Gotta Have It: Best Products for Kids

In need of a gift -- or just want your kid to have the latest cool stuff? Tons of products cross our desk every day. Here, the ones that make us stand up and take notice.

Cowboy Boots That Grow with Your Kid
You never thought that shoe-shopping could be anything less than a divine experience. That was before you had kids and started dropping major bucks every few months for shoes that are outgrown in about a millisecond.

Fruit's much healthier in solid form rather than as juice. But tell that to your sugar-craving kiddos, who've gotten wise to your watering-it-down trick. They want juice, you want them to drink more water -- can't we all just get along?

We've found an adorable solution to the missing sock mystery. LittleMissMatched sells their funky socks in sets of three, so even if one goes inexplicably missing, you're still in luck. No threesome matches exactly, but they all go together -- perfect for that Punky Brewster-esque street urchin look your daughter's got going on.

Graffeeti sneakers are kicks that can be drawn on -- again and again. Available in low-cut or high-top style, they feature three dry-erasable areas (one on each side, one on the toe) where kids can channel their inner artiste, as well as a holster for one of the six colored pens that come with the shoes. What's even cooler: The pens are specially formulated so that artwork comes off with a simple swipe of the hand and the ink won't stain skin.

If your child has a serious food allergy, there's a stylin', low-key alternative to the clunky medic alert bracelet he has to wear. Jeeto's allergy collection includes patches, shirts, and stickers with phrases like: "No Peanuts Please" or "Dairy Free" that you can plaster all over your child's backpack, jackets, or lunchbox to make sure teachers, babysitters, waitresses, and anyone who might give him food are aware of the no-nos on his list.

The Daring Book for Girls, a manual for low-tech, old-school girl obsessions like Chinese jump rope and Cootie Catchers (we can still fold one in our sleep), is a throwback to the days of good, clean, Girl Scout-inspired fun. With this manual, your daughter will know all the good slumber party games to play. And it's not just for girly-girl types; the book also has how-tos for tracking animal prints and paddling a canoe.

Soapopular, a new FDA-approved, no-water-needed foaming hand sanitizer that's alcohol-free so it's safe for schools (some classrooms have banned hand sanitizers because they contain alcohol), has been proven to kill 99.9 percent of commonly transmitted germs, bacteria, and viruses -- many related to colds and the flu. And this stuff is scent-free, rubs on easily, and doesn't leave hands all sticky.

The old lather-and-rinse routine just got safer, easier, and more fun, with the Temperature Controlled Faucet Light from Hog Wild. The system, which attaches to most faucet fixtures (it comes with two adaptors) shines a bright light through the water when the faucet is turned on. When the water is cold, the light glows brilliant blue. But when the temperature starts to turn too-hot-for-little-hands, around 89 degrees F., the light switches to red.

Don't dwell on the days your kid drank from regular plastic bottles. Instead, look ahead and start fresh with all BPA-free stuff. Our super-mod pick? The Swiss-made, leak-proof SIGG bottle. Made from aluminum with a nontoxic, leach-free liner -- so there's no metallic after-taste -- you won't mind swapping these in for the old.

Now that your no-longer-a-baby (sniff) is speaking new words every day, it's nearly impossible to keep up with the latest.

Or maybe not. The gorgeously illustrated Words to Remember journal is small enough to fit in your purse so you have it handy to jot down your kid's conversation with the dog, his first swear word (aren't you proud), and his probing questions (what makes wind?). Conceived by a writer and mother of three, it's meant to become your "verbal album."

When it comes to wrapping gifts, you're lucky if you get leftover Christmas wrap on the thing. Our solution? Get personalized gift wrap or ribbon from Name Maker so your presents deliver messages like "Happy Birthday, love Luke," "An Awesome Gift from Andrew" or whatever you like. The glossy paper comes in tons of adorable prints (think polka dots, stripes, animal prints) and colors that you can make your own with text in one of nine fonts and 16 colors.


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