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How to Choose a Toddler Bed

toddler sleeping in bed with stuffed animal

If your child is finally outgrowing their crib, then it’s time to start looking at toddler beds. However, the transition from a crib to a toddler bed is not always easy. Children may be reluctant, or they may not like their new bed. But by narrowing down your choices and choosing the right toddle bed for your child, you can make the transition easier. Here’s how to get started:

Safety Features

When it comes to our kids, safety is always at the top of our minds. A toddler bed should keep your child safe and sound as they sleep. As such, any toddler bed you choose should have guardrails that resemble a crib, rather than solid plane guardrails. This will prevent pillows and bedding from getting trapped. Additionally, a toddler bed should sit low to the ground to allow easy exit and entry. Some toddler beds, known as Montessori-style beds, have the mattress at floor level to make it as easy as possible for your child.

Style

To better help your child transition from a crib to a toddler bed, it’s best to get a bed that most closely resembles a crib. This means getting the right guardrails (see above) and keeping the general look and feel similar to the crib your child has been using. However, if your child gets excited about a different style of bed, then don’t be afraid to try something new.

Making the transition

Some toddlers have a hard time transitioning from a crib to a big-kid bed. After all, their crib gives them a sense of security. Having the new bed appear and feel similar to your child’s old crib as we mentioned above can help. You can also give your child the extra comfort that a security blanket or stuffed animal can provide. Finally, be sure to keep your child’s bedtime consistent so it’s easier for them to fall and stay asleep.

The comfort of a stuffed animal can help your child sleep better even after they’re used to their new big-kid bed. Here at The Zoo Factory, we have plenty of stuffable animals that your child will love. Look through our website today to get started!

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Why You Should Gift Stuffed Animals to Babies and Toddlers

toddler sitting with stuffed animals

As infants, we almost immediately form bonds with our parents and family members. However, as we explore the world, we also start to form bonds with other people and other things. Our stuffed animals, for instance, can become life-long companions and sources of comfort.  The bonds we form with our stuffed animals is why they are some of the greatest gifts we can give to newborn babies or toddlers. However, that isn’t the only reason you should gift your newborn baby with their own stuffed animal. Read on to learn more:

Why should you get your baby a stuffed animal?

When you gift an infant a stuffed animal, you may not know it, but you are teaching them about the world. Stuffed animals can be used to classify different animals, such as reptiles and aquatic creatures. Not only do these toys introduce your baby or toddler to the animal kingdom, but they can also help them process and understand human emotion and sensory details such as texture and color.

What to look for in your baby’s first stuffed animal

When choosing your baby’s first stuffed animal, you will want to keep a few things in mind. Try to avoid animals with long fur or removable parts, as babies can easily choke on these. Also. if the act of gifting a stuffed animal is sentimental to you, you may want to opt for a stuffed animal that your toddler can hold onto once they are of preschool age. At this age, your child is beginning to develop more of an active imagination, and will most likely want to interact with their stuffed animal more, even simulating real-life scenarios and mimicking emotions.

At the Zoo Factory, we encourage everyone to get a lovable stuffed animal of their own, whether you’re 3, 15, or 67! We’re never too young or too old to connect with our inner child. Look through our online inventory today to get started.

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How to Donate Old Baby Items

stuffed animal sitting next to donation box

The holidays are the season of giving. That doesn’t just mean giving gifts to our loved ones; it also means giving back to the community. One way we can give back is to donate old baby items we are no longer using. As parents, we understand how expensive raising children can be. So, donating your old baby items can seriously help some families that have fallen on hard times.

Here we explain how, where, and what old baby items you can donate this holiday season.

What to donate

Before you start throwing everything you have into the donation bin, stop for a moment to see what you’re actually donating. First off, there are some items you may want to keep for sentimental reasons or if you’re planning on having another child down the road. Secondly, there are some items that donation places will not accept. Used bottles, expired car seats (yes, car seats have an expiration date!), or used crib mattresses are a few items that should not be donated.

Below are items that you can donate to your local charity:

  • Baby clothes
  • New diapers and/or wipes
  • Car seats that are not expired
  • Cribs that are safety compliant
  • Unused baby food or formula
  • High chairs
  • Bouncy seats
  • Walkers
  • Baby toys

Where to donate

Now that you have set aside some items to donate, it’s time to pack them up. But where exactly can you take them? Here are a few ideas:

  • Thrift Stores: Community non-profits such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army will take your old baby items and sell them at a deeply discounted price.
  • Baby Banks: These are non-profit organizations that are basically just like food banks except for baby items.
  • Religious Centers: Many religious organizations, no matter their affiliation, will take old items and donate them to people in need.
  • Social Media: Many parenting groups on social media will help spread the word on organizations or individuals in need of baby items.

Here at The Zoo Factory, we hope all kids and families have a happy holiday season. For more child caring tips, read through our blog today!

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How to Buy the Perfect Gift for Your Niece or Nephew

adult handing christmas present to young girl

Buying a gift for your niece or nephew can be challenging. Kids are not afraid to tell you when they don’t like something, and as soon as they rip open your gift, their face will let you know right away whether you hit the mark or not.

Here are a few ways to ensure you nail that present and leave your tiny relatives grinning from ear to ear.

Pay Attention to Their Interests

When you spend time with your niece or nephew, what are they talking to you about? What show do they keep quoting or what superhero is on their T-shirt? To guarantee a perfect gift, you need to know their interests. Many people blindly roam the toy aisle and have no idea what character or sport their niece or nephew likes. Keeping a mental note of what they are currently obsessed with will save you a good amount of time on your hunt for the best gift.

Get Interactive Gifts

Instead of getting your niece or nephew a toy car or something they will play with once and forget about, get them a gift they must put together and interact with. Kids appreciate the toys that they helped bring to life and create. Gifting your niece or nephew their favorite stuffed animal that they get to help build is a great way to guarantee a genuine love and appreciation for your gift.

Take Them Somewhere

Make their present an adventure. Kids love going places, especially with their favorite aunt or uncle. For their gift, explain that you are taking them to their favorite place. It could be the zoo or aquarium or maybe even a toy store. You can make a whole day out of it and let them pick out their gift. Kids know what they want. If you surprise them with a trip to a toy store, they will pick out exactly what they desire, and both parties leave happy.

When buying a present for your niece or nephew, you need to put thought into it. You can’t just buy a generic child’s toy and expect to get a standing ovation. The best way to nail the gift is to make it something you can do together, whether that’s giving life to a stuffed teddy bear or taking them to their favorite place. If all else fails, asking them what they want will guarantee an informative answer.

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Kids and Gift Giving: How to Help Your Kids Buy Gifts for Others

kid giving christmas gifts to mom and grandma

During the holiday season, one of our top priorities as parents is to get the best gifts for our kids. But what about the gifts that our kids give to others? If you have young children at home, chances are they’ll need a bit of help buying and giving gifts to their friends and relatives. So, to make things easier, we’ve listed out a few tips on how you can help your kids with gift giving.

Let them get creative

As adults, we often think the most useful gifts are the best gifts. But often, a hand-crafted gift from our child or grandchild is even more thoughtful. So, if your child wants to get creative with their presents, let them. Plan a special shopping trip where your child can gather supplies, and then set aside a day (or several) where your child can work on their gifts. Don’t try to intervene too much, only when your child needs help.

Give advice, but don’t tell them what to buy

If your child doesn’t want to create a gift, buying one is always perfectly acceptable. However, before you pull out that list of Christmas gifts, try brainstorming with your kids about possible gift ideas. Let them be the ones to come up with the idea by posing questions that may trigger something. For example, ask your child what someone’s favorite color is, or what their favorite thing to do on the weekends is to help get them thinking.

Set monetary limits, or let them pitch in

Many kids don’t understand how money works yet. So, they may come up with a great gift idea only for you to find that gift costs a few hundred dollars. As such, be sure to enforce some monetary limits. And if your kid gets an allowance, ask them to pitch in with some of their own money.

Whether you’re buying gifts for your child or for someone else in your family, consider a stuffable animal from here at The Zoo Factory. Look through our website today to get started!

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Holiday Activity Ideas for Kids

child making handcrafted christmas trees

Thanksgiving turkey, Hanukkah candles, Christmas trees…there’s nothing quite like the holiday season. As adults, we remember how much fun we had with our friends and family around this time. So, why not recreate those happy memories with your own children? Here, we discuss some of the best activities you can do with your kids this holiday season.

Thanksgiving

If you have kids who are old enough, consider having them help make something for Thanksgiving dinner. Cookies, potatoes, or anything else that is relatively simple to make can be a great bonding moment between you and your kids. If your kids are too young or uninterested in cooking, opt for crafts instead. Sit down in the days before Thanksgiving and make turkey handprints that you can hang around your home.

Hanukkah

Unlike Thanksgiving or Christmas, Hanukkah is spread across eight days. This means eight days full of fun activities celebrating Jewish history. You can make hand-made dreidels to play with, or decorate the house with the paper Star of Davids and menorahs. You can also teach your children about the story of Hanukkah by hiding candles underneath plastic cups and shuffling them around. Have the kids guess which candle is hidden under which cups, and then have an adult light them to re-enact the story.

Christmas

From baking Christmas cookies to decorating your tree, there is plenty of things to do to celebrate the Christmas season. Make an advent calendar to count the days, and then plan small activities every few days. You can make hand crafts one day, and then bake Christmas treats and cookies the next. You can also decorate your house (both inside and out) with Christmas decorations or send out hand-crafted Christmas cards to friends and family.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a seven-day holiday starting on December 26, celebrated by Black Americans. To learn about Kwanzaa, the children’s book “The Story of Kwanzaa” by Donna L. Washington is a great place to start. You can then sit down and have your kids create their own crafts, such as necklaces, bracelets, and more. They can even write their own stories about Kwanzaa and bind it into a book!

As you’re searching for gift ideas for your kids this holiday season, consider getting them a stuffable animal from The Zoo Factory. Look through our website today to get started!

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5 Ideas for a Great Stuffed Animal Birthday Party

birthday party with stuffed animals

All children loved stuffed animals, and all adults have had one when they were kids. We can all relate to the comfort and even support these animals gave us. So having a themed birthday party around the idea of stuffed animals is a great way to celebrate.

 Ask Each Child To Bring Their Favorite Stuffed Animal

On your party invitations, invite your guests to choose their favorite stuffed animal to come with them. This gives each child  a sense of participation even before the party.

Make Name Tags

When your guests arrive, sit them all down in a circle and ask each child to introduce his or her stuffed animal. Then get the kids to make name tags to tie around the animal’s neck with a ribbon. You can get tags and different colored ribbons at a craft store, and give the kids crayons or fine-tipped Sharpies to decorate the tags and write their animal’s name.

Animal Coloring Books

Get some animal-themed coloring books and let each child choose an animal to color. This encourages the kids to explore their creativity, and when they are all finished, let each child talk about his coloring project.

Pin The Tail On The…

Make the shape of the birthday child’s favorite stuffed animal on some construction paper, and have the children play Pin the Tail on the Donkey. You can give the winner of the game a tiny stuffed animal as a prize.

Animal Birthday Cake

You can either make a birthday cake in the shape of an animal or buy one and place tiny plastic animals on it. After the cake eating, let each child choose one of the little animals.

The Zoo Factory’s party packs can be a great addition to your stuffed animal party. Contact us today to learn more!

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What to Do When Your Child Has a Cold

young girl sick in bed with cold

Cold season is upon us, and that means lots of late nights dealing with coughs and stuffy noses. As a parent, we never want to see our child sick. Yet, getting a cold is almost inevitable for children. Colds, thankfully, aren’t dangerous, but there are ways you can help your child get over their colds faster.

Keep them comfortable

A scratchy throat, constant coughing, a stuffy nose…these are all the tell-tale signs of a cold. They are also extremely uncomfortable to deal with. While you can’t get rid of these symptoms immediately, you can try to keep your child as comfortable as possible in the process. Keep them in bed or on a couch, give them plenty of blankets and pillows, and put on their favorite TV show. Keeping their favorite toy or stuffed animal by their side can also be a helpful support system.

Provide OTC relief

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs can help ease your child’s symptoms. But be careful which ones you use. OTC cough and cold medicines can only be used by children older than six years of age. Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen can also be used, but only for children over six months old. Medicated nose drops and sprays can also be helpful, but keep in mind they can only be used for two to three days, and should never be used by children under six years old.

Keep them fed and hydrated

This one seems obvious, but you may have trouble getting your child to eat or drink when they feel awful. Try your best by getting snacks or drinks you know they’ll enjoy. If you’re having a lot of trouble, try and get your child to eat even a little chicken noodle soup. This classic dish is perfect for colds because it provides both nutrients and hydration.

Here at The Zoo Factory, we hope everyone stays healthy in the months to come. For more child care tips, read through our blog today!

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How to Help Your Child Overcome Their Fear of Shots

child receiving vaccine from doctor with family beside her

As of this blog post, the FDA is on the brink of approving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. And for the past several months, children over the age of 12 years old have been receiving the vaccine. We all understand the importance of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as other vaccines, in order to safeguard our public health. Nevertheless, if you have a child with a fear of shots, getting them to sit down for a vaccine can be easier said than done.

But don’t give up just yet. By taking the right steps, you can help your child ease their fear of shots and get vaccinated like everyone else!

Educate them about vaccines

The less people know about something, the more they fear it. Kids are no different. If you educate your children about how vaccines work, they’ll be less frightened once the time comes to get one. Keep your explanation simple and emphasize that vaccines are here to protect us, not harm us.

Practice beforehand

Another way to lessen your child’s anxiety is to practice getting a shot beforehand. Purchase a toy medical kit and have one person play the doctor and the other play the patient. You can even use one of your child’s stuffed animals to play the role of the patient.

Be an example

Our children model their behavior off of ours. Even if you’re a little nervous about shots, try to exhibit a sense of calm when it’s time for your child’s appointment. You can also try bringing your child with you when it’s time for you to get a shot yourself. While many adults have already received the COVID-19 vaccine, now is the best time to get your flu shot!

Bring a comfort item

When the big day comes, it’s normal for your child to get a little nervous. To help manage their anxiety, consider having them bring a comfort item with them. This could be their favorite blankie, toy, stuffed animal, etc.

The Zoo Factory has plenty of lovable, stuffed animals that can help ease your child’s anxieties. Look through our website to find their next best friend today!

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How to Clean Your Child’s Favorite Stuffed Animal

stuffed animals in a basket

That stuffed animal has been at your child’s side for what seems like ages. You can’t picture one without the other. Except, you could probably stand to see the animal looking a little cleaner! When a well-loved stuffy has seen better days, performing a little magic cleaning can have it looking like new again.

Before cleaning

Firstly consider a few factors when determining how to clean the stuffable animal. For instance, the older the animal is, the more fragile it has become. Harsh scrubbing may end up doing more damage than good, so it’s best to approach cleaning mildly and gently. Also, you will want to gage your level of cleaning on how the stuffy is constructed and what materials from which it is made. An animal with sturdy stitching and heat-friendly stuffing might do well being machine washed and dried. But an animal bonded by glue, or with moving parts will not fair well in a washing machine and dryer.

Check the label

Follow all directions on labels when you can. For instance, if it says wash by hand, sometimes you can get away with a gentle cycle on the washer. But if it says surface clean only, it is best to comply. Be sure to remove any bows or accessories before washing in a machine. Not only can these items fall off or get ruined in the machines, but they have a nasty habit of working their way inside the machine and can cause serious problems for your appliances.

Know when it’s time to let it go

Animals that have been loved hard sometimes don’t make the cut anymore. Those that are deemed unsalvageable should be tossed. However, if is very meaningful, try to replace it with a new one before tossing the old. Also, if you are going to throw it out anyway, try it in the washing machine just in case. You haven’t got anything to lose!

Spot wash when possible

Learning how to spot wash can help prevent you from having to wash the whole stuffed animal. Take a vacuum brush to the animal and gently remove dust and dirt. An upholstery cleaner may also be used on the stuffed animal, but be sure to test an area of the stuffed animal first. Use a safe, non-toxic cleaner  made of warm water and a squirt of liquid dishwashing soap. Beat the liquid and soap on a medium speed until foamy. Sponge clean the animal and use a spray water bottle to remove the suds. Let the animal air-dry. If desired, fluff the animal on a low heat or delicate dryer setting.

Have further questions on how to care for your stuffed animals? Contact The Zoo Factory today!