As kids, my brothers and I took the good ol’ Flintstone Vitamins, which, if I remember correctly, were one of the only options for vitamins for kids way back when. Since then, the kid market has flourished with so many innovative products, including those of Hero Nutritionals, the creators of the first gummy vitamins.
Hero Nutritionals has recently added Yummi Bears Organics to their Yummi Bears Gummy Vitamins product line. The organic option is GMO-Free, as well as allergen, gluten and casein free. The Yummi Bears Organics are manufactured with natural flavors and colors, too. The organic product line is gelatin free and vegetarian approved, so parents, rest assured, there are no harmful pesticides, no insecticides, no growth hormones and no antibiotics added to the gummy vitamins.
The organic product line touts five different varieties, including the Multi-Vitamin & Mineral; Immunity Shield; Brain Boost; Super Vision and Bone Builder. The vitamins are best recommended for kids over 2 years old. Hero Nutritionals, including the Yummi Bears Vitamins and the new organic products can be found at health food stores and great stores like Whole Foods.
Moms and dads, the gummy vitamins are so popular, they even offer Slice of Life Gummy Vitamins for Adults.
Don’t forget to check out the $1 off coupon they have, too.
Tag: preschoolers
Wellness Wednesday
I’ve been so inundated lately with press releases and content ideas (which is awesome!), so in an effort to organize future NKT content and have some semblance of a comprehensive calendar of topics to cover, I will slowly but surely introduce daily topics. Today, and hopefully more Wednesdays to follow, will be Wellness Wednesday which will include products and suggestions on promoting wellness for kids.
The “wellness” umbrella is quite large, so even though it’s still a broad topic, it should give us a chance to cover new and innovative products a little more effectively. I’m so excited to announce another great giveaway and review, so stay tuned this afternoon!
Y Water? Why, of course!
What do you get when you combine a nutritious drink that can be multi-purposed as a toy? Well, besides my kid’s sippy cup.
I’m talking about Y Water.
On first impression, I was so intrigued by the eye-catching packaging. It’s almost like abstract art that contains a kiddie drink. In a similar vein of the wildly popular Vitamin Water, Y Water drinks, which are aimed at kids, are organic, low calorie beverages with vitamins and minerals. Y Water which hit the shelves in 2008 comes from Venice Beach, Ca. Y Water can be bought at various Whole Foods and health food stores on the West Coast, and seems to be making its way here on the East Coast.
Michelle Obama visits Sesame Street
In between meeting with diplomats and helping to promote the President’s new foreign policies, the First Lady took some time out last week to visit Elmo and the gang at Sesame Street. Michelle Obama visited Sesame Street to tape a Public Service Announcement with Elmo as part of Sesame Workshop’s Healthy Habits For Life initiative. Mrs. Obama and Elmo discussed eating right, exercising regularly and being a healthy and positive role model for children.
“If you want your child to have healthy habits, practice healthy habits, because you’re your child’s role model,” The First Lady suggests in the PSA.
I thought the news about planting an organic garden at the White House was pretty cool, but Mrs. Obama’s visit to Sesame Street is just as much a highlight for her, as it is for her fans!
(photo credit: Richard Termine)
Hasbro will be one to watch
…quite literally, perhaps.
It was reported last week that Hasbro and Discovery Communications are partnering up to launch a new tv network and website, built around toys that many of us—and now, our kids—have grown to love. New programming will be based on shows, toys and games such as Romper Room, Trivial Pursuit, Cranium, My little Pony, G.I. Joe, Transformers, among others.
Discovery Kids Channel, which currently touts shows such as Bindi the Jungle Girl and Hip Hop Harry will be replaced by the yet-to-be-named channel that is set to debut in 2010.
Moms and dads, what are your thoughts on this new format?
Go outdoors with Crayola
Crayola is challenging kids this summer with their nationwide campaign, The Outdoor Challenge. The challenge is quite easy and goes a little like this: after chores, homework and meals, step away from the computer and electronics and go outside to have fun! Easy enough, right?
The Outdoor Challenge coincides with National Physical Fitness & Sports Month and encourages outdoor play for kids of all ages. Crayola even enlisted Olympic Gold Medalist Dan O’Brien to help kick off this campaign. O’Brien will attempt to break the current Guinness World Record for the fastest game of hopscotch, which is currently one minute and 23 seconds. The Decathlon champion and Hop Scotch champ hopeful was seen training yesterday at Chelsea Piers. Stay tuned to find out if he accomplishes this latest endeavor!
Crayola is challenging families to achieve the national goal of one million hours of pledged outdoor play time through the end of the summer. Research by Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that kids ages 8-10 spend an average of six hours a day consumed with electronics and in front of computer and tv screens, increasingly overshadowing outdoor play.
From kickball to hopscotch, the options for colorful outdoor play are endless. But in case you need ideas, Crayola has added some new products to their lineup of creative tools for outdoor play.
Crayola takes sidewalk chalk to the next level with their new Sidewalk Crayons. With Sidewalk Crayons, kids can use the outdoors as their own personal coloring book. As opposed to the pastel palette of sidewalk chalk, the Sidewalk Crayons are bright and bold and have a smoother feel. After playtime, just like chalk, Sidewalk Crayons are easily washed off of driveways and sidewalks.
Crayola has also introduced the Airbrush Painter, which pumps out washable sidewalk paint to create airbrushed designs. Designs can be created freehand or with the included stencils. As always Crayola thinks ahead: the airbrush only sprays when pointed downward, so young artists—or their siblings— won’t become their own canvas.
We’re definitely taking this challenge. In fact, since the rain if finally letting up, we’re grabbing our bucket of chalk and heading to the park! Whatever your medium for colorful play might be, make sure you get outside as often as possible!
Step2 introduces new outdoor toys
Despite yet another gray day here, I’m loving all the exciting ideas and new toys for outdoor play. Step2, one of my favorite toy brands for durable outdoor gear, has rolled out some fun new outdoor toys including, the Sand & Water Transportation Station, the Nature Station Playhouse, Arctic Splash and Water Rush Quarry.
This is water table that features a mountain, complete with ice slide, tunnel and dumping bucket. It also includes some fun toys–a polar bear, walrus and penguin squirt toys.
Sand & Water Transportation Station
This set combines toddlers’ favorites—the fun of a train table and water table. The table has two compartments for both sand and water and features funnels atop table legs that double as loading stations, and comes with a toy train and rake.
This multi-level toy is an extreme sandbox that combines the fun of a construction site–it can even have water flow from top to bottom. It includes one crane, two bridges, a tunnel, a dam, a ramp, a bucket, a shovel and two construction vehicles.
This nature-themed playhouse features a shelf for examining flowers, bugs or other outdoor treasures. Step2 helps kids become one with nature with the included shovel, bug collector, butterfly net, lantern, microscope with two slides, tweezers, bug trap shovel, binoculars and pivoting periscope.
Hatley rain gear
They say April showers brings May flowers, but I think Mother Nature has a different agenda this year. We’ve seen a lot of rain in the past few weeks here in the Tri-State area, and I hear it’s pretty much the same in other parts of the East Coast.
Always on the prowl for practical, yet fun kid accessories, I came acrross Hatley’s great selection of rain gear. I always complain that most retailers crowd the boys’ department racks with clothes splattered with choo-choo trains and puppy dogs. Well, not Hatley, they go beyond puppy dogs with cool designs on their rainboots like aliens, moose and camping gear! I can take trains and puppies in moderation, so I appreciate Hatley’s adorable selection of rain gear. The pirate rainboots are definitely my favorite.
Insert cutesey Arrrgh! or other pirate-y catchphrase here 😉
The girls’ selection has accessories beyond pink for those in the pink rebellion! Check out this adorable apple print umbrella–it’s so cute without being sticky sweet.
Oscar the Pig app from iKids Play
Pigs have been getting a lot of bad publicity lately, but if the shows on cartoon networks are indicative of kids’ unflappable taste in characters, pigs have and will always be a favorite when it comes to books, shows and now, apps!
Oscar the Pig written by Megan Calhoun, the multi-faceted founder of Twittermoms, is a great book that talks about the transition of mom going back to work and the separation anxiety that often goes hand in hand with it. This cute children’s book is now available as an educational app, thanks to iKids iPlay.
Oscar the Pig can be read with five interactive activities. With the Oscar the Pig app, kids can rub the screen to reveal hidden pages; the book becomes a coloring book with the stroke of a little finger, which can later be sent to grandma via email; storytime can enjoyed with automatic page turns and beginning readers can read, record and replay as they grasp their new reading abilities.
The Oscar the Pig app from iKids iPlay can be downloaded from iTunes for $2.99. Be sure to check out the other cool children’s books they have available, too! The book, Oscar the Pig, is available online.
Etsy Find: Full Moon Flower Prairie Dress
Despite those scorching days we had here on the east coast, summer isn’t exactly here yet. But just because summer isn’t here yet, doesn’t mean we can’t bolster the kids’ closets with warm weather frocks. Need some summer dresses? How perfect is this adorable prairie dress from Earth Groovz?
With its bold, contrasting patterns, this dress is light and versatile–perfect for spring and summer! Not only is it cute, eco-friendly, too. The prairie dress features organic adjustable knit straps that tie in the back, organic natural elastic and the sustainable cotton material, leaving no carbon footprint. The dress is made to order and comes in sizes 6M, 12M, 2T, 3T, 4T. Be sure to check out Earth Groovz’ shop on Etsy for even more cute, eco-friendly spring/summer dresses.