You know there’s almost no hope left in America when Ronald McDonald is showing up at schools to teach kids about health. Yet apparently, that’s exactly what happened recently at Union Terrace Elementary School in Allentown, Pa. According to ABC news, the smiling red and white McMascot came to the school, $1000 check in hand, to discuss all the awesome benefits of healthy eating and exercise with the kids. In a world looking more and more like the civilization inhabited by Wall-E’s morbidly obese characters, you gotta wonder, what the flip was this school thinking? Lest you think my Wall-E comment is rude, consider the new report that says about 42% of Americans will be obese by 2030, and insanely, that 42% figure isn’t even counting American kids who are also gaining pounds at an alarming rate. A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine points out that if no positive changes happen in America to alter growing weight trends soon, more than one in five American children will be obese by 2020. When you add up the number of obese adults plus obese kids PLUS folks who are simply overweight and on their way to obesity, it’s clear that McDonald’s in the classroom is about the worst idea ever.
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We’ve been fans of Kamibashi for a long time, especially their adorable String Doll Gang. Now there’s even more to adore when it comes to Kamibashi, as the company has recently been accepted as an official member of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF). Although Kamibashi has been practicing Fair Trade principles from their launch, this official membership shows off just how hard the company has worked to support the talents of artisans in developing countries and fair wages. To celebrate this achievement you may want to consider bringing Myrtle the Turtle, the newest member of the String Doll Gang home. Myrtle is the first of several sea life string dolls Kamibashi has planned, but we’re glad this adorable turtle showed up first. Myrtle’s goal is to remind you that “slow and steady win the race,” a lovely thought in this fast-paced world. Like all String Dolls, Myrtle is made by hand and comes with a fabric tag that has the doll’s name on the front and a special power on the back.
Swedish design student Jessica Arosenius showcased her Block.210 coffee table during the recent Milan Design Week. Part of the Masterprogram Child Culture Design at HDK in Gothenburg’s “Play in Progress” exhibit, this design was meant to intrigue both parent and child. The name of the piece comes from the fact that 210 wooden blocks make up the table’s top. The overall exhibit was collaborated to bring play to every day items to help foster creativity and imagination.
So many of the cute and whimsical spoon, knife and fork sets for kids are made of plastic, and even when they’re BPA-free we second guess their true safety. But this adorable Animal Friends Cutlery Set by Finnish designer Karin Mannerstal is full of kid-pleasing cuteness and made from safe stainless steel. Appropriate for little eaters ages 1 to 4, this set includes a rabbit, teddy bear, cat and monkey sure to make mealtime more fun.
Crafting meets modern design with MUJI’s DIY Cardboard Child Chair. The simplistic, boxy chair is made of recycled paper and comes with instructions to assemble it yourself. Available in two sizes – one for 3 to 4 year olds and one for 5 to 6 year olds – this chair will be the perfect spot for your kid …
If you’re looking to expand your naturally made, eco-friendly game collection, then this Boggle set is a must-have. This beautifully made game still has all the fun of the classic original Boggle game, but without the plastic (and the chemicals that come along with it). This handcrafted, heavy-duty set comes with 150 hand written letters and is the official size and letter count …
Toy storage solutions that go beyond the typical toy box or bin, offering play value on top of organizational value, can encourage your kids to clean up after themselves. Love that! So we were immediately impressed by the modern toy box designed by Agnès & Agnès, a French architecture team. The modular toy box has multiple doors, compartments and moveable rectangles that help the piece take on a variety of forms. This toy box …
Kids are playing outside less and less as time goes on, as a new Kelton Research survey reveals: Kids today have eight hours less per week of outdoor playtime than their parents did. Overall kids today spend 56% more time in front of screens than they do playing outside. 96% of parents report their kids have experience playing video games, while only 61%-74% of parents say that their children have visited a national or state park or gone hiking. And most parents say 13 hours is the ideal amount of outdoor play per week but parents also admitted that their kids spend about 14 hours in front of a screen, and just nine hours engaged in outdoor play each week. CLIF Kid, maker of certified organic snacks for active kids, in collaboration with Richard Louv, best selling author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, aim to change some of these sobering statistics with the launch of CLIF Kid’s 2nd Annual Backyard Game of the Year Contest. Keep reading to learn more about this creative contest, including the cool prizes your child may win, plus see the game invented by last year’s winner.
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