The Parent Room

Lightweight Strollers – Good Things Come In Small Packages

Choosing a stroller is such an individual decision that depends on many lifestyle factors. While you can be guided by advice from friends, it’s best to take a look at your own lifestyle and budget to determine the right stroller for you. 

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Choosing The Best Stroller For Your Family’s Lifestyle

Choosing the best stroller for your family’s lifestyle is a big decision and sometimes one that can be confusing, especially to new parents. In this post we’re going to break down the key considerations when purchasing a stroller to help you make the right choice for your family.

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The Key Features To Look For When Choosing A Convertible Car Seat

Given how much time you spend in the car, buying a car seat is one of the most important purchasing decisions you will make as a parent. The challenge lies in striking the balance between price, safety, comfort and durability.

A convertible car seat is an ideal choice for newborns, providing flexibility with extended rearward facing for infants, while also offering forward facing as your child grows. Finding a safe car seat that meets your needs comes down to the features that you value in a car seat.

So what should you be looking for in the best car seat for you?

Comfort and durability

Easy headrest adjustment

The car seat age for convertible car seats is newborn to approximately four-years-old. In those four years there is a significant amount of growing happening so easy adjustment, particularly of the headrest is a big feature to look for.

A car seat that features easy headrest adjustment, without needing to remove the car seat, is a winner.

Some car seats will require a two-handed adjustment, while others are single-handed. The key to look for is a simple

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5 Most Important Features To Look For In A Booster Seat

You’ve made it through the capsule phase, done the rear-facing thing and now your child is old enough for a booster seat.

Much like your earlier experiences with buying car restraints, the options are endless and you need to work out which is the best booster seat to suit your family’s needs.

Booster seats these days can have so many features. And, of course, the price tag to match. Whether you choose an unharnessed booster or a convertible booster seat will largely depend on the size of your child, but there are loads of other features to consider.

When to move to a booster seat

The law as it relates to car restraints in Australia is age and height based. Depending on their seated shoulder height by approximately the age of four, a child must be sitting in a forward-facing approved child restraint, such as a booster with an inbuilt harness, or an unharnessed booster seat with a properly fastened and adjusted seat belt. They must remain in a booster seat until at least seven or eight years of age, again subject to their shoulder height.

It’s vitally important that your child is always seated in the right car restraint seat for their age and size. Consider this when working out which booster seat for 4 years olds is best.

Car seat laws exist to protect children and to maximise their safety in the case of an accident. It is also extremely important that all car restraints are installed correctly.

Easy headrest adjustment

Kids seem to grow at such an alarming rate! One day they seem fine in the booster seat and the next their head is popping out the top of the headrest and the seat needs to be adjusted before you can drive anywhere.

Given how fast they grow, a booster seat with easy headrest adjustment is necessary for saving you significant time and effort.

Look for

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9 Mum Hacks you need in your life

It doesn’t matter how independent you are, how ‘together’ you think you have everything, isn’t it nice sometimes to just be told what to do? What decision to make? What you need?

This is especially true as a mother who makes 679 decisions a day, whether it is if the children need jumpers, or what to cook for dinner, or if they made the right choice in their pram. Being thrown into the job of the most unknown is mind boggling, so lists are good. Lists are your best friend. Lists you can read online, like 9 MUM HACKS you need in your life are ultimate! So , wherever you are, if it be hiding in the pantry, or working your toosh off in the office, or on the school run – here, is your best friend list.

1. Snacks are life. We know this. Kids know this. Number one hack, or rule, is to never leave the house without a snack – even if its a small container of sultanas, or the crowd pleaser banana, when the kids are whining in the post office line you’ll be patting yourself on the back for remembering.
2. Baby carrying has been around for centuries for GOOD reason. It’s easy, it’s natural and it leaves your arms free! The Mothers Choice Cub Baby Carrier not only looks super gorgeous in a deep grey colour, but has 3 carrying positions, its machine washable, has a handy front pocket and includes lumbar support to relieve your shoulder pressure. If you hunt around Facebook, you should be able to find a baby wearing group in your area too, to show you the ropes and teach you how to get yourself all clipped in alone if you’re ever unsure.
3. Here is a super sneaky tip – does your child escape the Onesie yet? We know children can undo zips at some point, and we heard it from someone, who heard it from someone...to put it on backwards! Still warm, comfortable for bed and inescapable.
4. Prams. We devote entire articles to the subject, but one quick tip that we think is all encompassing is, if you need a double pram due to age, then get one tha

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Top 8 pre baby must haves for the home and bag

The baby bag and nursery essentials have been specifically covered, but how about just an overall list of some absolute must haves before you’re due to give birth?

1. Your car seat is the difference between you sitting in the maternity ward for all eternity, and zooming off home to begin life with a new life. Choose well and you'll be happy and content in the knowledge that your baby is safe and sound. It can be a big decision, so we make sure that all of our convertible car seats and baby capsules accommodate all families personal choice and budget (we even have AFL themed booster seats for the AFL die hard!). 
2. A bassinet that is lightweight, safe and portable. Something that will fit through a doorway to freely move around the house. our Coco bassinette fits the bill on all fronts, and is absolutely stunning and whimsical (enough to take 'Pinteresty' photos of baby sleeping - only you know how long it took to get them there!?. it comes in white or tan colour for the base, includes breathable air mesh sides and is made from good quality New Zealand pine and 100% cotton.
3. Further on from this, a travel cot that you can erect everywhere - even in your own lounge room - is a great thing to have. Travel cots are spacey and can double as a play area when your bub is smaller and you need to get some things done around the home. Our new 2 in 1 Bassinet Portacot is lightweight and fuss free, allowing you to setup in seconds out or about, and folds down into a small carrier. The difference between this portacot and any other one of the market is, it has a specially designed bassinet mattress that sits higher in the cot, just like your one at home. This is then removable for a deeper cot for either play or sleep.
4. Versatile clothes for baby wrapping, baby wearing and baby cleaning! Cotton and bamboo are your best bet as they're gentle on skin, will wash easily and have a sight stretch to them (for wrapping etc). Baby wraps ar

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Choosing the right highchair for your child

While the internet, magazines and social media are saturated with tips and suggestions on how to choose the best mode of transport for your baby, we are less likely to see the same about highchairs. Which is strange really because we all know that the stay at home parent spends a lot of time .. staying at home! And as there are are multiple choices when it comes to car seats and prams the world of highchairs is also laden with options. Would you like something made from plastic, or wood? Does a clip on highchair work for you, or is something large and sturdy the best option? Here are some different types of highchairs you can get, and some pros and cons on each.

‘The Basic’ - moulded plastic/metal with tray and harness
The typical highchair, inexpensive and requiring little to no assembly, this type of high chair is usually a go-to for the budget conscious family. If it lasts through more than one child (which chances are it will, they’re normally pretty indestructible) it’s a bonus, if it doesn’t then you can always pick up another without busting the bank.

The pros are simple - this highchair is usually very affordable, contains a harness that keeps your baby safe, is really easy to wipe down and keep clean and will feature a generously sized tray table.

The cons - sometimes they have a non removable tray table which can be annoying if your baby is quite small and can move around, and also make it difficult to remove an older child from. They also probably won’t come with much padding, so sitting in them for extended periods of time wouldn’t be super comfortable.

The Mothers Choice Breeze highchair is a portable, lightweight highchair with removable tray table that is safe for a dishwasher. The padded seat is removable for easy cleaning, contains a cup holder, has a 5 p

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How to choose a car seat that works for you?

Car seat manufacturing is one of the fastest and most innovative growing industries in the world - which is an excellent thing considering the concept of car seats was first to simply enable a baby or child to see out the window better! Now there is 5 point harnessing and build in air bags, bamboo wicking and cup holders galore. The list of new features for car seats, both for safety and aesthetic reasons go on. So it can be hard to sift through what is good, what’s not applicable to you and what suits your lifestyle best. Are you active? Do you like to get out of the house a lot as undisturbed as possible? Are you more budget conscious, and want to limit the amount of different seats you’ll have to buy? We’ve compiled a list of the different types of seats on the market at the moment, with pros and cons for each.

Baby capsule
The capsule has been the holy grail for mothers, a welcome addition to the standard car seats. Being able to carry your baby from house to car and out again without taking them out once is a god send - so what exactly could the negatives be? Baby capsules are only designed to fit for a baby to around 6 months of ages, so you’ll soon have to purchase your second seat anyway. Some mums like to skip this and go straight into a rear facing car seat which can be turned thus saving money in the long run. You also have to make sure that the capsule you choose will be compatible to the pram you’ve potentially already purchased.

Convertible Car Seat - Rear and forward facing car seat
Car seats were once designed to always face the front of the car, but with many safety tests conducted it has been concluded that isa safer to have a baby rear facing for as long as possible - and in some countries the law states they have to stay that way up until the age of two! Buying a car seat that grows with your baby is ideal for the no fuss mum, but this doesn’t mean you have to compromise on safety o

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Budget friendly nursery decorating ideas

As a first time mum, planning the nursery where your baby will (hopefully) sleep and where you’ll share beautiful bonding feeding moments in the middle of the night is pretty special. Pinterest, Instagram and any ‘nursery’ google search will land you in a world of rich cottons and delicate wall mounts, plush feeding chairs with matching ottomans and gorgeous wicker bassinets. And while the idea of having the absolute best for your baby and creating an ‘inspirational’ play space can be exhilarating, the costs involved can put a damper on it. Of course they don’t have to, and having children will certainly teach you to be thrifty if nothing else! We have compiled a list of practical objects that each nursery needs to be functional, while giving you some options on how to keep the costs from mounting!

Sleeping:
The first object you’ll probably buy for a nursery is the place your baby is going to sleep. The most cost effective way to do this, is to buy something that grows with the baby. Even if you want to start with a separate bassinet and then move to a cot that can convert to a toddler bed such as our Amiel and Cambria cots, you’re eliminating the need for 3 different purchases with only the two (and the cots do suit newborn if you opted to skip the bassinet stage). These cots accommodate a baby up until they’re 23kgs which even with the most food happy baby will take them well into their toddler years!

Our Coco bassinets combine the timeless beauty and breathtaking looks that you might see on a bassinet with a hefty price tag, but are designed to be a suitable choice for every budget conscious family. They’re versatile and lightweight (easy to move from room to room so your baby can sleep anywhere), are made from a breathable mesh fabric and feature a gorgeous wooden cross over base made from good quality New Zealand Pine, with a decorative canopy and mattress.

Walls and decorating
There are some

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