By Valerie Baldowski

If you have twins or two little ones of different ages, then you’ll really appreciate the Graco DuoGlider Classic Connect Stroller, which has a great value at $154.99. The tandem stroller holds two children up to 40 pounds each. It accepts Graco Classic Connect car seats, so you can use it from a child’s birth well into toddlerhood. We liked that the rear seat is raised so the child can still get a good view; when he is tired, though, you can lie the seat completely flat so he can take a nap. Our only complaint is that the rear seat’s upright position leans forward slightly, so the baby has to be strapped in securely, and there is no semi-reclined position for the rear seat.

Prices

By Valerie Baldowski

With a back that easily adjusts to six different heights, the Evenflo Big Kid AMP booster car seat is a great, lightweight option for kids old enough to sit up straight on car rides. The back is also removable, leaving you with a backless booster seat that’s easy to transport from car to car. We liked the two built-in cup holders with a strap that holds cups of all sizes and shapes. We also liked the snazzy design of the booster seat with its radiating gears. Another plus is that the seat pads can be machine washed. This booster is narrow enough that it can fit alongside another booster seat or even a car seat. It’s very affordable at $34.99.

Quick Specs

• 8.2 pounds
• 16.5 x 19 x 33 inches
• Holds children from 30 to 110 lbs.

Prices

By Valerie Baldowski

A high-quality twin stroller from Chicco, this stroller has side-by-side seats that recline independently and feature umbrella shades with rear flaps that can unzip. We were happy with how the seats recline with one hand to four positions, including a nearly flat position. Even though the stroller holds toddlers comfortably, it also fits through standard doorways. It folds up relatively compactly for a twin stroller, and its handles make it easy to grip and lift. Just be aware that this stroller is heavy—but that’s to be expected with a durable twin model. Furthermore, the price is affordable given the quality it offers—just $189.99.

Prices

By Valerie Baldowski

A versatile car seat/booster seat, the Diono RadianR100 can be the only car seat your child needs from 5 to 100 pounds. And thanks to its slim profile, you can fit three across the backseat of most cars. This makes traveling with multiple small children less of a hassle. We liked how easily it snaps into place with an audible click, so you don’t have to worry about pinching your fingers trying to get it in place. The seat is a little tricky to install, and the fabric is not as cushioned and soft as some other high-end models, but most families report that their children seem comfortable and content. Additionally, the car seat’s size and ability to fold up flat makes it ideal for air travel. This seat is available for $207.99.

Quick Specs

• Rear-facing seat: 5 – 40 lbs.
• Forward-facing seat: 20 – 65 lbs.
• Booster seat: up to 100 lbs.
• 23 lbs.
• 16 x 17 x 28.5 inches

Prices

By Valerie Baldowski

This high-end Italian stroller has some nifty perks. The Peg Perego Vela Easy Drive Stroller, designed to make traveling with the baby easier, is compatible with the Primo Viaggio SIP 30/30 car seat as well as some other manufacturer’s car seats. To slide it easily into the trunk, this stroller can be folded up with just one hand, and stands up alone when folded. It has an adjustable handle, large wheels for maneuverability, and an expanding cup holder. We wish it had a parent tray, but this is a minor complaint; the stroller has a generously sized basket and easily reclining seat so your child can lie flat for naps on the go.

Prices

By Valerie Baldowski

A great, compact single stroller available for as low as $57.88, the Kolcraft Cloud Plus Lightweight Stroller weighs just under 12 pounds. This stroller folds up very easily—with just one hand—and stays standing unassisted. Even better, the kid’s food tray and seat don’t come close to the dirty ground when the stroller folds up, so you don’t have to worry about wiping away germs. We liked the storage basket underneath, which is roomier than many other models’. Plus, the stroller has a sturdy, durable design that belies its light weight. We expect that families on a budget will be more than pleased with this stroller, which holds children up to 50 pounds.

Prices

By Valerie Baldowski

A high-quality jogging stroller from Baby Trend, the Expedition LX Travel System is perfect for parents who like to keep up with their exercise with the baby in tow. The large, rubber front wheel swivels for regular travel, and locks in place for safe jogging. The travel system includes a car seat for babies up to 30 pounds; it locks in place in the stroller or in the car seat base. The stroller also includes a lot of convenient features, such as a food tray; beverage holders than can also hold your cell phone, chapstick, lotion, etc.; and a capacious storage basket for storing diaper bags, purses, or shopping bags. Ultimately, this is a great system that knocks out your stroller and car seat needs in one convenient package, available for around $182.

Prices

By Valerie Baldowski

The Schwinn Arrow Single Stroller has two wheels in back and one in front. Billed as a great stroller for everyday use as well as jogging, it has 16-inch wheels with aluminum frames. Selling points of this upscale stroller include its maneuverability. The Schwinn Arrow’s large wheels make it easy to push on the sidewalk, the street or on the grass. The cost for all these bells and whistles varies with the retailer, but hovers around $169.99. The options you get with this include a parent tray with two, not just one, cup holders and a handle brake for extra stopping power. The fleece seat pad comes out for machine washing, and the baby can use the built-in MP3 speaker in the canopy to listen to music.

Prices

By Valerie Baldowski

A lightweight, affordable single stroller, the Cosco Umbria comes in a snazzy zigzag pink or blue design. The three-point harness is easy to snap in place, and the seat reclines to two positions so even babies who are still learning to sit up can be comfortable. We were pleased with the simple, durable design and quality; this may not be as fancy or high-quality as the high-end strollers on the market, but it’s suitable for shopping trips or even airplane trips when a big, heavy stroller would be a hassle to pack. While the wheels sometimes have a mind of their own and don’t handle bumpy terrain well, the Cosco Umbria is still a valid choice at $35 to $39.99.

Prices

By Valerie Baldowski

A sturdy single stroller for the parent on the go, this Baby Jogger 2014 City Mini GT is ideal. We fell in love with the lightweight yet quality design, especially the easy fold system that requires only one hand. The stroller is so lightweight, in fact, that we can comfortably hold it with one hand. Other convenient design features include an adjustable handlebar that accommodates parents of all heights, and all-terrain wheels that glide over even bumpy ground with ease. This model comes in a sleek, unisex black. It’s not cheap – it can run as much $349.99, although the price can vary depending on the retailer. For that kind of money you get a sporty looking stroller with an adjustable canopy.

Prices

By Valerie Baldowski

Picking out the right booster seat involves making multiple decisions based on what you’re looking for in a child restraint system. We reviewed a number of boosters and selected our favorites based on what parents and caregivers value the most.

1. Lightweight and easy to transfer from one car to another
2. A compact fit to make it easy to put as many as three boosters in the back seat
3. A snap to install, with clear instructions and diagrams that are easy to understand
4. A safe seat that passes government safety tests and automotive crash tests
5. Affordability, so working families won’t break the bank to buy one
6. Good quality workmanship with enough safety features to provide extra protection in a crash
7. The ability to convert into a larger, or even backless, seat to accommodate growing kids

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By Valerie Baldowski

Parents faced with picking just one stroller out of the hundreds of brands and styles on the marketplace have a daunting task. Whether it’s a lightweight, umbrella, standard, jogging or double stroller, the factors to consider include price range, features and options, and if there’s a recall history. See the stroller comparison and ratings below with a link to the full review of each.

Jogging Strollers Buying Guide

Good Quality Jogging Strollers Exist in All Price Ranges

The evolution of the “perfect” stroller has come a long way over the years, and now active parents have another choice in addition to the traditional four-wheeler. A number of manufacturers have jogging strollers on the market in varying price ranges. Compared to other types of strollers they’re not cheap, but many families have embraced them as a convenient way of combining the daily jog with taking the little one out for a stroll.

Baby Jogger, Schwinn, Jeep, InStep and BOB were brave enough to radically redesign strollers and create their own versions of single, double and even triple jogging strollers with only one wheel in the front. The changes resulted in dramatically different handling and increased mobility. Wheeling around more than one little one at a time can get expensive. These strollers fall in the price range of less than $150 to more than $900, plus extra for the accessories. In addition to these top five, there are more than a dozen other jogging stroller manufacturers.

Baby Jogger , billed as “the original all-terrain strollers,” first came out with a jogging stroller in the early 1980s, opening the door for other stroller manufacturers to follow. The idea came from newspaper journalist and runner Phil Baechler, who founded the company to be able to spend more time with his infant son without cutting back on his jogging. He quickly learned four-wheeled strollers couldn’t strand up to the strains of jogging on various terrains, so designing a three-wheeled version filled a need in the running community.

Schwinn has gained named recognition over time through its bicycles. Its line of jogging strollers, with its large, spoked wheels resembling bike wheels, was a logical progression. Initially InStep made strollers for Schwinn, but then both companies were sold to Pacific Cycle. Despite the brand name, Schwinn jogging strollers bear a close resemblance to other InStep models.

InStep has affordable strollers slightly lower in quality than BOB or Baby Jogger, but still providing a good value for the money. Its line of seven fixed-wheel and swivel wheel jogging strollers runs for between $53 and $185. Some of the accessories available include trailer couplers, bug screens, weather shields and lambskin seat covers. The similarities between Schwinn and InStep’s jogging strollers are so close, some accessories fit both brands of stroller. The InStep and Schwinn Safari TT and Suburban Safari Mall Cruiser Single stroller sun cover is an example.

Similar to Schwinn, Jeep gained named recognition through its line of rugged automobiles, so branching out into jogging strollers made it easier to compete. Jeep makes several different models of strollers, which include single, double and lightweight. Many of its jogging strollers cost hundreds, but it does have one model which is an inexpensive traditional four-wheel stroller costing less then $75. One of its most popular jogging strollers, the Overland Limited, received a Best Budget Jogging Stroller award. This model is equipped with a speedometer, odometer and speakers for an MP3 player.

BOB was founded in 1994 by a group of outdoor enthusiasts in California, and grew into a company making top of the line jogging strollers for fitness-minded parents. The name “BOB” evolved from the company’s original name, Beast of Burden. The company makes it strollers with lightweight, durable aircraft aluminum frames. With styles sporting names like the Ironman Stroller, the Sport Utility Stroller, the Revolution Stroller and the Stroller Strides Fitness Stroller, it’s easy to see where the company values lie.

The highly popular jogging stroller will no doubt spur more changes in the industry, so be sure to keep up with the latest breakthroughs in the field. With so many companies competing for sales, it’s a consumer’s market in terms of the vast number of choices. At the very least, parents looking to enjoy sharing their love of running with their young children can find a high quality stroller to fit their family’s lifestyle.

Brands of Jogging Strollers:

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Parents looking for a safe infant car seat have the daunting task of wading through dozens of brands and models to find the one seat right for their child. We compared the seats on the market and chose which ones are the best ones based on safety and workmanship.

1. Endorsements and certifications from the government and consumer advocate groups
2. Well-made car seats that have withstood the test of time, with no recalls
3. Seats that are light enough to tote around without pulling your arm out of the socket
4. Ergonomically designed car seats with handles easy to grip without twisting the arm
5. Seats that can readily convert from rear-facing to forward-facing
6. Affordable car seats for families on a budget
7. Units with easy-to-follow installation instructions and diagrams
8. Seats that can extend to accommodate taller children
9. Extra foam padding to provide more protection in an accident

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As we surveyed the wide selection of baby monitors available on the market, we kept the following important qualities in mind:

1. Wide range
2. Secure, interference-free channels
3. Clear reception
4. Low battery/out of range indicators
5. Ample battery life
6. Minimal static
7. Two-way audio communication
8. Adjustable volume and sensitivity
9. Bonuses like nightlight, camera, or lullabies

Baby Monitor Buying Guide

A Baby Monitor Buying Guide

A baby monitor gives parents some freedom to do tasks around the home while their child sleeps, all the while letting them monitor their child’s noises so they know when he or she awakes. If you’re looking for a baby monitor, you first need to decide if you want digital video in addition to audio. Video monitors are generally more expensive than traditional audio monitors, but some parents like the peace of mind that comes from being able to see their baby at any time, day or night. With the frightening reports of SIDS deaths, some parents are also springing for monitors that detect movement and sound an alarm if the baby stops breathing.

Whichever type of monitor you choose, keep the following aspects in mind as you shop:

Range

A baby monitor with a long range gives you greater mobility, but it can also pick up more interference the farther you stray from the transmitter. Look for models that include an out of range signal.

Analog vs. Digital

Analog monitors are less expensive, but the sound quality can suffer, and nearly anyone can pick up the radio signal. Digital monitors generally have better sound quality and are more secure, giving you privacy.

Video

If you spring for a video monitor, consider models that allow you to pan and zoom, letting you view the nursery as well as the baby. Most video monitors have night vision. Some include perks like a nightlight, a camera, and preloaded lullabies.

Sound lights
No matter how clearly a monitor receiver picks up sounds from the nursery, you may not be able to hear it if you’re vacuuming or running the dishwasher. Look for models that feature LED sound lights, which show you the noise level in your baby’s room. Some baby monitors also vibrate, so you’ll be sure to notice when your baby needs you.

Low battery indicator

You don’t want your batteries to run out, leaving you under the illusion that your little one is sleeping peacefully when he may be crying frantically. A good monitor should include a low battery indicator that lets you know when it’s time to charge it.

Brittany Rowland researches new developments in Appliances, Kitchen and CE products features with a vigor to which few would aspire… but someone has to do it. See more about Brittany

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Leaps and bounds ahead of cheap, plastic microscopes, this sturdy, heavy-duty microscope is very reasonably priced at $65.60. A scientific instrument like the ones used in high school labs, it produces clear, sharp magnifications of such materials like frog’s blood, mosquito head parts, and human skin cells. The kit also includes forceps, prepared slides, blank slides, test tube, and a petri dish. You and your budding scientist can also buy blank slides and collect your own specimens to examine up close. Advertised for children 9 and up, it’s really fine for any mature, careful child to enjoy provided there’s an adult nearby to help. We were impressed by how easy it was to set up and operate the microscope.

Prices

By Valerie Baldowski

Graco has already made a name for itself for its other baby care products, including strollers, travel systems, play yards, swings, high chairs and baby monitors, so moms can go on an established track record when comparing the basic Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 to other infant car seats. This forward-facing car seat is designed for children weighing 20 to 100 pounds. Children are particularly at risk in an accident, so the car seat has energy-absorbing foam to protect against impact and a five-point harness to keep the child secure. All moms know how much of a pain it is trying to figure out how to properly install an infant car seat, but the Nautilus has open-loop belt guides to take the guesswork out of positioning the seatbelt.

The base of this seat stays in the car to make it easier to latch it into place or lift it out from the back seat. It’s crash tested to meet or exceed U.S. safety standards, and maintains Graco’s reputation for safety and reliability. Depending on where it’s purchased the price for the Graco Nautilus is about $140, well within the affordability range.

Quick Specs

• Forward-facing car seat holds children from 20 to 100 lbs.
• 19.5 lbs.
• 29 x 20 x 36.1 inches

Prices