As the second child in today's economy, my poor daughter is always making do with hand-me-downs from my son. The result is that very little of her things are truly her own AND she is often mistaken for a boy. (Yes, despite great strides in feminism, most people still assume that a kid in anything other than pink must be a boy.) Therefore for her second birthday, I thought I'd spare my daughter some gender-identity issues, but still encourage her adventurous spirit (and sense of fashion) with this hip helmet from Nutcase. It's definitely girly, but still VERY cool. In fact, whether for boy or girl, all Nutcase's designs are so much more interesting than the usual, gender-stereotyped fare that they are bound to help foster any child's INDEPENDENT style. Hopefully now my daughter will be expressing her own girl power as she rides down the street of life...on my son's old, orange bike.

Wooden ice cream sets are nothing new, but trust Habitat to redo a thing stylishly. Plus, they've found ways to make sure that you'll adopt it happily into your home.

For a start, the nifty little kit is so appealing, the adults will be joining in the ice cream shop roleplay quite willingly.

It also comes in a very sophisticated wooden box, quite unlike the brash packaging of most children's toys, and would look quite comfortable in any minimalist's home.

Your kids will enjoy it too, for the bright colours and snap-together magnets. Wins all round, for a now-reduced price of only £12.00.

Oooh, imagine the possibilities. Spell a name or special message with letter buttons on bags, on coats, hats or even down a trouser leg - apart from anything else, your child will never lose an item of clothing again.

These'd also make a fun addition to a birthday card or as a little extra, attached to a gift. It might be worth buying a whole lot and keeping them in stock for special occasions.

The retro circus-style font makes these, for me, and the seller promises that she will mix colours, even if you have a repeated letter in your requested selection. Perfect.

Found on Poppytalk blog.

In my house, there is a big blue Ikea bin filled with all of the drawings, paintings and sticker collages that my oldest has made in his brief three years. That bin is currently jammed underneath a changing table. I think I'll be ok when it comes time to part with most of these masterpieces, but it just seems unfair to the artist to simply toss them. A lot of people have been taking pictures of the pictures and making a photo album. That's great and all, but....

...I think I'll just order up a giant poster like this one made by brilliant interior designerJan Eleni.

As parents will know, it's a losing game trying to get lengthy thank-you letters out of small children: their attention spans simply aren't up to it.

That's one reason why I like these animal notecards from local-to-me (but stocked worldwide) UK company Sukie.

There's room for a single sentiment, scrawled in toddler-sized letters, and no more. The word 'thank you', 'hello' or even 'sorry' will be admirably conveyed, and the attractiveness of the card and the accompanying stickers and envelopes will quite make up for the brevity of the message.

Only thing is... do you ever think some paper sets are too nice to use?

A tip for toy-makers: it's the parents who have the money; it's them you want to appeal to. And hoo boy, forget the kids, does this sushi train set appeal to me.

Actually, it probably would with or without the train aspect, so maybe that's been added on in an attempt to woo the under threes as well, for that extra bit of consumerist ballast. Look at those cute little sushi plates and accessories! Now you can re-enact your visit to the conveyor-belt sushi place, in the comfort of your own home.

From Lark in Australia, so those in the other hemisphere will have to wait, well, longer than it takes for the average maki roll to make it round the belt - but they do deliver worldwide, by arrangement.

Remember the chubby crayon cats? These chalk eggs remind me of them: the perfect shape for preschool-sized hands to grasp and make a mark. £10.22 gets you half a dozen.

We're always on the lookout for boys' or unisex clothing that isn't blue, brown or yellow. This would be perfect for either sex, but especially for parents who don't think that just because their offspring is a boy, they have to keep him to muted tones.

The Louie Louis Harlequin bodysuit is £16.50 from Nordic Kids.

I'm a little obsessed about what I feed my kids. When possible (especially financially), I opt for organic grains, meats, fruits and vegetables. I even invested in the Beaba Babycook a while back to make my own fresh baby food, but when I'm short on time (and patience), jarred baby food has been my best friend.

Of course, as with most baby products, there's always room for improvement on packaging. That's what I love about Plum Organics' baby food pouches - they have a plastic screw top spout that won't get crusty and you can shove them into pretty much whatever space you can find in the fridge without fear of them rolling out and smashing on the kitchen floor. Keep these 3 and 4 ounce packages at room temperature, squeeze out what you need, refridgerate and use within 24 hours.

Available Babies R' Us, Whole Foods, and Diapers.com. The price per pouch hovers around $1.20, but for the variety it may be worth it.

There has been many an article of late looking back over all the positive changes that the Internet has brought us - but one aspect that is often overlooked is the ready access to customizable goods. Ten years ago, this would have been a dream. Now, I'm thankful every day that I can order fabric, clothes, wallpaper - pretty much anything, in fact - to my own design.

Orangepiel is a case in point. If you just cannot find the right blinds for your nursery, why not upload your own artwork (or your kid's, of course) and have them made?

If there's no Picasso in your family, you can browse their gallery of ready-made designs instead. These are no bog-standard garish or deathly dull designs - their stable of artists includes, for example, Helen Dardik, who we've raved about before. Hers is the design below; the others on this post are from LA illustrator Hsinping Pan.

Don't need blinds but love what you see? It can all be purchased as artwork too. Rejoice!

As first time parents, we were most surprised when our newborn baby objected to the nice cosy moses basket we'd envisaged she'd sleep in: before long, we were co-sleeping, without ever having really planned to.

Next time around, I'd look at a sidecar sleeper like the Baby Bunk: baby feels like he's still in with you, but the set-up leaves the whole bed for the adults, and there's no need to worry about rolling over or smothering. Well, that'd be the idea, anyway.

I like the fact that this product was borne of one family's nifty woodworking, which friends and neighbours coveted when they saw it. The best products are always that way.

Via Swiss Miss.

Ever had the feeling, while giving your baby a bath, that you might as well just hop in the tub with them? The Kangaroo Towel from small made simple might just make life slightly easier for you. This nifty towel drapes around your neck so that when you lift baby out of the tub, you can cuddle him against your chest with one hand, while lifting up the "pouch" (complete with hood) to cover and dry him with the other, all while keeping yourself dry. Pretty smart thinking.

Made of thick terrycloth for kids up to one year and available here.

Wrapping your baby up in a flower-shape wrap might seem like a rather achingly fey thing to do, but Wallaboo allow you to both revel in the sweetness and enjoy a practical product too. The 'petals' of the cut out shape go to provide an optional hood for your swaddled babe; there's also a pocket in there to prevent slipping out. Then, when baby's unwrapped, there's a playmat with interesting edging to explore.

Soft and warm, the Baby Wrap Leaf is made from a combination of suede, velcro and cotton - and lets you indulge your fairy side while still behaving like a responsible parent.

If Miller Goodman Playshapes look familiar, you might remember the Shape Maker from the same pair of designers, Zoe Miller and Dave Goodman. That was a set of flat shapes with which you could make a variety of pictures, while this set essentially takes the same idea into 3D.

The kit consists of 74 appealing bits and pieces that you won't find in your everyday set of building blocks. They're larger and chunkier than you might imagine, too: seeing them in a shop window the other day, I was surprised to see a structure standing at about 12" tall.

These are definitely desirable, with the only impediment being, for me, the price - at 100.00 €, they are quite an investment. To be fair, I can imagine them keeping a child's interest for several years, and for that reason, they'd make a great gift.

Available from many outlets including Little Fashion Gallery.

Our little ones manage to outgrow everything at warp speed, it seems. Car seats are no exception. It seems like just yesterday we were researching and shopping for an infant car seat, and here we are in booster seat mode! If you're not keen to purchase the standard black, brown or blue models out there and want to add a side of spice to your safety, check out the Clek Oobr Booster Seat. This full back booster car seat is for kids 38 - 57 inches tall and 33 - 100 lbs and converts to a backless booster seat as well (for kids 40 - 57 inches tall and 40 - 100 lbs).

It's got all of the bells and whistles that most other seats offer, including the rigid LATCH system, a magnesium back frame, a head restraint boasting deep side wings and belt guides to improve belt positioning on your child's hips and shoulders. Nevermind all of that, the colors are pretty cool. And the seat's "Crypton" "superfabric is virtually impervious to stains and environmentally friendly." Available here for under $300.

*Full disclosure: We wound up going with the Britax Frontier for the 5-point harness.

Available at Amazon.