Kinderkord Parent/Child Restraint/Attachment (Child Leash)

I know people have mixed feelings about child 'leashes,' but I'm going to call it like it is: they're awesome. 

Admittedly, I don't like the bulky, weird animal backpack ones, but that's just me.

I found this wrist connecting one and ordered it without high expectations:

Kinderkord Parent and Child Safety Restraint Set

You know I got it from Amazon right? It was $13.41 (get it here).

This is a product that keeps a parent connected to their child via a wrist band that both the parent and child wear. It reminds me of those thick rubber(ish) watches. 

I ordered it when my son was just 20 months old and had no idea how well the child band would fit his tiny wrists, but the smallest adjustment fit him perfectly (and he's a small kid, too).  

He never seems that bothered to be wearing it either. That could be because he started getting exposure to it when he was 20 months old, but the cords on each band are retractable and it's awesome to not deal with extra slack. The tug of the retractable cord is very minor - like that of those retractable name badges. 

There are a few different lengths to choose from, too. If you connect the two cords together, it's a total of 3 feet in length. You can also connect the parent cord directly to the child wrist band, which takes it down to 2 feet. Or you can connect the child cord directly to the parent band for a length of 1 foot.

I love that this gives curious toddlers an opportunity to be down walking on their own, but also the comfort and safety of not being able to actually wonder off. 

I feel it's an ideal "child leash" system, and would recommend it to anyone interested in a product to serve this purpose. 

For someone who lives in a big city, it's a must have in my book! 

Snack Cup

I'm not all that big on the idea of letting kids just snack whenever. But from time to time, I will give my toddler a small portion of puffs or crunchies (let's face it, there isn't much to either of those snacks anyway) to keep him satisfied while I finish a chore. 

I tend to love OXO products. I have some OXO cups, silverware, bowls, plates, baby food containers, and who knows what all else.

So, I was disappointed when I purchased the OXO Tot snack cup. It's a clean, cute design like most of their products. I like that's it's clear, and my toddler could easily hold it by its handle. However, the flaps on this cup top aren't nearly flexible enough. Heck, I thought it was hard myself to reach through the stiff flaps and achieve the goal of actually pulling my hand back out with food still in it. I mean, I'm all for things that work fine motor skills on kids, but my kid would get so frustrated with this cup that he'd end up just throwing it down and not wanting it. 

On Amazon (here) it's listed at $5.99. I found the one I have for $3.99 at a local baby shop though, so they can probably be found at a better price. 

Due to my toddler's inability to use this cup, I hunted for a different brand. I purchased a set of two Munchkin snack cups for somewhere around the same price as the single OXO ($5). The Munchkin snack cups are $4.47 as an add-on with Amazon (here). 

These cups are much easier for my toddler to use. They're a bit larger in size, but that wasn't a hinderance. The handles are nice and my toddler usually holds the cup by them. The flaps are a more flexible rubber, and much easier for my kid to use successfully. Plus, having two of them is nice. 

Though these are the only two toddler snack cups we've used, I'd definitely recommend the Munchkin cups to anyone with toddlers.