As another installment of the Power Rangers Parents program, I have some cool insider details and goodies to share. With the Power Rangers Dino Charge final new episode before the mid-season hiatus coming up on April 4 at noon, I wanted to share all of these exciting Power Rangers goodies, too.
Dino Charge is all about dino-fueled action and adventure this season with an action-packed storyline and new team of Rangers. After this Saturday’s new episode at noon, Power Rangers fans can continue to tune in to Nickelodeon at 12 pm and Sunday at 8 am for repeat episodes.
To help spread the Dino Charge news, we received a box of rad Power Rangers goodies including:
Raptor Zord with Charger from Bandai Dino Charge Megazord from Bandai GUM Power Rangers Timer Light Toothbrush GUM Power Rangers Power Toothbrush Power Rangers T-shirts Power Rangers Dino Charge underwear Power Rangers coloring books worksheets, tattoos and stickers
Here’s a fun vlog that we created to share our Power Rangers Parents box:
Thank you to our friends at Saban and Power Rangers for sending these products to facilitate this review and help share this news. As always opinions on NKT are my own.
The northeast is finally feeling the warmth of Spring, and with that, we’re starting to break out our Spring clothes. The thing I love most about Spring kids style is that we can start shedding layers and, inevitably, brighter colors come into play.
At The Children’s Place this Spring, boys and girls styles are as vibrant as ever with cool graphics and fun prints as main focal points. The boys’ clothes are a super fun mix of classic cool and modern fun. Girls’ styles are playful and eclectic, with copious amounts of sweet prints and sassy silhouettes.
For my boys, I’m always drawn to TCP’s classic shirts and graphic tees. Since my younger one always inherits the older ones clothes, it’s important for me to stick with classic styles. I love the shirts I bought for Easter this year, and the ties and bow ties are the perfect complement, too!
Check out my Spring Haul from TCP!
Full disclosure: I was provided with a gift card to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions on NKT are my own.
In Dreamworks’ new animated film, “Home”, two unlikely characters cross paths and work together to overcome alienation while learning to embrace imperfections.
When the free-spirited tween, Tip, voiced by Rihanna, finds herself isolated and alone as the eccentric aliens, Boov, colonize Earth, she ventures out with her cat to search for her mom. As the Boov settle into their new digs, the quirky and often misunderstood, Oh, voiced by Jim Parsons, finds himself in another unfortunate scenario when he mistakenly sends a party invitation to everyone in his contact list—including their evil enemy, Gorg. When the cluelessly arrogant Boovian leader Captain Smek, voiced by comic legend Steve Martin, finds out that Oh made another mistake that might cost them their new home, ultimately, Oh is banished.
At the press junket a few weeks ago, I enjoyed listening to Rihanna, Parsons and Martin as they charmed a room full of bloggers and journalists.
To my surprise, Rihanna was hilarious and self-deprecating; at one point, I totally felt as though we could potentially be BFFs. When a fellow blogger asked Rihanna about how important it was for Tip to resonate with her own character and traits, I appreciated her candor:
“I think it was both important to me and DreamWorks Animation for this to be as realistic as possible. We wanted little girls to feel empowered, little girls of any size, shape, color, race. It didn’t matter. We wanted girls to just feel strong and brave and empowered and beautiful and like they can do anything. And they can take charge of their life or their situation no matter what.”
Hopefully, girls and boys will appreciate and be influenced by Tip’s fearlessness and determination to rise above adversity.
In person, Parsons was just as charming as I’d envisioned. When asked what his takeaways were from “Home,” Parsons appreciated several of Oh’s strengths.
“Oh has his own selection of them too, this optimism and eagerness and friendliness and hopefulness, that I don’t carry with me as in abundance and as much of the time as he does. And there’s not a good reason for–I mean, life gets in the way.”
Parsons provided charm and awkward likability to the outcasted Oh, while Rihanna gave Tip a sassy, yet vulnerable persona. As recognizable entertainers who stepped out of their usual realm, providing voiceovers for Home was a new frontier for both Rihanna and Jim Parsons.
It was Martin’s brand of grandiose comedy that made Captain Smek’s arrogance and cowardice believable, yet strangely likable. Martin, of course, could effortlessly entertain the room with a single sentence. As for Martin’s takeaway from the film:
“I’m vowing to be more animated. That’s true.”
Jennifer Lopez voiced Tip’s mom and lent her vocals for one of the songs in Home. With nods to popular lyrics and a unique soundtrack, the music was just as fun as the story itself.
“Home” unearths a number of themes, but one message that will hit home for kids and families is that camaraderie and friendship sometimes evolve when you least expect it. Despite their differences, when Tip and Oh reluctantly partner up to overcome adversity, they realize they have just as many similarities as they have differences.
As their adventure unfolds, they learn about their own personal strengths and acceptance for things out of their control. As Tip and Oh bond and travel to search for family and safety, ultimately, they find friendship and compassion. Dreamworks’ “Home” is yet another fulfilling family film that explores into multiple thought-provoking themes while maintaining a fun and relatable storyline for kids.
Overall, this is a fun film for families, but the story may be too big for littler audiences. For those who might not understand complex story lines or who can’t sit through an hour film, I wouldn’t recommend seeing Home in the theaters. At times, I felt that the dialogue was abrupt and borderline questionable. I found myself instinctively thinking a few times “we don’t say that,” as if my 7 year old was watching next to me. Toward the end, in one of the turnkey scenes, grief and loss is a brief topic. So, if your child is uneasy about loss and darker concepts such as evil, I’d give a second thought before watching “Home.”
From Tip and Oh’s light-hearted coming of age story, we learn that the idea of “home” transcends its literal meaning of a place or a thing. “Home” playfully depicts home as a feeling of contentment and a personal destination where love, life, family, friends converge. Home arrives in theaters on March 27.
Full disclosure: I was invited to participate in this press junket, but did not receive compensation. As always, opinions on NKT are my own.
As the monochromatic shades of winter are starting to transition to a more vibrant color palette, baby and kid gear on the shelves and showroom floors are looking brighter and bolder. One of my all-time favorite baby brands, Stokke, per usual, is a leader when it comes to baby gear fashion and design.
The other week, Momtrends and Stokke hosted a blogger and editor event in NYC to showcase strollers that have a bit of Spring in their stroll. Nicole, the preeminent trend-spotter for all things fashionable for mom and kids, underscored the importance of researching and reviewing baby gear responsibly. As bloggers and editors, we get to see, and sometimes, experience the latest and greatest in gear.
At this Spring event, we had the chance to check out fabulous new fashions for the Xplory, Stokke’s signature stroller.
From softer pastels, polka dots to modern prints, Stokke’s fabrics for Spring and Summer are fresh and fashion-forward. I especially love the cool colors in the summer kit. My favorite Stokke Stroller, the Crusi, was out on display at the event as well. As a fan of this stroller’s open basket and ability to add a second seat, Crusi looked beautiful all decked out in the lighter palette.
The Scoot, known for its smaller stature and ability to collapse easily, looked chic in the pink and complementary polka dots.
As a parent and consumer, well-designed and durable products have the most value in my home, especially when it comes to big ticket items such as furniture and strollers. Before my oldest was born, we invested in a Stokke Sleepi and have been super fans of the brand ever since. For more information about Stokke strollers and their latest fabrics, check them out online.
All photos are courtesy of Momtrends. A big thank you to Stokke, Nicole and the Momtrends team for having me at yet another beautiful event.
Full disclosure: I received a generous gift bag for attending this event. However, all opinions on NKT are my own.
I’m choosing to ignore what the forecasts are saying for Friday. No more snow, thank you very much—especially on the first day of Spring.
Instead, I thought I’d share some baby gear, gadgets and goodies that are perfect for those of you whom, like me, have Spring on the brain.
Cetaphil Baby
Cetaphil, known for its powerful yet gentle products that are recommended by dermatologists, recently introduced their new baby line, which touts natural ingredients and formulations perfect for gentle skin.
The line debuted at Buy Buy Baby in January and consists of diaper cream, Wash and Shampoo ($9.99), Ultra Moisturizing Wash ($5.99,) Daily Lotion ($9.99) and Moisturizing Oil ($6.99.) All Cetaphil Baby products are paraben free, mineral oil free, hypoallergenic and dermatologist tested. What I love most about Cetaphil Baby Daily Lotion is the fresh calendula scent. In the past only prescription creams have been able to heal my tot’s very sensitive and dry skin, but Cetaphil Baby Daily Lotion and Moisturizing Oil have been able to soothe his problem areas. In addition to Buy Buy Baby, be on the look out for Cetaphil Baby at Babies ‘R Us shelves this month.
This cozy and sleek carseat has been turning heads since its reveal last year. It features Outlast Performance fabric that can absorb hot and cold temperature, which is ideal for kids who spend a lot of time in their seats, whether its in the school car line or long road trips. Boasting a 60 second installation time, the SureLatch Technology is another feature that’s helpful for quick and secure installation. The key feature for me on the Symphony DLX All-in-One Car Seat is the e3 Side Impact Protection which is designed and tested to reduce side impact forces up to 50%. The Symphony DLX All-in-One Car Seat ($230) with fabric as shown above is exclusive to Babies ‘R Us.
Love to Dream has been on my mind lately because I’ve had so many friends who have been having babies. Love to Dream has several products in their line but their SwaddleUp comes to mind first.
The SwaddleUp is designed to swaddle babies who prefer to have their arms up, rather than tucked away. The Love to SwaddleUP is step 1 in the Love to Dream sleep system. It’s designed for 0-4 months and allows baby to sleep with arms up, allowing baby to self-soothe. The Step 2 in the Love to Dream Sleep System is the 50/50 , which helps baby transition from a swaddle towards the arms-free independence of a sleep bag.
Geared to babies 4-8 months, the 50/50 is particularly helpful for this transition stage when baby starts to become more mobile. Step 3 are the Inventa and Nuzzlin Sleep Bags. The Inventa features the Genius Cooling system which helps regulate your child’s temperature without disrupting sleep, which is great in spring with cooler and warmer temperatures.
The Nuzzlin is a light and breathable sleep bag that can keep a tot cool on warm nights and warm on cool nights.
Britax’s light weight and quick-fold stroller, B-Agile 3, is now available in bright and bold colors this Spring. The B-Agile 3 new shower collection includes hues reminiscent of jewel-toned Easter goodies that are synonomous with the spring season.
The B-Agile 3’s new colors include Limeade, a citrus yellow; Concord, a vibrant grape purple; and Aqua, a light turquoise. Meadow, a lush green, and Sapphire, a royal blue, are nods to the tones of the classic Britax ruby red fabric. These five colors of the shower collection round out the Britax fashion spectrum by joining the original Black, Red and Sandstone options.
We’re excited to partner up again with Saban to share the latest and greatest. This time, we’ll be focusing on the beloved Power Rangers franchise. Marking the 22nd year, this season is dino-mite. No, really…Power Rangers Dino Charge, which debuted in February, on Nickelodeon is fully charged with wild adventures.
This season in Power Rangers Dino Charge, an alien entrust powerful Energems to 10 dinosaurs, but when the dinosaurs went ext inct, the Energems were lost. Now, an intergalactic bounty hunter is determined to reclaim the Energems and rule the universe, destroying our planet in the process. A new team of Power Rangers must find the lost Energems and use their Dino Chargers to power up an arsenal of din-fueled weapons, zords and Megazords to save the world.
We had the chance to get a look at the new Deluxe Dino Charge Morpher ourselves. They’re pretty amazing and we can’t get enough of it!
Check out our video for our Power Rangers Dino Charge unboxing:
New episodes of Power Rangers Dino Charge will continue to air every Saturday at 12 p.m. on Nickelodeon, with encore episodes airing Sundays at 8 a.m. on Nickelodeon and Saturdays at 7 p.m. on Nicktoons.
New episodes of Power Rangers Dino Charge will continue to air every Saturday at 12 p.m. on Nickelodeon in the U.S., with encore episodes airing Sundays at 8 a.m. on Nickelodeon and Saturdays at 7 p.m. on Nicktoons.
Influenced by hip hop legend Fab 5 Freddy, I thought I’d jumpstart a weekly feature list: Friday Fab 5. As a product blogger, I often acquire really great samples and don’t get to post about them until way later.
With Friday Fab 5, I thought I could photograph a group of finds that we’re using and currently enjoying, whether we bought them or were provided as a sample. I plan to include kid and family-centric products, and maybe a few products that I enjoy for myself. As always, I will include the info about the find and whether we bought or received as a sample.
1. Melissa and Doug Water Wow
My husband often brings home random samples from his office. One morning this week, he left this activity book on the couch. Littles found the book and begged for me to open it. Upon first investigation, admittedly, I was annoyed that this used water, because toddlers + water typically equals wet mess. Melissa and Doug proved me wrong this time around. The Water Wow uses a chubby water filled paintbrush to “color” thick cardboard pages. After filling the refillable paintbrush, the child can easily swipe the brush on the dry white pages to reveal a pre-determined colorful picture. After coloring all four pages of animal-themed images, my guy was excited that he could do it all by himself. Unfortunately, he was quickly frustrated that he’d have to wait for the pages to dry to color the in the book all over again. I love the size of the Water Wow book because it’s perfect for small hands and easy to throw in a bag for travel. However, I’d love to see a few more pages, or perhaps, even a bigger book to engage kids even longer. The water color concept isn’t anything new, but I have to say, this mess-less water color play pattern is ingenious!
Melissa and Doug Water Wow can be found at Michael’s and Amazon.
2. Wet ’n Wild Fantasy Makers
I honestly haven’t used (or seen) Wet ’n Wild since my jr. high days. And clearly, I’m not your most knowledgeable beauty source; however, I love this fun polish. I believe I received this Wet ’n Wild Fantasy Makers in a Halloween sample pack from an event. I was in need of a quick polish change and remembered I had this. The polish was light and easy, and quick to dry. Surpringly, it stayed on for almost a week! Loved this black color with fun sparkles.
3. Disney Creative Studio Deluxe Stylus
As major Disney fans, we’re always onboard for reviewing Disney-themed gadgets. I’ll do a thorough review soon, but the boys are both loving the capabilities of this the Disney Creative Studio Deluxe Stylus. They’re able to draw and color via the Disney Creative Studio platform. And truly, I can always get behind a product that entertains both kids and promotes imagination.
4. SoapSox
SoapSox is another product that I received to review. It’s been sitting on my desk for months, and I just haven’t had the chance to unpack it to share with the kids…until last night. I gave each kid one SoapSox to play with and it was an absolute hit during bath time. The shark was a true hit with my Sharknado-obsessed kids. You can load the soap through the designated soap pocket and then play with the bath-friendly stuffed animal. I love how functional and fun SoapSox is during bathtime. Best part of this bath toy, after using it, you can pop it in the washing machine!
5. Thames & Kosmos Mini Volcano
Science projects are always a big hit in my house of geeky boys, but projects that blow up and make messes are always favorites. I received this small kit in a Toy Fair gift bag from a visit to the Southard showroom, and let me tell you, it kept my guys entertained for hours. Baking soda and vinegar volcanoes are a staple for creating erupting volcanoes, but this project took it up a notch with a little plastic volcano and some red dye. Let’s just say I was not a fan of the red dye, but we will be using this mini volcano and goggles over and over again. The goggles might be my favorite part!
It may be frigid and gray outside, but things at Philip’s Academy are quite vibrant and full of energy. Last week, I had the unique opportunity to visit Philip’s Academy, a charter school in Newark, to cover an assembly on nutrition and healthy snacking presented by Ruby Rockets.
Ruby Rockets, a frozen snack brand known for its naturally sweet, non-GMO veggie and fruit pops, presented an informational presentation to eager students. The brand, who aligns with making nutritional choices, suggested to the grade schoolers that making healthier snack options has many benefits. The brand, which boasts snacks that don’t contain any extras such as added sweeteners, artificial coloring or chemicals, presented a slideshow with healthy snacking guidelines.
For healthier options, Ruby Rockets suggests that snacks should:
be low in sugar, contain sugar from fruit and veggies only
have a 2:1 ratio between carbs and protein
high in dietary fiber
have around 200 calories
After the informational presentation, the children at Philip’s Academy were treated to Ruby Rockets as a dessert following their lunch. Many of the children were excited about tasting Ruby Rockets for the first time. Representatives from Ruby Rockets presented the kids with the naturally colorful frozen treats and were greeted with elation from all corners of the cafeteria.
The students at Philip’s Academy are no stranger to making healthy choices. The school has a curriculum-based initiative that follows many environmental and sustainable concepts with its innovative EcoSpaces program. As part of EcoSpaces, the school has its own rooftop garden and maintains an AeroFarm, which is a hydroponic garden that doesn’t require sun or soil.
As part of the program, the students’ lessons about sustainability, urban farming and their healthy lunch program is reinforced with hands-on exposure in their teaching kitchen. The students’ salad bar is a unique feature of the cafeteria. It was quite inspiring to see so many children enjoy a spectrum of vegetables and fruits.
Ruby Rockets wanted to partner with Philip’s Academy because they felt that they were a good fit since their EcoSpaces program reinforced what they were doing.
When Frank Mentesana, EcoSpaces Director at Philip’s Academy, saw Ruby Rockets’ ingredients and understood their mission, he agreed that they were in line with what they were trying to do. In fact, “we make smoothies all the time—almost all the time. I looked at their ingredients and they sound like our ingredients,” Mentesana said. “I saw they had beets in one of their pops. We do a beet and berry smoothie. We do a spinach and kale smoothie. This was a great opportunity for the kids to see snacks alternatively. We also do tastings and those ingredients are on our menu and appear in different forms. For example, they’ll try beets six different ways. So, they may not like beets one way, but they may like it another way.”
And because the dining room is also used as a classroom for the students at Phillip’s Academy, the conversation that started at the assembly with Ruby Rockets was a topic of discussion during and after lunch.
As an outsider looking in, I admired the way things were run at the school. Not only was the EcoSpaces program mind-blowing, but I thought the interaction between students and educators was inspiring. Overall, the school exuded such positivity and seemed like a model for a cohesive learning and teaching environment. I think I came away learning more about urban farming and the EcoSpaces curriculum, considering how the students were so well-versed with healthy eating.
When asked what their favorite part about Ruby Rocket’s frozen snacks one intuitive student told me: “I love that these pops have natural colors and sugars from the fruits and vegetables.”
What grade schooler says that? Super smart ones who are a reflection of their learning environment.
Well, there you have it: this, my friends, was a prime example of students schooling adults. After spending a day with these students, I feel the need to boost my beet intake!
A big thank you to Philip’s Academy for welcoming me to cover this assembly and event, and to Ruby Rockets for letting me be a part of this conversation on healthy snacking.
Full disclosure: This is a sponsored post and I was compensated for my time and efforts. Opinions on NKT are my own, just as healthy snacking is always encouraged.
YouTube has launched YouTube Kids, a new free app that’s tailored to deliver carefully-curated content geared to kids and families. This huge move for Google and YouTube was met with excitement and could be regarded as a game-changer.
YouTube is the second largest search engine, the fastest growing video sharing website and has become a staple in our children’s media landscape, so the development for YouTube Kids was an expected and heavily anticipated move from parents and tech enthusiasts alike.
The new YouTube Kids app will allow kids to explore family-friendly content within safer parameters. With larger images and bold icons, the app features a fun design and easy-to-navigate interface for smaller hands.The search has a voice option, which is perfect for kids who can’t spell or type yet.
Parents will appreciate the parental controls that will help to safeguard their kids’ usage and content they watch. The timer allows the app to shut down when their window of time is up. If headphones aren’t within reach, the sound settings can be adjusted to turn off background noise or sound effects. If you only want your kids to watch certain videos, you can shut down the search option to limit their ability to search for other videos. And, as with any new version, YouTube has allowed for an option to submit feedback.
As for content, YouTube has partnered with many of the most popular content creators that already provide kid-friendly videos. YouTube has aligned with Sesame Street, Thomas the Tank Engine, National Geographic, KidzBop, Play-Doh, among other kid favorites. A few months ago, we got a sneak peek of Furchester Hotel, the new YouTube series from Sesame Street. It’s safe to say, Littles is quite smitten with this cool new series.
Entertainment and Educational
I was initially under the impression that YouTube Kids would be more for the preschool set, where cartoons could live freely. After further exploring, I was quite excited to find Biggie’s favorite YT channel and personality, Mr. Stampycat. Oh, Mr. Stampycat…you’ve been so kind to keep my sporty kid with cabin fever entertained this winter! Before discovering Stampycat, Biggie has clicked on way too many inappropriate Minecraft tutorials where F bombs or other inappropriate words were dropped. Another excellent channel that I’m so glad is featured on YT Kids is the Khan Academy. The Khan Academy, themselves, are a game changer in the educational video realm. If your friends are like mine, it seems so many parents are lost by the new educational concepts being implemented, it’s great that kids will be able to get help with their common core math homework thanks to Khan. (Or will they?)
A few things to note: I did not see an option to create and upload videos to YouTube Kids, which is good. It’s important for younger kids to enlist their parents’ help before uploading any content to YT. I would love to see YT partner with smart sites such as KidzVuz so kids can easily view authentic video reviews. Like bloggers are required, I think video content creators need to disclose products that were provided for review, as well as paid placement. And speaking of sponsored content, there are ads within videos. I noticed mostly family-friendly advertisements. I know ads make services such as this “free,” and considering the target audience, this is a slippery slope. So I think the ad presence might be my main qualm for an otherwise innovative media app for kids.
YouTube: the ultimate kid distraction
Having spent so much time in the hospital and doctor’s offices for my younger guy, YouTube has always been an invaluable resource. Whenever Littles would have to get the electrodes placed on his head for an EEG, a process that would sometimes take up to an hour because of his physical resistance, we always turn to YouTube. YouTube always has new or different videos that would distract my toddler from the medical procedure du jour.
After we’ve run out of things to play with in the hospital’s massive playroom, Mother Goose Club and Thomas videos were our only savior.
With the ability to search for unboxing videos before buying something or how to fix our washing machine, YouTube has already changed life or modern parenting as we know it. For families who have limited media access, free services such as YouTube may be a child’s only exposure to educational video content. The YouTube Kids app will streamline family-friendly content, a measure that any media enthusiast—young or grown up—can appreciate. A big kudos to Google and YouTube for creating something that will undoubtedly be a game changer, and for some, life-changing.
The free YouTube Kids app is available for download at Google Play and the App Store.
There was so much to see and do at Toy Fair this year. Before I share about the trends I saw, I wanted to share a few of my favorites from this year’s show. Most of these toys won’t hit shelves until this summer or fall, so here’s your sneak peek at a few of my favorite next kid things:
Knit’s Cool
Spinmaster’s Sew Cool did so well last year that they’re riding the maker trend with a number of cool activity sets for Tweens. Knit Cool is an interesting set that allows kids to knit with ease, similar to that of finger/arm knitting. I can’t wait to see this generation of kids continue to make cool things with their own imagination and ingenuity.
Snap Pets
Selfies and tech toys were displayed loud and proud at Toy Fair. Snap Pets from Wowee is a fun selfie tool that can be used to take selfie images or as a remote. Tweens will love the small size of this cool selfie tool.
Lego Minecraft
Speaking of creations, Lego, as expected, has a slew of cool new sets. Because Lego Minecraft was one of hottest gifts last holiday season, I thought I’d share a few photos of the upcoming sets in this series.
I saw a lot of new and upcoming Lego sets that encourage kids to forego the instruction manual and enjoy open-ended play. The crafting box is just one of many sets that give suggestions on what to build, but just like the digital version of Minecraft, this set capitalizes on pure imagination.
The Mine is another cool set that I loved seeing coming to life. The skeleton, creeper and spider are my favorite part of this set!
The Ender Dragon is another cool set that is sure to be huge among Minecraft aficionados.
Plan Toys
Plan Toys remains one of my absolute favorite toy companies, not just because they produce aesthetically pleasing goodies, but also because they’re eco-friendly and socially conscious. Here are just a few of my favorite finds from my Plan Toys booth visit.
This chalkboard table set would look super cool in a playroom or classroom!
This rocket nesting toy is so eye-catching. The toys nesting inside were never-ending!
I can’t resist boat toys. This sailboat was so classic and cute!
If only NYC taxis could be this innocent and cute. Nevertheless, I love this sweet wooden taxi.
You can’t go wrong with wooden pull toys. Plan Toys owns the cute card in this category.
This cozy and sleek carseat has been turning heads since its reveal last year. It features Outlast Performance fabric that can absorb hot and cold temperature, which is ideal for kids who spend a lot of time in their seats, whether its in the school car line or long road trips. Boasting a 60 second installation time, the SureLatch Technology is another feature that’s helpful for quick and secure installation. The key feature for me on the Symphony DLX All-in-One Car Seat is the e3 Side Impact Protection which is designed and tested to reduce side impact forces up to 50%. The Symphony DLX All-in-One Car Seat ($230) with fabric as shown above is 
