PRE-SCHOOL GOODIES

We have decided to put together a guide to some fantastic pre-school goodies which we hope you will find of use and we will be updating this section often so please come back regularly. Although our site is targetted at Primary aged children and this families we also appreciate that you many have younger children so hope this is interesting to you.

Here is a quick guide on what we have on offer, click on the product you'd like to know more about and you will be taken to that section.

Cuddledry SPF 50+ Poncho Towels

Miene - Nursery Products

Fabric Flavours - retro t-shirts and babygrows

Lilirose Collection - French nursery accessories

Glow Maternity & Baby

Cuddledry baby apron towel

Scootnpull

BOBUX - original baby and toddler footwear

TINGA TINGA TALES RANGE

Noddy Takes to the Air

Minene 3 In 1 Activity Mat

Minene 3 In 1 Activity Mat

The Minene 3 in 1 Activity Mat is an innovative product with a difference. The mat can be used from birth to 5 years giving your child years of use. The mat easily adjusts from a large cushioned play mat into a snug baby pen or a mini sofa.    

BABY PEN- 0-4 MONTH:  By folding the sides up and fastening with the zips and velcro, the flat play mat becomes a safe & secure play pen for your baby.

PLAY MAT -0-12 Month. Then, when your little one is ready to explore further a field simply undo the fasteners and the mat becomes a large padded activity mat with attached soft toys.

MINI SOFA -1-4 YEARS.  When your child has crawled off the mat to explore the world around them, it folds into a soft sofa on which your child can continue to sit and play for years of use on their very own sofa

Available in 4 vibrant colours for £76 at www.minene.co.uk

Noddy Takes to the Air

Noddy Takes to the Air places the classic and iconic character firmly in the hearts of children and parents everywhere and includes a wide variety of products bringing Toyland to life like never before. Pre-schoolers who enjoy watching Noddy in Toyland on Channel 5’s ‘Milkshake’, will be excited to see Noddy for the first time ever as a pilot and ready to take to the skies!

	Noddy Fix N Go Monster Truck Help fix Noddy’s monster truck! Once fixed, just push the boot and go! With lights and sounds! Available at Toys R Us RRP: £24.99 For ages 3 years +
	Noddy Takes To The Air Playset Take off in Toyland with this fantastic airport playset with sound effects! Available at Toys R Us and Argos.co.uk RRP: £24.99 For ages 3 years +
	Mini Character Soft Toys Collect your favourite Noddy friends with these detailed 15cm mini character soft toys. Collect Noddy, Mr Plod, Bumpy and Tessie! RRP: £6.99 For ages 10 months +
	Noddy and Friends Play Scenes The perfect game for any Noddy fan! With four scenes to choose from such as Fix it with Whiz and Picnic with Tessie there are lots of ways to play! Each set includes two figures, a vehicle, and a play accessory. RRP: £7.99 For ages 3 years +
	Noddy Mobile Phone Noddy mobile phone with sound effects and clip carrier – perfect for talking to other pilots and planning the next flight with Noddy! Available at Toys R Us RRP: £9.99 For ages 2 years +
	Noddy Camera Have some photography fun with Noddy’s easy to use bright and colourful camera. Available at Toys R Us RRP: £9.99 For ages 2 years +
	Noddy Tiny Toyland Playset Noddy Tiny Toyland is the perfect toy for budding Captains! The neat carry case includes a clip together playmat and two wind up vehicles for lots of racing fun! RRP: £9.99
	Toyland Playmat with Vehicles Bring the land of Noddy to life with this large, roll out, fabric playmat and two plastic vehicles. Available at Toys R Us For ages 2 years +
	My Friend Noddy Pilot Cuddle up with Noddy who is ready for flight action, with this Noddy soft toy with pilot goggles! Available at Smyths and Argos.co.uk RRP: £14.99 For ages 3 years +
	Click Clack Noddy and his wind up car Take Noddy on a taxi adventure with a Noddy driver with a click clack feature. Turn the key to wind it up and watch the car go! Available at Toys R Us RRP: £14.99 For ages 18 months +

Selected Noddy takes to the Air toys will be available from August from Toys R Us, Bandai.co.uk, and all other good toy stores.

Check out the full range on www.bandai.co.uk or visit the Facebook page for further information http://www.facebook.com/BandaiUK

BRAND NEW TINGA TINGA TALES RANGE!

Tinga Tinga Tales has a fantastic new toy rangeout with three amazing new products. The toys are not only great fun for children but a percentage of the sales go towards educating children in Africa. The toys are based on characters from the popular CBeebies show which tells tales of how animals came to be. Learn how the Lion got his roar, the Zebra got his stripes and the Giraffe got his long neck....

These Tinga Tinga tales products are suitable ages 3+.

Cuddledry SPF 50+ Poncho Towels

Toddlers can play safely in the sun this summer with these adorable sea creature inspired SPF50+ Poncho Towels from Cuddledry, makers of the award-winning apron style bath towel as featured on Dragon’s Den.

The first of their kind in the UK, the towels use patented Rayosan™ technology which acts like a mirror, deflecting the harmful UVA and UVB rays off the towel, instead of passing through the fabric and harming a baby’s delicate skin.

 “This remarkable technology comes from Australia, where extensive research has been done on the dangers of skin cancer. Given the forecast for a hot summer this year and climbing annual temperatures, we wanted to bring the same protection to the UK,” explains Helen Wooldridge, co-founder of Cuddledry. “We looked to the sea for our inspiration,” she continues. 

“Hammerhead sharks are one of the few animals that can catch a tan from sunlight – they could do with one of our towels! Angelfish on the other hand are able to reflect almost 100% of sunlight falling on their mirror-like scales, just as effective as our ponchos.” The towels, suitable for children aged 1 to 3, are made using soft brushed cotton to give snag-free towelling.  They have poppers under the arms which can be done up to create a loose ‘sleeve’ when worn, to help keep the towel in place and make it comfortable for its little owner.  They are really easy to put on and take off, a perfect ‘throw on’ towel or cover up for swimming, beach, playtime or bathtime.

They come in two colourful designs: an aqua towel with turquoise edging and a hammerhead shark embroidered on the front, and a lilac towel with cherry edging and an embroidered angelfish. The towels can be purchased from www.cuddledry.com and cost £22.99

Minene

Every now and then a company comes along that completely shakes up an industry. For the nursery industry, that company is Minene.

After making a huge splash at the 2011 baby shows, Minene is the company everyone is talking about. They design and manufacture high-end innovative nursery products that are taking the UK by storm.

Minene (my child) was established in Israel in 2005 by three mothers with a vision to create practical yet stylish products for the new generation of  parents, babies and toddlers. Their range of products include: changing bags, cot bedding, activity mats, bibs, pushchair accessories, towels, muslins, baby clothing & more. All products have been meticulously designed with clever features to make parents lives as easy as possible.

“We all know that being a parent is hard enough without all the day-to-day annoyances of badly designed nursery products” says Sharon Levy, one of the mums behind Minene. “We simply wanted to make mums lives easier with a range of products that have been well thought out and well designed. For example, our multipurpose 3 in1 Activity Mat accommodates different stages of a child’s development changing from a play pen to a play mat and finally to a comfy sofa, saving parents from buying three different products”. Their award-winning bedding is another example of their ingenuity. The 100% jersey cotton sheets come with three detachable dribble pads that can
simply be replaced instead of changing the sheet when the area becomes wet.

Their revolutionary changing bags are also creating quite a buzz. With a  growing celebrity following these multi-functional changing bags are a must-have for all new mums. “As mums ourselves we understand that one changing bag isn’t always going to cut it, so we came up with a range of changing bags that can be split in to two and even four separate bags, making sure you are covered for all possible outings from weekends away to popping out to the shops. They even come with multi-wear straps so they can be worn as a traditional shoulder bag or as a backpack and even attach on to your pushchair” says Sharon.

Minene are constantly introducing new and exciting products to their existing collections and have just launched their brand new UK website www.minene.co.uk

Fabric Flavours Summer Pop-up Shop at Brent Cross

Fabric Flavours have just opened their Summer Pop-up shop at Britain's second largest shopping centre Brent Cross. The shop will be open all Summer and is stocking their entire range. Characters from the designs will also be making appearances at the shop throughout the Summer.

Shop opening hours: Mon-Friday 10am-8pm, Saturday 9am-7pm, Sunday 12 noon - 6pm

Fabric Flavours specialize in exclusive limited edition retro t-shirts and babygrows.

Fabric Flavours designs feature retro characters from books and television. Ranges such as Mr. Men and Little Miss are favourites among all ages, along with Elmer, Maisy and The Very Hungry Caterpillar being popular with toddlers and DC Comics and the Marvel designs appealing to older kids! Available from £16Fabric flavours have also introduced a range of fantastic babygrows, made from luxurious cotton and featuring characters such as the Mr Men and Star Wars characters. Available in 0-18 months at £16. All the Fabric Flavours t-shirts and babygrows are pre washed 100% cotton and embellished and finished with attention to detail, with effects such as multi coloured stitching, zig zag stitching, satin and velvet appliqués, flocking or funky embroidery and they have all been designed to reflect the characters personality.

Stockist details: Fabric Flavours are available in selected boutiques across the UK as well as Selfridges in London, Birmingham and Manchester, Harvey Nichols, London, Leeds and Edinburgh and the Fabric Flavours online store www.fabricflavours.com 

The New Lilirose Collection

Kaloo was born from a father and son’s dream to create a toy for newborns that would be made out of the softest materials, in a rainbow of colours!

Kaloo believes that a child’s everyday life should be filled with wonder and softness and wanted this to be reflected in their range of soft toys and doudous.

10 years on and this French brand continues to strive for excellence in design, safety and innovation and has set the standard in luxury for babies.

Its range now consists of small and large soft toys, doudous, blankets, activity mats, sleeping bags and much more.

Each Kaloo comes beautifully presented in a stunning decorated hatbox, making the perfect gift for a new arrival.

To find an online stockist visit their website www.kaloo.com

Glow Launches Brand New Maternity Label

Much loved pregnancy and baby retailer Glow Maternity & Baby has just launched its own stylish maternity label GLOW.

The label has been designed by mum of four Kate Staddon and her husband Mark. After 5 years running her boutique and online store www.glowmaternityandbaby.co.uk, Kate felt she knew exactly what mums were looking for when it comes to maternity wear and understood their frustrations with the lack of practical and comfortable yet stylish options available.

After a year of designing Kate and Mark have launched their first collection, which will be available from August. The collection consists of fashionable basics plus workwear and eveningwear, everything a mum-to-be needs to get her through her pregnancy in style.

Kate Says " We know the number one priority for mums-to-be is to be comfortable throughout their pregnancy but they also don’t want to lose their sense of style either, they want to know that they look fabulous in their maternity wear without having to spend a fortune. They simply want a brand that they can rely on who understands their needs”.

One of the most noticeable items from the collection is the new GLOW Jeans, with a slight stretch and a comfy over the bump panel and added waist adjusters these are designed to wear from day 1 right up until returning home from hospital. Another essential item when pregnant is a great pair of comfy and trendy looking maternity work trousers, GLOW have spent lots of time creating the perfect pair!

Other must-have items include Over Bump Leggings, Empire Line Tops and tops that are ruched so they look great at any stage of pregnancy, plus the most comfy and flattering Little Black Dress ever.

Glow Maternity and Baby also sell on their website a full range of pregnancy accessories, designer baby wear, nursery products, prams, gifts and toiletries as well as the latest baby gadgets - Mark & Kate lovingly pack up and send orders each day from their store to all over the UK The Brand New GLOW Collection will be available in August from The Glow Store in North Devon and the brand new online store www.glowmaternityandbaby.co.uk which will be re-launching in August - You can also buy the new Brand from The NCT.

Cuddledry

Parents and babies across the UK are breathing a sigh of relief at bath time thanks to the revolutionary Cuddledry baby apron towel. Described by parents as “fantastically simple yet brilliant”, the Cuddledry offers the perfect combination of safety and luxury.

If you’ve ever struggled to lift a slippery baby from the bath and into a small towel you’ll appreciate just what a juggling act it can be! Cuddledry’s unique, award winning apron design keeps you dry and leaves both hands free for safer lifting, making bath time easier and more enjoyable for you and your baby. Made with unbleached, organic cotton and natural bamboo fibres, the Cuddledry is silky soft and super warm – ideal for snuggling and cuddling your little one dry.

Cuddledry designers, Helen Wooldridge and Polly Marsh, shot to fame in 2007 after appearing on BBC’s Dragons’ Den. The two mums, who were inspired to make the Cuddledry after watching their husbands struggle at bath time with slippery babies, made a big impression on the Dragons’, especially when they decided to turn down several offers of investment.

“We asked hundreds of parents and found that mums and dads everywhere battle with baby towels held awkwardly under their chin, or in their teeth, or put crying babies onto towels on cold bathroom floors, to get over the need for an extra hand to hold the towel at bath time,” explains Polly Marsh, one of Cuddledry’s creators. “It is of course impossible to safely lift a baby without two hands, but you also somehow have to hold a towel and wrap them in it!”
Since the show, the entrepreneurial duo has secured private investment and the business has expanded beyond all expectations. The Cuddledry is now used by tens of thousands of parents, endorsed by celebrities and recommended by midwives and maternity nurses worldwide.

The Cuddledry apron is available to buy for £24.99 from Mothercare, John Lewis, Harrods and Debenhams as well as the Cuddledry website www.cuddledry.com.

It comes in a range of four subtle colours – oatmeal, natural white, soft pink and soft blue - all fibres are unbleached and coloured using natural dyes. Funky babies can also now enjoy the Cuddledry in cute cow print and wild giraffe £29.99! The Cuddledry really is the bath time must have for stylish, eco-friendly tots everywhere – have you got yours yet?

ScootnPull

Gets Your Little Scooter Home!

Children love to scoot and scoot, but what do you do when they run out of steam? We all know that children love to ride around on their scooters but that they eventually tire themselves out and want mum or dad to carry the scooter. One cleaver mum has come up with the solution, ScootnPull. Simply attach your ScootnPull to your child’s scooter and put the loop around your wrist and then pull your child along. It couldn’t be easier. All they have to do
is steer.

ScootnPull is great for getting your child home, but it also keeps them close in busy places. Whether in a crowded shopping centre or crossing a main road, you can be sure your child will be near you at all times.

When your child has finished scooting or has been dropped off at school, ScootnPull can also be used as an over-the-shoulder carry strap. All you have to do is attach one end to the vertical pole, and put the loop over the rear wheel of your scooter, leaving your hands free to do other things.

ScootnPull is made from strong, bright, colourful fabric that is easy to wash, and it can be used with all brands of children’s scooter. This product could not be easier to use – just remove it from its packaging and you are ready to go!

ScootnPull was designed by Camilla Alban Davies in the spring of 2011, when she was travelling around town with a small baby and a scooting toddler. It has transformed her journeys home from the park and the school run, and we hope it will do the same for parents across the country.

ScootnPull costs £6.99 and will be available to buy from the 11th of August at
www.scootnpull.co.uk. Click here to watch the video demo on their website http://www.scootnpull.co.uk/.

BOBUX THE ORIGINAL BABY& TODDLER FOOTWEAR

COMBINES NATURE WITH NURTURE

From birth to three, little feet undergo an enormous amount of change. Whether crawling, toddling or walking, a child’s footwear needs to support healthy, natural development.

Bobux, a leading New Zealand innovator in children’s footwear, draws on both science and working with globally renowned specialists and natural health researchers to create ecofriendly footwear that allows unrestricted development as babies and toddlers grow.

Bobux offer three ranges of footwear based around the philosophy that children do better when they’re comfortable, happy and free to develop as nature intended. Each shoe is designed to support key stages of a child’s development from crawling to walking.

Soft Sole (indoor wear) The original Bobux shoe, these are soft, breathable and flexible shoes for babies of 0 to 27 months. Made with eco-leather and non-toxic stitching and dyes. With a unique elastic ankle support, these Bobux originals works with little feet as they grip the floor, flex muscles and spread toes, assisting in crawling and making those first steps as easy as
possible. The fun, colourful soft sole designs also work to stimulate little minds just as they’re starting to take in visual information. It’s like having a mobile on the end of their legs!

Pre-walk (outdoor wear): Feature a revolutionary duo-flex sole (leather round the edges and rubber underneath) to support but not restrict natural movement during those first few steps.

The pre-walk range consists of sandals, ballet shoes and sport shoes.
i-walk (outdoor wear): A soft, flexible rubber-sole shoe with extra grip that conforms to the natural walking motion of little feet allowing them to grow and explore without restriction, avoiding malformation and spinal issues later in life. The i-walk range consists of sneakers, loafers, casual shoes and sandals.

The Bobux story The first ever soft-soled elasticated leather baby shoe was created in 1991 by Bobux founder Chris Bennett, a father determined to create a shoe for his daughter Chloe that would not only stay on her foot but that would also be comfortable, safe and most importantly aid the growing foots natural development.

“We were losing the battle of the lost booty until we realised that by simply replacing laces with elastic, Chloe’s shoes would stay on...A major feature for any parent who has spent hours searching for booties under the couch.” says Chris.

But now this family project was on a roll, Chris and Colleen made many more observations, in particular about how Chloe’s footwear was hindering her transition from crawling to walking.

“She didn’t like wearing hard-soled shoes so we did a bit of investigation and found a Danish study about the potential health benefits of flexible soft-sole shoes for babies and toddlers. Little feet are little feet for a reason: they’re still developing. It’s crucial that shoes mould to the shape and allow natural motion of a baby or toddler’s foot, All our shoes use the highestgrade
eco-leather that is butter-soft ensuring babies and toddlers, not their shoes, are in control of their development.”

A strong belief in innovation and the environment also play a significant role in the Bobux philosophy. Since the company started, Chris and his wife Colleen have not sat still, whether it is finding new ways to aid in children’s walking development, or building a set of environmentally friendly principles.

“We constantly strive to produce top quality shoes from sustainable materials, using non corrosive dyes and processes that minimise harm to  the environment.” said Chris. Bobux know that babies put everything in their mouths – shoes included, but safety is a primary concern at Bobux, so parents can be confident that all products are free of any toxic materials or
harmful elements. Each shipment of leather goes through rigorous testing to meet the highest of safety standards.

20 years on and Bobux now distributes in 32 countries across the world.
www.bobux.co.uk is now live, providing an exciting and educational user experience to guide parents along the journey of their child’s development. Prices start from £19 Bobux - the next best thing to bare feet!