BabySmileKids.com

Just two months ago, a group of mothers from three generations (Gen Y, Gen X and Baby Boomer demographics) shared their buying habits with retailers and manufacturers on purchasing childrens bedroom furniture and baby products. This occurred at the fifth annual Kids Today conference in Bonita Springs Florida.

Author and entrepreneur Maria Bailey, an executive in the fields of publishing, marketing, and business development, was the keynote speaker at the conference and a moderator for the panel. Maria Bailey has worked for numerous companies, including Automation USA, AutoNation, Discovery Zone, The Miami Herald, Broward Community College, and McDonald’s. Her experience as an executive and the mother of four young children led her to specialize in assisting mothers in balancing their home and work lives. Bailey explained the importance of marketing to mothers of different ages.

Even though there were some differences there were also many similarities. One baby boomer said she found information from other mothers quite useful. She tried shopping for childrens beds and other bedroom sets for her boys baby nursery at a baby boutique or a shop for kid furniture and found it was above her budget. She registered for designer baby bedding at one baby boutique but this particular parent found that shopping at a consignment shop for her boys bedroom furniture was the way to go.

A Gen Y mom used hand-me-down bedroom furniture, rather than shopping at a furniture store for her baby and put the rest of the items that she needed on her gift registry. The items she did not receive as baby gifts she purchased at Target and Kmart. She did however find a lot of her ideas (such as themes for luxury baby bedding) at a boutique. She said she would purchase only bedroom accessories, baby bedding, other items that she thought were original at a boutique or baby shops.

Although most of the parents claimed that they mostly shopped at discount stores, they admittedly would make more extravagant purchases like luxury baby bedding or hard-to-find toys at baby boutiques if there was something they really wanted for there kid. A Gen X mom talked about children strollers. She paid $300 for a stroller because she liked the features. Then a Gen Y mom said she paid about $200 for a hard-to-find toy that retails normally for about $50. She said she bought the toy not only because her son wanted it, but because of the educational value. Parents are willing to spend more money on educational toys.

All moms stressed importance on bedroom furniture that would grow with their children. One baby boomer mom said she was in the process of looking for a bed that would take her toddler through high school. A Gen X mom said she would try to redecorate while keeping in mind that she wanted the décor and products to not be changed or updates until her daughter was at least 12.

I personally feel that this type of survey it tough to gauge…not only should they have to consider the age demographics but financial demographics as well.

I know that my friends and I are the same age but due to financial reasons we all have made very different choices on the bedroom sets, etc. we purchased for our kids. Take the changing table for instance. I chose one of those dressers with a built in changing table. When your child is older you flip the dresser over and it converts to a normal dresser top (which by the way I planned on using these dressers for a long while since I had purchased one of those convertible infant cribs).

My other friend decided to forego the changing table altogether, she would change her daughter directly on her crib mattress by using a waterproof disposable pad. While another friend bought an extremely fancy changing table and a bedroom set with armoires, hand carved dressers, etc.

I am sure someone like Brittney Spears would have very different buying habits than someone, the same age, but on a very modest income. So although I am sure the retailers and manufacturers were able to gather some useful information from this conference, hopefully they are considering all the demographics of the parents interviewed.

© Copyright Best-Baby-Furniture.com, All Rights Reserved.

“Thank you Baby” offers a complete line of infant and children bedding and accessories. The company’s products reflect its strong belief in high quality and in superior selection.

“Thank you Baby” is all about the kids – their comfort, their imagination and their spirit. The company’s founders believe that our children are our blessings, and are inspired by the simple spirit of childhood. The company’s products are made to reflect that wonderful childhood spirit.

Baby Bedding

So what are our favorite “Thank You Baby” bedding sets? It’s a tough choice. One of the cutest designs, in our opinion, is the Sweetie Blue Dot 4-Piece Crib Bedding Set. This set is the perfect example of the “Thank you Baby” unique style. It includes a crib bumper, a crib quilt, a crib sheet, and a crib skirt. Made from 100% cotton with a 200-thread count, the set offers superior quality and a gorgeous look. The luxurious feeling of the items combined with the elegant look create a truly unique experience for your baby – and for you!

Your little baby girl will adore the sweet Forever Blossoms 4-Piece Crib Bedding Set. This crib bedding set features a sweet floral pattern that looks decidedly girly, but never cutesy or cluttered. The 4-piece crib bumper features different patterns on each side, which allows you to create a completely different look by simply turning the sections. Made from luxurious materials, this bedding set will brighten up any nursery, especially if you add a few of the matching accessories. We love the lampshade!

Children’s Bedding

“Thank You Baby” Children’s Bedding are beautiful and offer superior quality and a clean look. Boys love the Madison Boy Children’s Bedding Set because it looks so very grownup!

The set is available in a Twin and in Full Size. The Twin Set comes with a comforter, a bed skirt, and a standard pillowcase. The Full Set comes with a comforter, a bed skirt, and two standard pillowcases. Add a matching window valance and a set of canvas art to complete the look.

For girls, you can’t go wrong with the Madison Girls Bedding Set. The combination of black, gray, white and pink is truly spectacular. The interesting pattern features circles, dots and stripes. The sophisticated wall art and the beautiful gathered drapes complete the modern-yet-girly-look. Fabulous!

Accessories

“Thank you Baby” offers unique, useful accessories to complement their bedding sets. One of our favorite accessories is wall letters. The “Opposites Pink Letter Art” goes beautifully with the Madison Girl Children’s Bedding Set and “The Walk” wall letters are a perfect match for The Walk 4-Piece Crib Bedding Set.

We also love “Thank You Baby” toy bags. Toy bags are incredibly useful in the nursery, and these toy bags are also pretty! One of our favorite toy bags is the Opposites Blue toy bag, which comes with welted or scalloped edges and side ties and attaches easily to cribs and toddler beds.

Of course, we shouldn’t forget the diaper stackers! Another genius accessory that prevents clutter and chaos in the nursery, Thank You baby’s diaper stackers come in beautiful designs that complement their bedding sets, such as the Sweetie Blue Dot diaper stacker and the Forever Blossoms diaper stacker.

We are very grateful to be able to feature the Kathy Ireland Home by Thank You Baby bedding sets in our store, because the company’s values align so perfectly with our own values. We both believe that baby’s and children’s products should always be unique, sophisticated, high quality – and affordable.

If you are wondering what to give the children in your life, a children’s gift basket may be the perfect gift. Children’s baskets are a great way to combine several of a child’s favorite things into one great gift – saving the hassle of making a decision about which item to purchase. Children’s baskets can be customized to any age group or theme, and are a great way to show long distance relatives how much you care.

When purchasing your gift basket, first take into consideration the ages of the children you are buying children’s baskets for. A children’s basket for a newborn would be different from one for a toddler, for example. Many websites offer custom assembled gift baskets, saving you the trouble of picking and choosing items for your gift basket. Some will allow you to choose items to go in the basket, others let you pick a theme and then customize the basket for you.

Children’s baskets are versatile gifts, containing many items for your young friends and family members to enjoy. A baby gift basket, for example, might contain receiving blankets, bibs, rattles, teething toys, and other suitable items. A toddler gift basket might contain appropriate snacks, stuffed animals, board books, art supplies, chunky puzzles, and others items that your little explorer would enjoy. Baskets for older children could be customized to suit a particular theme, interest, or even a favorite cartoon character or sports team. When designing a custom children’s basket, the options are limited only by your imagination.

Children’s baskets come in an attractive package that is easy for little hands to unwrap. Instead of struggling with bows and ribbons, small children can see the items in their basket and access them easily. Many baskets are assembled inside of a tote, bucket, or other container that doubles as a toy your child can use. This packaging is both useful and environmentally sound – cutting down on the paper to be thrown away after the gift giving is over.

If you don’t have children of your own, it can be difficult to purchase age-appropriate gifts for the children in your life. It’s hard to know what children will enjoy, or what toys are safe for them to play with at what age. When purchasing a pre-made children’s gift basket, you can simply specify the age and sex of the recipient, as well as any special interests, and allow the site you’re ordering from to do the work for you. A basket assembled with your loved one’s interests in mind can be the perfect answer to your holiday headaches.

Gift baskets are a great way to cut holiday stress. Purchasing children’s baskets online is a great way to complete your holiday shopping quickly and easily. With the many options available today, there is sure to be a children’s basket to suit your needs. Whether you’re buying for a baby, toddler, or pre-teen, be sure to research the great children’s basket ideas available on the web today for affordable, stress free gift giving.

There are an estimated 1,017,018 species of insects in our world, so it’s no wonder that children have an endless fascination with them. When they’re outside playing, insects are everywhere, and while the majority of them don’t hurt people, they are extremely interesting to look at. Therefore, childrens bug crafts are very popular with kids, because they love making their own insects.

Children can make an easy dragonfly by painting one old-fashioned (not clip) clothespin and four 3/4″ craft sticks pale green. Prior to painting cut each craft stick at a 60 degree angle by cutting off about 1″ of the stick. Let the pieces dry, then have the children paint a veined pattern on the sticks with a darker shade of green. They can also add some darker green to the clothespin including two dots on the front for eyes. When everything dries, glue the sticks into the groove in the clothespin to form two pairs of wings.

Clay pots make great childrens bug crafts. Start this ladybug windchime by painting a 4″ clay pot bright red, inside and out. While the pots are drying, have the children color 3/4″ sticker circles (available at discount stores) with permanent black markers. Each child needs to make two stickers into eyes and color eight more solid black. When the pots are dry, the children will paste their stickers on the pot to form the eyes and spots. Cover the entire surface with Mod Podge to make it weatherproof and keep the stickers from falling off. Fold two black craft stems in half, link them together, and thread them through the hole in the bottom of the pot. Glue the edges of the inside stem to the pot surface. Curl the ends of the stem sticking up slightly to form feelers. Feed a string through the hole around the craft stems with both ends inside the pot. Knot about 6″ above the pot for a hanger. String a few pony beads onto the ends of the string and knot the strings securely. These will provide a little noise when wind blows the ladybug pot.

A third insect craft is to make a paper plate bee. Start with a heavy duty paper plate. Draw lines across the back of the plate about 2 1/2″ apart. Have the children paint every other stripe bright yellow. When the yellow dries, paint the alternating stripes black. Glue two large craft eyes on the sloped edge of the plate. Punch two holes about an inch apart in the top of the plate a little ways behind the eyes. Thread a black craft stem through the holes and twist them to form antenna. Cut four wings from waxed paper and glue to the top of each bee.

There’s nothing kids love doing more than painting, so you know they’ll really enjoy doing these childrens bug crafts. You’ll love seeing the delight in the eyes of the children over the cute insect crafts they have made all by themselves.