neckerchew

The mumtrepreneurs at Cheeky Chompers are extending their range of Neckerchew* products to include larger sizes for older children and adults with special needs!

We hadn’t used these baby Neckerchews before – I’m not quite sure how we missed them as Twinkle has been wearing dribble bibs since she was a little baby!

All bibs are definitely not equal in the dribble catching stakes. The basic cotton baby bib soaks through really quickly and usually result in a damp t-shirt so a little pointless for our needs!

I have found a number of different dribble bib brands that have been good for us (some of them are available in larger sizes for older children and adults too). The best ones have an absorbent layer of fabric over an non absorbent layer so that the moisture doesn’t wick through to clothes. A nice thing about the Neckerchew is that they’ve gone one stage further with a 3rd layer which makes the ‘back’ of the bib co-ordinate with the front rather than leaving the fleecy backing material visible, this also means you can use it either way around giving you 2 colour/pattern options.

The unique aspect of the Neckerchew is that it’s also got an integrated chew on the point of the bib. As a baby product I’m guessing this was originally conceived as a teething chew, but as the Cheeky Chompers have quite rightly identified, it is something that goes beyond teething. Many children (and adults) chew things for sensory feedback, often to help them concentrate – in fact many of us do to a degree, just think how many people nibble their nails or chew the end of a pen when they are thinking!

Twinkle has sensory processing issues, and she mouths and chews a lot of the time, which often results in extra dribble! The idea of having something she can chew actually attached to the dribble catching device is very appealing!

As this is our first Neckerchew, Twinkle hasn’t quite taken to the chew element yet. But I can see it being a big success, particularly when she realizes she can chew hands free without dropping her chew.

Another added bonus of the chew bit is that it weights the end of the neckerchief, so if it’s not being chewed, it sits nice and flat on her chest, rather than rolling up or even flipping up and covering Twinkle’s face (there have been many times the poor we lamb has had a bib blown up in her face when we’re out in her buggy and I’ve not noticed until we stop!).

These larger neckerchews are more expensive than the dribble bibs we’ve been using previously, but of course they do have the extra chew element and are double sided.  There is a good range of colour and patterns options, they have popper adjustments for different neck sizes and the larger sizes do allow for good coverage for an older child.

I can definitely see us ordering a few more (it’s always nice to have a selection of bibs to choose from to match Twinkle’s wardrobe!)

*I received a Neckerchew from Cheeky Chompers for this review but the views are my own

supermarket logistics

We are very well serviced in our village as we are within walking distance of various grocery stores, a butchers, bakery, deli and chemist! However there’s only so much I can carry, as I always have at least one of the children with me, so I do tend to do at least one supermarket shop each week.

I know I really could order my shopping online, but I’ve never found it as convenient as it sounds, and anyway, I like going around the supermarket picking out exactly what I want, seeing the items, checking out the special offers, spotting new products and maybe stopping off for a coffee and maybe a piece of cake!

One of my favorite new ‘tech features’ is the scan as you shop system – which thankfully is available in both of the supermarkets close to us. It just makes things so much easier! Twinkle has low muscle tone and will flop sideways, forwards or hyperextend backwards, so she needs more supervision in the trolley seat than the average child. She doesn’t have danger awareness, so she doesn’t understand that she could fall out (- or that it would hurt!)!  So, especially at the end of a trip around the supermarket (as she’s getting tired and bored!), trying to go through the normal checkout is tricky – loading the conveyor and then reloading the trolley while keeping the children safe in the trolley.

Now that Twinkle is at pre-school part-time, I try to do our supermarket trips when I just have the wee dude with me. However that’s not always possible – especially in an ‘Eeek! There are no nappies left!’ emergency!

IMG_2371Getting around the shop with both children is a bit of a challenge. Twinkle (at 4.5) is really much too tall for the standard toddler trolley seats. She can’t walk, so we have several methods of getting around:

Twinkle’s Buggy:

Sometimes we go around with Noodle in a carrier on my back & Twinkle in her chair. This is fine (particularly if we’re also popping for a coffee!), but it means we can only pick up a basket full of essentials, so Noodle and I have to come back at a later date when Twinkle’s at pre-school. Unfortunately the wheelchair type trolleys don’t fit onto a child’s sized wheelchair/buggy.

Nappy cushions
Nappy cushions

Trolley (method 1):

Until recently I have been putting Noodle in a carrier on my back and Twinkle in the trolley seat (or both of them in the twin trolley if I can find one!). However she’s really much too tall and a bit top heavy/precarious in the toddler trolley seats. Also, I really don’t like her sitting in them for any length of time as it puts quite a lot of pressure on the backs of her thighs as her long legs dangle from the short seat. I try add a little more depth to the seat and padding to the edge with the padded fleece cover from her buggy and I also will go straight to the nappy aisle and stuff a of pack of nappies either side of her for some makeshift cushioning!   If I have been organized enough to remember it!, we can use her Firefly goto seat for much better support (which really helps, but we still have the same problems of height).

IMG_2689Fleece seat liner

Trolley (method 2):

To avoid the problem with the little toddler seat, I sometimes put Noodle in the seat and sit Twinkle in the actual basket of the trolley. I often see other preschoolers sitting in trolleys as I go around the supermarket, so it’s doesn’t feel like a completely crazy solution! The fleece cover from her buggy again can double up as padding so she’s not sitting and leaning on the wire directly, and (again!) I head straight for the nappy aisle for some ‘cushions’! It’s really not ideal, but I feel it actually provides her a more comfortable seat than the little toddler seat – however doesn’t leave me much space for shopping and I have to be careful what I put within reach!

There is another option…..

Firefly have developed a fab new adapted trolley with a supportive seat for a child with disabilities, based on their Goto seat (the Goto Shop). The height of the seat in the tolley is lower than the usual toddler seat, so you loose that precarious top heavy issue, and the depth and back of the seat are increased in size for a larger child who needs support.  It does reduce the capacity of the trolley but not so much as if you have a child actually sitting in the trolley as I often do!  Sainsbury’s supermarkets have taken up these trolleys in their stores, and we’ve come across them a few times (it’s amazing how excited you can get about a supermarket trolley!), but unfortunately there isn’t a Sainsbury’s store near us.

It would be fantastic if more retailers had at least one available in their stores!

I know that Tesco have a similar adapted trolley which is fantastic, however it doesn’t provide enough support and security for Twinkle so it only works for us when we bring our own Firefly Goto seat with us.

I had a nice chat with the duty manager at one of our other local supermarkets this week when I was in about the Firefly trolleys and he seemed really enthusiastic about the idea! So, fingers crossed for more availability…….watch this space!

 

 

inclusive products focus group

I’m just beginning to catch up with myself again after the festive period and finally finish of some posts I’ve been meaning to do for ages!

One of the first things I did when I decided to get back onto the design horse, and begin writing this blog, was to fill out a Scope questionnaire I found online, which turned out to be an information gathering exercise for a potentially very exciting collaboration with Ikea! At the end of the questionnaire was a little box to fill in if you were interested in coming along to a focus group – yes please!

IMG_2314So, before the chaotic pre-Christmas period (and with the babysitting help of Twinkle’s lovely grandparents), I dug out my oyster card  and took the train down to that London with all the commuters (including my husband who does it everyday so wasn’t quite as excited as me!)! Funny stepping back into the London rat race for the day, and just as glamorous as I remember as I disappeared underground, missed all the sights and Christmas displays and headed off up to Ikea Wembly.

The focus group was a small group of fellow parents with a range of experiences of children of different ages and a wide range of abilities/disabilities, organized by lovely group from Scope.

The collaboration has come about as Ikea are investigating the development of their product range, including products they would like to appeal to the special needs market as well as mainstream. I love this inclusive approach. So many things that are ‘special needs’ are actually just good products that would also suit younger children, older people, families etc, either as they are or with a bit of a tweak or perhaps with the addition of an accessory.

The focus group discussed the outcomes from the survey, which broadly fell into 3 categories: eating, playing, sleeping and the varying issues we all have around those themes, products that have helped usand products we felt are missing from the general market place. We all had a stroll around the store and picked out things we liked, or thought could be improved or adapted.

Ikea already have a pretty progressive approach to design and certainly our little family have numerous Ikea products which although are ‘mainstream’ fullfill our ‘special needs’.

IMG_1574IMG_1577

 

Our 3 favourite Ikea products are:

Play Kitchen: This is fab as not only is it a stylish little piece of furniture at a very reasonable price, it also performs as a very handy prop for standing practice, with 3 different height adjustments to allow good standing positioning.

Spinning Egg chair: A big favourite in the sensory processing world for enabling vestibular stimulation, said to help with processing in various ways. This was Twinkle’s Christmas present from Santa!

High Chair: The Antilop is an amazingly simple, extremely affordable, easy to clean high chair which can be accessorized with a little inflatable cushion insert to give extra postural support to a younger baby, or an older baby with low tone! This was invaluable for us before we got a specialist postural support chair for Twinkle.

 

I know Ikea is a marmite place….I fall into the love it category! Functional, affordable and stylish furniture and accessories – what’s not to love? (Although I’m told the ‘ikea experience’ is not for everyone!) I really hope they carry this project forward as I think this inclusive approach is fantastic and will really allow families with special needs to access products more easily, affordably and that look good in the home, just like any other family.

PS. It may sound like it, but this is not a sponsored post!