Month: April 2011

YBIKE Balance Bike

YBike Balance BikeHave you tried a “balance bike” for your toddler or pre-school age child? If you haven’t seen these before, a balance bike is a bike that has no pedals and is designed for young kids. The idea is that you child can get an early start learning the balance skills that are needed to help kids learn to ride a bike.

The trend started a couple years ago and the YBike has emerged as one of the best and most popular among the balance bikes. It rates extremely highly on Amazon by customers.

Of course kids think it’s great fun to scoot around on the balance bike! It has large wheels that make it easy and safe to ride on pavement or grass.

Some parents have observed that after riding a balance bike for a few months, their kids seemed to do better when transitioning to their first “big kid” bike with training wheels. The YBike is designed for kids from 18 months up to around 3 and a half years old.

Step2 Naturally Playful Picnic Table and Umbrella

Kids Picnic Table by Step2We bought this kids picnic table and umbrella last summer and the kids have LOVED it! When the days are warm, the kids love the special treat to get to eat their lunch or dinner outside on “their table”. Sometimes we will all eat outside as a family with grown-ups at a normal table and the kids at their table – Other days we will let the kids eat outside while mom and dad enjoy a quiet dinner inside – that’s a win/win 😉

The table is very sturdy and was pretty easy to assemble in a matter of minutes. There’s not much to put together, just a few screws and it’s done.

The manufacturer suggested age is for kids 36 months up to 8 years old. Our kids even younger than that enjoy it too. As long as they are old enough to sit in a chair without being strapped into a high chair, then this picnic bench will work great.

Not just for eating, this table is also handy for “messy crafts” that you may hesitate to do indoors. When it’s warm, our kids will take their markers outside and color too.

Removing the umbrella, the table can also be brought inside for use as a kids dining table during those big family gatherings when the dining room is full with adults and extended family. We did this for Thanksgiving and the kids loved it!

Overall, this gets 2 thumbs up from me!