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Best Buggy Revealed Leading pushchair review website Best Buggy has revealed the results of its second annual pushchair survey. Best Buggy believes that the most suitable people to answer the ‘which buggy should I buy?’ question are parents, who have bought, and have had real life experience of using pushchairs every day with their own children. More than 500 parents responded to Best Buggy’s survey and data was used from participants who have owned at least 15 pushchairs, giving a collective experience in excess of 5,000 pushchairs, ensuring that each parent was drawing conclusions from a breadth of knowledge. This year the Bugaboo Cameleon took top spot as ‘The Favourite Pushchair’, stealing the crown from its sibling the Bugaboo Bee, which came top in 2014. However, the real winner was Baby Jogger, which topped the results in almost every other category making it by far the
Smyths Steps Up Smyths Toys Superstores stepped forward to donate toys to a children’s hospital which had been targeted by thieves in Wales. It was widely reported in the national press that toys were being chained up at Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital to prevent a spate of toy thefts from its wards. Smyths got in touch with the hospital to say it would ‘love to offer some toys to replace those stolen.’ “Being locked up in hospital is an unpleasant experience for any child,” said Smyths spokesperson, Robert Guckian. “We know how vital play and distraction can be for a child’s recovery and we are glad to be in a position to be able to help the hospital.”
Inset: Smyths offered a number of toys to replace those stolen.
Beau’s Best Toy The Battat Take-Apart Airplane was voted Best Toy at Toy Fair 2015 by Beau, a 6-year-old budding journalist who spent an exciting day at Toy Fair in January checking out all the latest toys. “We’re delighted with this accolade!” said Judith Stark, Halilit’s md. “Beau has reviewed lots of toys that he saw at Toy Fair and we consider his praise for this low-tech toy to be a true Right: The Battat Take-Apart Airplane.
most popular manufacturer among the respondents. The Baby Jogger City Versa was voted Best All-round Pushchair, Best Value for Money Pushchair, Best Pushchair Suitable From Birth (under £500) and was found to be the one pushchair that parents would buy if they were starting their families all over again. The full results of the Best Buggy Pushchair Survey 2015 can be seen at www.bestbuggy.co.uk Below: The Bugaboo Cameleon took top spot for 2015.
Which? Reveals Safety Issue Two-thirds of child car seats in Great Britain are fitted incorrectly, according to new figures from consumer watchdog Which? – an increase of 20% since 2010. New research from car safety specialists Good Egg Safety has shown that 67% of the 1,692 seats it checked in 2014 did not comply with minimum fitting standards. These figures were futher reinforced by the results of Which?’s own undercover investigation. The watchdog took two test car seats to a number of high street experts and found that 90% of the stores visited – including John Lewis, Halfords and Mothercare – failed to fit them correctly. Retailers offering fitting services can refer to the Which? Online guide at www. which.co.uk/carseats to help check that car seats are installed correctly and that appropriate advice is given. reflection of what children of this age really enjoy playing with. Beau has over 3,600 Facebook likes and 12,800 Twitter followers, so we know that lots of children and parents are interested in what he has to say.”
LICENSING LOWDOWN ▶ Pip Ahoy’s Pontins visits are set to continue throughout 2015, following a successful half-term break which saw thousands of children taking part. ▶ Award-winning swim specialists Konfidence has created an exclusive line of swimming aids for youngsters based on the popular CBeebies programme Octonauts. ▶ LeapFrog has partnered with Magic Light Pictures to bring The Gruffalo videos to the LeapFrog App Centre. ▶ DHX Brands has appointed a strong line up of licensees for new CBeebies show Twirlywoos, with Gemma International (greetings cards and partyware), Ravensburger (puzzles and games), GB Eye (posters), Fashion UK (outerwear), Rainbow Productions (character costumes) and DreamTex (bedding) joining global master toy licensee Golden Bear as licensees. ▶ Suncrest Trading strengthens its licensing portfolio with the addition of Tiny Tatty Teddy by the Carte Blanche Group, creators of the iconic Me to You brand. The license will cover soft play, sensory and activity toys, car and travel toys and sleep aids
Guess How Much They Care To celebrate 20 years of Guess How Much I Love You, Walker Books is partnering with two charitable organisations throughout 2015. The first, I CAN, is the UK’s leading children’s communication charity. A successfiul Mother’s Day campaign saw Walker Books and I CAN sharing the vision that everyone should have the ability to share their thoughts and feelings. The second partnership is with Storybook Soldiers, which enables soldiers to record bedtime stories for their children to listen to while they are away from home. Guess How Much I Love You was the first ever story recorded by Storybook Soldiers in 2007, and during the anniversary year Walker Books will gift every family who records the story a free board book and goody bag.
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