Competing With Character: Let’s Put Sportsmanship and Fun Back in Youth Sports, by Kevin Kush, M.A., with Michael Sterba, M.H.D.; Boys Town Press, 2008; $12.95; www.boystownpress.org.

Coach, teacher and motivational speaker Kevin Kush wants to change the face of youth sports. Kush feels kids are under too much pressure to win and are seeing more and more negative behavior from parents and coaches.  He looks at the bad behavior occurring on the playing field, on the sidelines and in the stands and offers encouraging advice to parents and coaches on how to bring back encouragement, fun and sportsmanship, while teaching kids responsibility, courtesy and respect.

“The book addresses an important issue with kids, especially when you see obsessively driven parents.”
– Mom Tester

“If they want to teach their children to play fairly and respect their coaches, teammates and themselves, this book will guide them in those efforts.” 
– Mom Tester
 

Symphony™ Featuring SureLatch™ All-in-One Car Seat, Evenflo; $199.99; www.evenflo.com.

This car seat offers what parents most want: safety, comfort, quick and secure installation, and easy adjustability. First, the car seat fits children from five to 100 pounds and can be used in rear- or forward facing positions, and as a booster seat. Wow! Next, it offers SureLATCH™ Connectors that easily click onto the built in LATCH anchoring system in newer cars. Then, to adjust the five-point harness straps, headrest or harness height to fit your cherub: just slide, click or push into place and you’re done in seconds!

“The new SureLATCH was awesome. It’s the best technology for safe installation that I have ever seen or used.”
– Mom Tester

“My husband said, ‘This is the greatest thing ever!’ because he is usually stuck installing the car seat whenever we have to remove it or place it in another car. The Sure-Latch took 2 seconds where normally it can take up to 15 minutes with adjustments, etc.”
– Mom Tester
 
“This product combines infant, convertible and booster seat in one purchase.”
– Mom Tester
 
“I love the safety features: it has a head rest to protect against side impact and EPS side impact foam construction. It even has red labels on the top of the harness straps stating exactly where they should be on child’s shoulders!”
– Mom Tester

 

Hunter Douglas Duette® Architella® Honeycomb Shades with Literise® Cordless Lifting System, Hunter Douglas; approx. $190; www.hunterdouglas.com.

These shades glide up and down with the pull of a handle, instead of cumbersome cords that can look messy, get tangled and pose a safety hazard for children. The “pull” mechanism for these blinds is smooth and much easier to use than standard blinds, and the lack of dangling cords offers a cleaner look to your window treatment.

“This product seems to be well designed, sturdy and durable. Hunter Douglas is known and respected for superior quality products.”
– Safety Judge
 

 

My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow Deluxe, Zenoff Products, Inc.; $41-$45; www.mybrestfriend.com.

This wearable nursing pillow encircles a breastfeeding mom with a narrow band of cushioning and support at her back that widens to a comfy, flat surface along the front to facilitate baby’s latching on. An adjustable belt secures the fit around mom’s waist; a side pocket keeps sundries within easy reach. Unlike other U-shaped nursing pillows, My Brest Friend has two “feeding risers” to slightly raise the baby’s head, which aids ingestion and digestion. My Brest Friend also helps moms maintain good posture while feeding and prevents sore backs and necks.

 

The Deluxe pillow is made of recyclable foam and offers a plush, machine-washable slipcover. A Velcro-and-buckle strap can be removed silently as to not wake a sleeping baby. Our parent testers loved the security of the flat cushion and thought it was a huge help for breastfeeding! Dads, too, will enjoy using it for bottle-feeding.

 

“It’s a HUGE help to breastfeeding moms, and makes it much easier to support the baby.” – Mom Tester

KinderKord, KinderKord; $19.99; www.kinderkord.com.

Keep your child close in crowded places without the embarrassment and stigma of using a harness. KinderKord was developed by TV co-host Joan Lunden and her husband to keep their two sets of young twins from running off, but without limiting their children’s natural curiosity. KinderKord allows three feet of freedom for both you and your child, and can connect up to two children per adult.

“It looks cool to my toddler and he was very excited to use KinderKord. It’s portable and nice to just keep in the diaper bag.”
– Mom Tester

“Although other products on the market have the same function, I do think this one is more attractive and less offensive than some of the others.”
– Mom Tester

“I like the self winding feature and that both parent and child have a wrist strap connecting them.”
– Mom Tester
 

The Busy Mom’s Guide to a Happy, Organized Home: Fast Solutions to Hundreds of Everyday Problems, by Kathy Peel; Tyndale House Publishers, 2008; $16.99; www.familymanager.com.

This book really delivers!  It’s truly a must read for every mom who wants an organized home, and wants to educate herself on how to make life simpler, easier and better for herself and her family. Author Kathy Peel, “America’s Family Manager,” has written this easy-to-use reference guide to help answer key questions by women who want to be the best moms they can be. Tips from reducing sibling bickering, to throwing a fabulous birthday party, are organized by a comprehensive index, checklists and charts and a thorough list of online resources. Moms (and dads) will want to keep this book close at hand!

“This book is a star among organizing books because it includes more than the basic organizing tips. There’s a chapter on managing finances, interesting tips for appliances, safety information and lots more that will not be found in most other mom’s resource books.”
– Organization Judge

“The solutions were great! The pages with ‘The Most Important Things to Remember’ and the ‘Smart Move’ tips were useful and practical.”
– Tester Mom

“It’s relatively easy to quickly read the sections that are more helpful. I really liked the sections on preparing dinners since sometimes that is tough for me to do while the boys are running around the kitchen.”
– Tester Mom

 

OneToughJob.org, Massachusetts Children’s Trust Fund; free; www.onetoughjob.org.

The challenges of parenthood can sometimes feel overwhelming, exhausting and stressful. One Tough Job recognizes that we all want to be better parents, and gives us some tools for getting there. Created by the Massachusetts Children’s Trust Fund, One Tough Job is packed with resources and advice to guide and support parents, all easily searchable under the categories of Positive Parenting, School and Child Care, Nurturing Your Family, Health and Safety, Group and Development, and Parenting Tips for all Ages. Our parent testers found the Behavior and Discipline and Especially for Dads sections to be quite helpful.

“I love the ‘Positive Parenting’ approach. It has great suggestions for effective discipline in a bullet point format for quick reference. My husband found the ‘Especially for Dads’ section useful; it has really good bullet points on ways to be a great dad.”
– Tester Mom

“I found my discipline tactics were getting old. This site gave me some useful and effective new techniques for discipline.”
– Tester Mom
 

Outsmart Your Worry Tool Kit for Kids™ – Elementary School and Middle School Editions, Tool Kits for Kids; $39.95; www.toolkitsforkids.com.

When kids can't seem to stop worrying, they tend to feel like something is wrong with them, and parents tend to get frustrated.  Outsmart Your Worry is an excellent tool to help combat the what ifs. The kit starts with the idea that the child is the solution, not the problem. Worry is a clever problem, but your child can figure out what the worry is up to, and outsmart it.

 

Tools for coping with anxiety include coming up with a nickname for the worry and drawing it to make it seem less dangerous, talking back to it, breathing and relaxation techniques and setting up worry-free zones and worry-free times of day. Tool kits come with 20 CD-sized cards in a cool carrying case and are offered in Elementary and Middle School versions.

“The design is cool and hip and attractive to children.  The cards are fun to read together (adult and child).”
– Mom Tester

“It provides a simple reminder on how to help kids worry less and offers them good strategies.”
– Mom Tester
 

Zip Sheets®, Zip Sheets®; $79-$119; www.zipsheets.com.

Make middle-of-the-night crib (or twin bed) clean-ups easier with the help of Zip Sheets. The all-cotton, three-piece set comes with one zippered mattress cover and two Piddle Pads, which are fire rated for safety and ingeniously designed to eliminate entanglement. To install, just zip the cover around your baby’s crib mattress and affix the Piddle Pad using the Velcro fasteners. To change the sheets, just remove the waterproof Piddle Pad and replace it with a clean one – using just one hand! You’re done in minutes: a dry bed for your child and more sleep for each of you!


 “It’s a great design and so much better than anything out there. It is the only bedding you need.”
– Mom Tester

“It’s an awesome product! I love that one thing takes the place of two. The sheets are fire rated and the zips and Velcro are completely covered and out of reach.”
– Mom Tester

“Crib sheets are always difficult to put on and remove. These are a huge improvement on standard sheets because you can change them so much faster. They fit on my toddler’s mattress, also.”
– Mom Tester
 

Video Game Play and Addiction: A Guide for Parents, by Kourosh Dini, MD; self-published, 2008; $15.95; www.videogameplayandaddiction.com.

How much video game time is too much? Child psychiatrist Kourosh Dini, an avid gamer himself, addresses this question in this thoughtful and balanced book. He explains the allure of games, describes the potential benefits of gaming, and offers guidelines on assessing an overuse problem.

“Dini’s research and arguments are very solid. Actually, this is one of the most accessible, well-written, and reasoned books I’ve seen on this subject.”
– Software Judge

“The author explains parent-child communication in very simple, sensible terms: your child isn’t going to want to learn your language, so you have to learn his to communicate well with him. Dini emphasizes that the effects of a video game depend on the child-and-family dynamic.”
– Tester/Editor