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1. A clever sight word Bingo game to take the pain out of helping your kids practice sight words, and even going so far as to make it fun! I vote you get cute little Bingo visors to go with it, too.
The set comes with 36 playing cards, 264 playing chips, caller's mat and cards, and a storage box. This version is a fun twist on the classic, but instead of calling out numbers, the leader calls out words (there are 46 most-used words), players search their cards for a match and place a red chip on the match. Once a player has covered the spaces on their card needed to win, they call BINGO!
Promising review: "My 4-year-old granddaughter and I go to the library every weekend. Once she's chosen her books for the week, she loves to 'check out' the games in the children's section. This was one that she wanted to play over and over and over. After the third go-round, I noticed that she was beginning to recognize some of the words on her own. That sold me! The minute I got home I purchased the game so she could play it at home. Every time I go over to her house, we play at least one round of this game, and I can tell her reading skills are increasing. And when we go to the library, she STILL wants to check this game out and play it there! The words on these bingo cards are words that can't be illustrated well — words like "them," "her," "go," "if" - small, mostly conjunctive words, but essential to reading. This game makes it easy and fun to learn those words. I simply can't praise this game enough." —Molly Harrington
Get it from Amazon for $12.99.
2. A pack of spill-proof Munchkin snack catchers whose unique lids let little hands in while preventing massive food spillage. Could the backseat of your car one day be Cheerio-free? OK, maybe not Cheerio free, but less of a Cheerio graveyard, certainly.
Promising review: "What a lifesaver! I mean really! My daughter loves her snacks, she also loves to make a mess, give them to the dog, or fill her car seat up with them. Then cry when she has nothing to eat. My wife picked one up at Target and man...we used it so much, we couldn't clean it fast enough. SOOOO we bought a few more." —jeffgrantMEDIA
Get a pack of two from Amazon for $5.96 (available in two color combos).
3. A leave-in conditioning spray for curly hair formulated without parabens, sulfates, and phthalates for making detangling after bath time less stinky all around. Oh, how the brush will glide! Oh, how your little one's curls will shine!
Reviewers say this spray will leave wavy or curly hair (from 2a–4c hair) shiny, soft, and bouncy.
Promising review: "I have been struggling with my toddler’s super curly hair. (My hair is hopelessly straight.) Bath time hair brushing led to meltdown level screaming — no matter how gentle I tried to be, y’all. It was constantly super tangled in the back where he shifted on his pillow at night. This spray at night before bed, and occasionally as a refresh in the morning, has COMPLETELY changed his hair. There’s no more fight to brush his hair at bath time! I just wish it were available in bulk because I will be buying this spray forever. It even helps my preteen’s wavy hair — she’s obsessed with it, too." —LDacy
Get it from Amazon for $9.99.
4. And a detangling brush to make the whole process even more effortless. Now there's no use crying over a few tangles, thank goodness.
Reviewers swear this brush works on all hair types: straight, wavy, or curly (from 3a–4c hair).
Promising review: "I never thought I'd be obsessed with a hairbrush, but here I am. My daughters get massive tangles and knots so I bought this brush out of desperation. It does a much better job than our last brush at getting their tangles out for both my thick-haired daughter and my fine-haired daughter. They are happy, and I appreciate having less of a battle and tears! I read the reviews saying the brush feels good on the scalp, so I tried it and oh my goodness, it feels like the best scalp massage ever. After stealing my kids' brush every day for months, I finally bought my own. Extra bonus is that both colors we got are really pretty! If it isn't obvious, we all highly recommend!" —Vanessa Wright
Get it from Amazon for $11.99 (available in 11 colors).
5. A Whiskware pancake batter mixer whose blender ball allows you to simply add the wet and dry ingredients to the bottle, shake it up, and get pouring. And with the bottle's narrow tip, you can let your creative genius shine at the flattop — Mickey Mouse pancakes coming right up!
Promising review: "This is the best breakfast invention after the waffle maker. LOVE IT! As someone who makes pancakes or waffles three to four times a week (my kids are pretty spoiled, but breakfast is key to getting through the first part of the school day), this is the easiest and fastest way to get that done. I just add everything to the bottle, shake, and pour into the waffle maker or griddle. When I am done, just add some water, shake again, empty, and then place everything in the dishwasher." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $14.99.
6. A value pack of reusable puffy stickers because I'm pretty sure there's nothing more powerful than being a child with a seemingly limitless number of stickers. These *will* appear in every nook and cranny of your life, so thank goodness they're cute!
The stickers feature letters, numbers, vehicles, butterflies, deep-sea life, animals, fish, dinosaurs, and more.
Promising review: "My 1.5-year-old is obsessed with these. Not sticky enough to do any damage but can also be reused a few times." —Katie Merkatoris
Get a pack of 20 sheets from Amazon for $5.99.
7. A two-pack of stretchy pack-n-play sheets that are oh-so-soft and oh-so-cute. Grab a few packs from your choice of 16 adorable patterns so you always have a clean pair ready and waiting.
Promising review: "I’m obsessed with these sheets!! So incredibly soft and they fit great. I’d definitely buy again." —Amazon Customer
Promising review: "I absolutely love this material. We bought the really expensive 1800 count Egyptian cotton sheets for our own bed and his crib sheets that we bought for our baby are softer than our Egyptian cotton sheets for our bed — oh my gosh." —Bart
Get a pack of two from Amazon for $11.99+ (available in 16 print combos).
8. A Melissa & Doug activity book with a pair of safe scissors to let their crafty side thrive. It's never too early to start a healthy love of making ironic collages, in my opinion.
Promising review: "Hours of cutting fun. My daughter LOVES this book. I purchased it to help with her fine motor skills and she has been cutting out all of the shapes ever since. I love that the activities in the book start of simple and get progressively more difficult as you go on towards the end. Also, though the scissors will cut the paper in the book, they are not sharp enough to cut your child, their clothing, your curtains, etc. That's a bonus over other preschoolers' scissors." —KT
Promising review: "This book is fantastic! My son looks forward to practicing his cutting skills EVERYDAY! The pictures are very colorful. He enjoys putting the puzzles together. We love learning to cut!" —Kristi
Get it from Amazon for $7.99.
9. A cradle cap system for gently removing any dry skin from your baby's head with the winning combo of a silicone brush and fine-toothed comb.
Promising review: "Easy to use and helps to clean out baby scalp very well. I’m obsessed with this item." —Katherine Ziegler
Promising review: "My 6-week-old had bad cradle cap all of a sudden, and this brush worked miracles. I wish I had it from birth. We have continued to use this brush even though the cradle cap has gone, and it does wonders on the scalp and keeping the hair looking healthy. Highly, highly recommend. Plus, my baby enjoys the gentle scalp massage from the soft bristles..." —LM01
Get it from Amazon for $14.49.
10. A tub of The Pink Stuff for returning your stainless steel, glass, drywall, and other surfaces to the glory they once had pre-kids and more notably pre-kids with crayons.
Promising review: "This mom of five is obsessed with this!! Lemme tell y’all something... If you have children under 2, buy about 50 of these! I have two little artists that have a knack for finding Sharpies, no matter where they are. Even if I don’t have any in the house, I’m pretty sure they can conjure them out of thin air. Sometimes, I wake up with an entire Picasso on my walls. This stuff right here will take all of it off, no matter what color it is, with little to no effort at all. There is no cleaner on the market like it, hands down THE BEST stuff." —Nate A.
Get it from Amazon for $5.29.
11. A box of Avarelle hydrocolloid patches to help your teen get through any tough skincare phases they're facing. These will suck the gunk out of whiteheads overnight. Unfortunately, they don't also get rid of math homework.
Promising review: "This is really a must-have in your medicine cabinet. We have two teenage daughters at home, and they both use it anytime they have a pimple. It is discreet and blends in nicely to your skin. It comes in three sizes to choose from, and it is made with tree tea oil, which I have found to be great in acne care." —Vanessa
Get 40 patches from Amazon for $8.49.
12. A canvas growth chart shaped like a giant ruler?! Now that's just fun. Definitely do the classic "pencil mark on the doorframe," but your small one will adore being measured against this, too.
Promising review: "Great and portable. My daughter loves being measured and makes me check her height almost daily. I love that we can bring it with us when we move." —Sarah Tran
Get it from Amazon for $8.89+ (available in three colors).
13. A cult-favorite stain remover that's strong enough to take on the big three: grass, oil, and blood. With a name like "Grandma's Secret," how could it not be effective?
Promising review: "I am obsessed with this product. We use it on EVERYTHING from wine spills, to grass stains, and everything in between. I use it on our carpet, sofas, and the kids' clothes! I love this stuff. We buy it over and over again." —Jennifer Collins
Get a pack of three from Amazon for $14.77.
14. A sleek touchless forehead thermometer that allows you to take their temp even as they nap. An essential when you have a sick kiddo and don't want to wake them as they get some much-needed rest.
Promising review: "This is a great thermometer — accurate, looks great, a must-have! If you have kids, forget about sticking a thermometer in their ears. I have four kids now and a thermometer is a must-have. Hold this thing close to the forehead, push the button in and you get a reading in about one second. This thing looks good, feels good, and is accurate. We’ve used a variety of thermometers in the past. The head scanner that you run across the forehead...no good. In-ear thermometers...accurate but expect a battle. Rectal thermometers...very accurate but expect a war. This is the easiest one out of all of them. We find it especially useful when we need the quick 'I don’t feel that great' check...i.e., man cold. Overall, highly recommend!."—BearDownChi1
Get it from Amazon for $15.99 (available in two colors).
15. A pack of toilet seat covers to make going potty in public restrooms less of a germy and messy affair. If there's one thing a toddler wants, it's to touch everything, so having a sanitary cover at your disposal is for the best.
Promising review: "If you're a germaphobe like myself, this is a must have in your diaper bag. The thought of placing my son or daughter on a public toilet with only a seat liner is disturbing especially since they're both little and still hold onto the toilet seat for support when peeing/pooping. These cover the toilet completely and even cover the lower part of the toilet where dangling legs and pants/skirts touch. My only complaint about these is that they are not flushable. It's difficult trying to gather the liner up (they are rather large) without touching the toilet or the possibly wet liner (because it partially fell in the water) and then scrunching it up to fit into a sanitary napkin bin. Other than that, these are great. Also, I don't use the adhesive strips at all since I have two little ones who usually need to go right away so we don't have the time to remove the adhesive backing. I usually just place the liner on the toilet and then carefully plop my kid on top and all's well." —Ting
Get a pack of 24 covers from Amazon for $9.99 (also available in bigger packs and in an XL size).
16. A Melissa & Doug magnetic calendar for teaching your growing offspring about the days of the week, months, holidays, and weather in a fun and interactive way. It doesn't get into the more existential aspects of time, but hey — that's what being a teenager is for.
Promising review: "My 3-year-old son loves updating this calendar each morning. It's a great daily activity and helps with planning what activities are on the schedule for that day. It also helps him learn the days of the week and what day of the month it is." —familyof3
Get it from Amazon for $17.49.
17. A pack of brightly colored stacking cups that are SUCH an old school toy, you have to applaud it. Who needs an iPad when you have eight rainbow cups on a loop?
Bonus: These have holes in the bottom for water play and come with a cute star ring to keep them together.
Promising review: "MVP in our toy collection!! Of all our toys, these stacking cups are the ones our 10-month-old reaches for first EVERY time. She is obsessed and has been since she was 4 months old! At first, the rims of the cups were easy for her to practice her grasp, but as time has gone on she has used them to bang together and, finally, to stack. They are easy to clean (I believe they are intended to be a bath toy, although we don't use them that way) and easy to throw in a diaper bag for on-the-go play. If we could only have one toy for her, this would be the one!" —Carmen Lewis
Get a pack of eight from Amazon for $8.
18. A pack of bright laminated toddler flash cards designed with fun, bright colors so you two can easily get a little learnin' in whenever you have a few minutes and are looking for a fun activity to do together.
19. A Contigo spill-proof tumbler so you can make sure your kids stay hydrated without risking a major spillage situation. Crisis averted.
20. A set of starter spoons that are, frankly, genius. Their crevices perfectly capture soft foods like applesauce and purées, and the little ergonomic handles will be nice and comfy in your baby's hand.
21. A wooden puzzle to give your kids a more ~classic~ game to reach for instead of another piece of tech. It's good to have options!
22. A bath toy organizer that sticks right to your wall and keeps bath toys within reach without them cluttering the entire bathtub wall, floor, edges, part of the counter, and somehow the entire house? The mesh pockets also give them the perfect place to dry without getting funky.
23. And a whale-shaped bath spout cover to prevent them from bonking their heads on the faucet. Never a pleasant feeling!
24. A pack of laminated math posters in fun, bright colors to help them with homework and generally surround them with the ~vibe~ of learning. Get on the math train early — choo choo!
25. A pack of inconspicuous corner guards to protect noggins from hitting corners while maintaining the original look of your furniture.
26. A pack of inexpensive outlet covers if your toddler is getting a bit bold with the places they're exploring. Let's keep 'em safe by preventing them from getting their fingers where they shouldn't be.
The reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.