Skidz educational boxes
Product Review: Skidz
‘Great, you are awake and you are oh-so-adorable, but what do I do with you?’ I said to Bean while he was lying in his little crib, smiling at me. He had just been fed, I had changed his nappy, he had had a good kick on his playmat and while my little newborn would normally have gone back to sleep by now, Bean was lying wide awake, staring at me in anticipation as if to say, ‘what’s next, Mom?’
This is, of course, a very exciting time in any new mom's life – your baby is becoming more responsive, he is smiling and starting to gurgle and coo, but (and this is a big but), at some point the realisation hits, and this is exactly what happened to me on this day: what exactly was I supposed to do with my awake baby? How would I ensure that the activities and adventures we would embark on would, in fact, develop him both mentally and physically?
I started doing some research and found a product called ‘Skidz Clever Boxes’. These Clever Boxes are designed by a group of paediatric professionals with the sole aim of developing your children, thereby helping them reach their milestones through play. With the box, the Skidz team supply a manual which has a daily curriculum as well as an explanation of what exact skill each activity helps to develop (for example gross motor skills or sensory stimulation). And if you are the type of person who prefers to set up your own curriculum, the manual explains how to do this as well. All the items required for the activities are in the box (except for some general household items like spoons etc).
Our first box was ordered immediately and I cannot begin to describe how much I love this product. It is easy to use, keeps Bean stimulated (with the right amount of stimulation), offers us (as well as our nanny) something fun and educational to do all the time and best of all, my son really is reaching all his milestones.
The owner and founder of Skidz, Chantelle du Toit, a teacher herself, similarly wanted to stimulate her son and so decided to create a developmental play box for him to play with while he was with his nanny. She soon realised that there was a market for this type of educational product and thus Skidz was born.
The boxes are divided into four different age groups (0-6 months, 6-15 months, 15-24 months and 2-5 years) and can be bought either individually or as a set. What I also liked is that it is not a subscription service. So if you want to buy one box only to test it, you can. I have recently bought our second box and I am definitely going to buy the next two boxes.
Having now returned to work full time and thanks to Skidz, I have the peace of mind that although Bean is not in a crèche, he is being stimulated enough to allow him to further develop and grow as he should.
Ps. Stand a chance to WIN one box on www.thingstodowithkids.co.za/win between 27Jan - 2 Feb 2016
