Am I too big for the Wishbone Running Bike? Starts as a tricycle and on converts to two wheels as you (or your little one) grows. Via Grassrootsmodern

Being the “favorite uncle” isn’t as tough a job as, say, being the father, but there’s still a responsibility to bring my new nieces/nephews awesome gifts. For instance, I spotted Isabel Roxas’s Chibi Warrior branded merch at the Brooklyn Flea this past Sunday. I had already bought this onesie from her Queens studio for my sister-in-law’s ninja-themed baby shower (complete with toddler-safe throwing stars), but Isabel also has items beyond baby clothes, liketees, stamps, and notecards with the lethal-yet-adorable assassin. Just something to think about if you don’t want to concede to the Dora the Explorers or Thomas the Tank Engines of the world.

Crazy cute wool slippers made from recycled sweaters. If I had a toddler in the family, they’d be rocking around in these soft-soled recycled gems. For sale on Etsy!

Sudokid: Shape. Solve. Share! I love this 6 kids version of Soduku, with shapes instead of numbers. It’s designed and developed by the Quirky community. This product requires 300 commitments to buy before it goes into production and is made (priced at $14.99). 23 have been pre-sold so far, and fairly quickly. You’re not charged until the threshold is met. Who is in?

Superspace is a two year-old design studio based in Copenhagen; the fact that it’s two years old makes sense, because right now Superspace devotes a lot of its energy towards designing for children. Take their (pictured) Honeycubes product: fuzzy little hexagons with detachable centers that kids can stack, piece together like honeycomb, sit in, sit on, or just play and be silly with. Superspace says that the “dynamic shape” of the Honeycubes, “is designed specifically to support children’s development from the early age of 2.” Then there’s the Sorø Mini Tracks, which are like little interior design building blocks for kids. Now, Superspace has some sweet adult-oriented products too — I don’t mean to short-change them — but we here believe that design sensibility should start as early as possible, and their children’s products are a way to give your kid a head-start on developing exquisite taste. And that’s a great thing, because kindergärtners love a snob.

I do believe the rusted, splintered, sun-bleached erection fenced inside the city park is called a playground. Probably planted there decades ago, it’s bound to continue its rot. I’m sure in the beginning it was a design of its time. But isn’t its time up? Industrial designers Alain Gilles and team, certainly seem to think so. Fast forward to 2015, a time when urban playgrounds might, once again, become inviting. One look at these 2015-proposed conceptual designs, and you’ll be RSVPing your (or that of your future spawn’s) playtime, I promise. A series of colorful, interactive elements that inspire all manner of play, these stand-alone structures can also readily be moved to motivate new games. Bright green, shakable palm trees and ant-bodied “little communities,” just two of the economically feasible constructions serving to break the decay of the urban playground we know today. The future is looking fun to me!

When Dutch stroller company Bugaboo discovered that maintaining a curious, adventurous, and active lifestyle was of big concern to new parents, they decided to develop a program that would help to associate their products with that mindset. A tough challenge, one might say, due to the other features — like safety, comfort, and retractable sunroofs — parents find themselves looking for in a baby-toter. Despite the need for Volvo-like peace-of-mind, parents still wanted to feel like they were behind the wheel of an open Jeep on their way to a wild playground safari, but their strollers were just making them feel mature and predictable. To solve this problem, Bugaboo teamed up with 72andSunny to develop Daytrips, a series of 22 downloadable walking tours that weave through major cities across the globe. Each map is developed by different local artists and, like this one of Vancouver, take an exciting approach to getting strollers to kid-friendly hotspots. By offering these maps, Bugaboo hopes to develop their brand to appeal to adventure-seeking parents. I think it’s a little hilarious that the same thought process behind developing a car’s personality is now infiltrating the stroller industry, but I also love it because, c’mon, Stroller-safaris? Now that’s just precious.

Minor Treads is a new Seattle, Washington-based company that is bringing some flava to the playground with their skate-influenced line of shoes for the little guys. Aside from the basics, which read something like: 1. brightly colored; 2. easy to put on; 3. no-slip soles; and 4. kid-tested comfort, these tiny kicks are so cute I could barf. Sizes start at Toddler size 6 and run up to Youth size 2, when you can finally ease your children into a passionate and costly relationship with Nike SBs, etc. Balla, baby!

Molo, a vibrant line of children’s clothing by Danish designer Louise Frederickson, is (sort of) making me wish there were more kiddies scampering around in my circle of friends. Driven by the principle that kids should be able to express their creativity with their clothing, Molo offers a kaleidoscopic selection of easy-care items that are designed without taking the opinions of parents into consideration. Not that parents don’t love the line — the kid-friendly fabrics and pass-me-down durability do a great job of keeping moms and dads delighted — but Molo’s real focus lies only on what children themselves want to wear, which results in a line of clothing that is partly whimsical, partly realistic, and totally un-boring. My favorite thing about Molo is the free-for-all attitude that they seem to embrace when designing each new season; they know that kids might choose to wear all of their favorite clothes on the same day, and that those favorites aren’t at all likely to match, and they’re wholly supportive of that fact. You can find Molo at children’s specialty boutiques in Denmark, around Europe, and one or two stores in Canada, but your best bet is probably to Google the heck-o out out of them- it looks like few of their stockists have online stores and will ship to the U.S.

For all of you kid-loving DIY-ers out there, Nicola Enrico Stäubli, a Swiss-based architect (and bike messenger), has created a line of free children’s furniture called Foldschool. The catch: you have to build it yourself using cardboard, some simple implements, and Nicola’s printable instructions. The first thing you think of when you hear the phrase “cardboard furniture” is probably “unstable” or “ugly,” but it appears that Foldschool is neither of those things. While its not furniture I’d furnish my house with, I think it would be fun to build with kids to show them that they can build (or help build) something tangible and usable in their own lives. And when you and the kids are done with the piece, you can snap a photo of it and send it to Nicola and he’ll upload it to the website for all to see.

The Peace Initiatives Institute is using a mix of TV advertising, animation, and activism to make a difference in regions dealing with social strife. It’s the first organization to combine TV ads with comprehensive in-class teaching to teach young children to move against the tide of deeply rooted social prejudices that have had (and continue to have) devastating and infectious effects on societies worldwide. Pii’s first program, called the ‘Media Initiative For Children– Northern Ireland,’ was successfully launched throughout Northern Ireland in 2005. It has shown initial signs of success, reaching 200 schools to date, and aims to reach all preschool age children throughout Ireland by 2008. The Northern Ireland project was just a first step– Pii hopes to take its Media Initiatives for Children to other regions in the near future. Each initiative is launched with significant input from local partners, ensuring that it reflects the local culture and is sensitive to the entrenched beliefs of the adult community in any particular culture. While Pii is certainly not the be all end all solution to achieve world peace (as the founders will readily admit), it’s addressing the problem from the right angle by focusing on children. Pii is a non-profit organization and accepts donations if you want to give.

Blend Bob Dylan and Dr. Seuss, and you have our attention. Dylan Hears a Who is a compilation of seven ‘Dylan sings Seuss’ songs, including my favorites “Green Eggs and Ham” and “McElligot’s Pool.” I have just decided that if and when I have children, these will be the first songs they hear. From a parenting perspective, I don’t think you can do any better than a Dylan/Seuss mix. You can stream or download all of the songs here. [thanks for the tip Momma Spear!]

Meet The Marks is a recently finished children’s book by our friend Frederic Terral, the genius behind Right Brain Terrain and the Alternative Motivational Posters. The book plays with ‘marks’– a period, question mark, and very cute exclamation point. The 36 page book is for ages 4-6, and Frederic hopes to create a series of them but isn’t quite sure where to go from here. Print it himself? Find a publisher? We love the idea and told him we’d ask our readers, what do you think?

Straight out of Amsterdam, Rockabye-Baby Clothing has arrived just in time for all of my married friends. As soon as they start to have kids, they’ll be able to catapult their little rippers to the top of the ‘cool food chain’ with these hip, punk rock inspired duds– ‘for babies who are too cool (and too young) for school’ (hilarious I know). Rockabye-Baby is sold in retail stores throughout Europe, but even us Yankees can order online.