading a child on a leash. Now in this scenario the adult was treating the child almost like a dog, and the cameras were recording the actions of those observing the situation. This TV special appeared after a lady was videoed dragging her child through the store by the leash because the child refused to stand up. In both situations, I do not believe the leash was the problem, but the method the parent was using the leash. These products are known as child leashes, child safety harnesses, wrist links, child tethers, kid keepers, harness buddies and more. Some parents swear by these products and others detest them.

Leashes have been around for many years. Twenty years ago I used one on my 18 month old and her 16 month old cousin when we went to Disney World. They only lasted so long in the stroller before they wanted out to walk. My daughter was so independent, wanted to explore everything, and do it herself. The leash that I attached to her arm provided the opportunity for exercise and exploration, and kept us both happy. At this time the child leash was not socially unpopular. In fact, many people that had not seen one before even asked where I had found the one I was using with my daughter.

Child Walking on Leash

Nicki Heskin, BllaOnline’s Early Childhood Editor,has determined certain circumstances that would be appropriate for use with the child leash.

Use Only as a “Just-in-Case” Some children are prone to dash off at the slightest distraction and rebel against holding your hand. In certain instances, these products provide a safety net when out in public with your child, but they do not replace supervising your child’s behavior. The leash is not intended to lead or guide as we do with an animal. Using a leash does not preclude holding hands with a child, picking them up, or using respectful guiding words with them just as we would if not using the leash. Under no circumstances is it appropriate to pull on the leash—not subtly to guide a child in a direction and certainly not forcefully. Nor is it a good idea to have a child tugging on the leash. Children should be using their words if there is something they want to do or see or touch.

Mother Walking with Twins

Freedom to Explore and Develop Using leashes is less restraining than keeping kids cooped up in a stroller all the time. They provide freedom to roam around, but allow parents to control boundaries and limit danger. They significantly, reduce the risk of children wandering away from parents, into the path of danger. Pediatricians have stated that many common injuries are to shoulders and arms from parents pulling up when a child falls while holding their hand. The harness allows you to gently guide your child while supporting them in their strongest place, the chest. Many supporters identify the hands-free aspect of leashes as the biggest benefit. Also, holding children’s hands for an extended period of time can be uncomfortable for small children—-imagine how you’d feel keeping your hand raised above your head. As a child walks, he is developing gross motor skills. His right arm should swing forward as the left leg steps forward and the left arm swings forward with the right leg. To do this, the arms need to be free as he walks.

Some children are more manageable than others. So each child or family has a threshold of when safety is truly a factor that may be different from others. But just because a child is willing to wear the leash doesn’t mean they should. When there is no realistic safety issue, that’s a great time to slow down and learn appropriate boundaries for exploration with your supervision, ad to practice more manageable behaviors that may preclude the need for the leash in the future.