Indian Names and Parenting

Most of you have been through this, at some point in your life, you are faced with a situation where you need to buy a toy for a little one. If you are parents yourself, you have to buy for your kids, if you are not, you have to buy one to present or gift for your family, friend or colleague’s child. Buying the right toy is tricky and this article should help you in choosing the right toy the kid and the parents will like.

The Child’s age

You should have an idea of the child’s age before you enter the toy store. This is the most important. If you buy toys too advanced for the child’s age, chances are that he might not like it or he may get injured. On the other hand, if the toy you brought is made for children with age under that of the child, he will consider it to be too boring. Look on the carton, good toy makers do specify the age group the toy is intended for use.

Child’s gender

We already have blogged abut this. Why Boys like Guns and Girls like their Dolls. It is better to be gender specific when you pick up a toy. If you are a parent yourself, find out what best he likes to play with. Sometimes, your child tells you what toy he wants, thus saving a lot of hard work. But don’t count on this. If you let them, they will choose the entire store.

Educational value

If the toy you choose has some added educational value, it will help the kid to develop new skills. Alphabets, numbers, colors, nursery rhymes can all be easily taught with many of the toys you get in the market. For little bigger kids, you can buy games or puzzles that challenge them and keep them occupied.

Safety

Even though, this is the most important factor when you buy a toy, it is observed that this is also the most overlooked one. Choose toys that are not really cheap as the raw materials that go into making these will inturn be of inferior quality and dangerous. Avoid toys that have sharp edges or pointed tips. If you choose to buy a toy that is electronic, choose one that operates out of batteries than main power supply.

Tags: gift, kids, toys

irest leg massager, SL-C11 Legs beautician

I bought this iRest leg and calf massager (SL-C11 Legs beautician) this weekend on one of the promotions they had in a shopping mall. So far I am impressed with the product and my family and friends have been loving it. Before I jump into the details, let me give a small brief on this purchase decision.

I am working in the Information Technology Industry and the long hours/ years of sitting in front of the computer have started taking its toll. Many of us have back ache, knee pain, leg pain apart from the usual job related mental stress. So the Tech Industry workers are prospective buyers. To capitalize this, another manufacturer Osim had a demo of this machine at International Tech Park Bangalore couple of year back. It really felt good but the price quoted was around 20,000 Indian Rupees (500 USD approx) was way too much.

This weekend, I saw a similar machine (iRest) being displayed in Total mall and I approached them for a free demo with no intention to buy because of the hefty price tag. I sat on the machine, it felt good and at last enquired about the price. The salesman quoted 16,500, I said give me a good deal and at last I got it for 15,000 which I feel is a good price.

It is too premature to say if my work related pain will go away by regular usage of this machine but it is sure 15 minutes of bliss. The long term benefits are yet to be seen and I will keep you all posted. My take on the price is this. Many of us have a cell phone which costs as much but you just use it for a few calls, take a few pictures, listen to couple of songs. For the same price, this leg and calf massager does a great job for your health.

Here are some pros and cons about iRest leg and calf massager.

Pros

It does a good job on the massaging front, you feel really relaxed and good after the 15 minute session.

The build quality is good. The company is a good Chinese manufacturer with ISO quality certification.

Cons

The website nor the support manual no where speaks about the health benefits of the machine.

The machine when in vibration mode doesn’t do a silent job. I can hear some rattles which could have been avoided.

The price can be further lowered to cater to a mass market.

The product website really doesn’t do justice. The language and content may not be really helpful.

Tags: iRest, leg massager, massager, SL-C11 Legs beautician

With more and more working parents and families going nuclear, the concept of a domestic help/ Au pair/ nanny/ baby sitter has become popular every where. This throws up a great challenge as it is very difficult to find a professional babysitter. It is very important that you find a babysitter whom you can entrust your little one without worrying much. This post will lead you to some pointers in choosing a good babysitter.

Motherhood or natural Love for Kids

It will be best if you can find a nanny who had been through motherhood. If you cannot find one, see if your babysitter has a natural affection towards kids. This will be useful as you need lot of patience with small kids.

Basic training

Kids are never idle and requires your attention all the time. Even when they sleep, things can happen and the babysitter should have some basic knowledge of first aid and emergency.

Experience

When it comes to handling kids, there should not be any compromise on the experience part. Experience will equip your babysitter with the confidence and the presence of mind to act accordingly to the many situations, both emergency or otherwise.

Language

It is best if your babysitter speaks the language you speak to your kids. When the kid is in the growing stages, it is best you don’t confuse them with multiple languages. If your baby is too small, then this really doesn’t matter.

Apart from the above qualities, ask them about their previous work place and inquire with them about their experience. This will throw a lot of insight about the general behavior of your baby sitter. For more useful parenting tips, keep visiting our parenting blog.

Tags: find baby sitter, find nanny, working parents