When it comes to packing school lunches, his speed trumps my attention to detail and so he wakes early every morning and makes lunch (and also breakfast). He does the lion’s share of the work, but we’ve both learned a lot in five years — and counting — of brown-bagging. Here are our combined best tips for parents about to embark on the journey.

1.The ultimate objective is to pack things your kids will eat. They really need those calories to get through the school day. Always keep that in mind.

2. A healthy lunch has lots of colors. Kids naturally gravitate towards white foods like bread, cheese, pasta, potatoes and rice but make it a goal to have some greens (edamame!), reds (strawberries!), and oranges (carrots!) in the lunchbox every day.

3. Plan in advance. Sit down over the weekend and plan out the next week’s lunches, do your shopping and maybe even start some cooking or baking for the week. That head start will make all the difference.

4. Watch what comes back uneaten. That’s a signal to try something different next time.

5. Go beyond sandwiches. Insulated food containers, like the Foogo Leakproof Food Jar, can open up a whole new world of hot soups, stews, pasta dishes and more.

6. Solicit feedback from your kids - what did they especially like or dislike? What are their friends bringing for lunch? Would they like to try anything new? Bring them shopping every now and then. A little investment on their part will go a long way.

7. Don’t try completely new foods in the lunchbox without sending some extra snacks, just in case.

8. Cutting sandwiches into fun shapes is an easy way to add some whimsy to a meal, but it won’t necessarily convince your kid to eat something he doesn’t like. See #7.

9. Some schools provide napkins and utensils and some don’t. Either way, a wet-wipe and some hand-sanitizer in the lunchbox is always a good idea.

10. Pre-portioning saves time, whether you do it yourself or you buy it that way. Invest in lots of small, reusable containers.

11. A lot of people will tell you to freeze juice boxes and use them as ice packs. This is a great idea, but I have found, in an insulated lunch box, they sometimes don’t defrost in time for lunch. Oops.

12. There are no prizes for the most beautiful school lunch. Don’t drive yourself nuts. If you have the time and the ambition to be really creative, I salute you. Just don’t look askance at my kid’s foil-wrapped grilled-cheese sandwich.

Back-to-school preparations always gave me the jitters, as the usual anxieties took hold. Would I make new friends? Would I like my teachers? Luckily, the process of getting my brand new pencils and sneakers provided some real comfort - it made me feel ready. It was also fun to have a few new things to start the year off in style.

Here at Magic Beans, we don’t carry the dozens upon dozens of required items on that “Back-to-School Shopping List.” But we do carry the best of the best when it comes to lunch bags, backpacks, and lots of neat add-ons that add a dash of color and fun to that scary first day.

So without further ado, here’s our list of the Top 10 must-have items for Back to School.

1) Goodbyn Original Lunch Box - Pack a better lunch, starting with the box. This ingenious, BPA-free container has little bento-style compartments to fit a sandwich and lots of snacks. Not only is it the most eco-friendly option, but it will save you tons of money on plastic baggies and will inspire healthier lunch options. Plus, kids really love the included stickers that let them custom-design their box with funky faces. Also available in a “Too Cool for Ears” variation for older kids.

2) Itzy Ritzy Reusable Snack Bags - A great alternative to plastic bags, these zippered reusable bags are perfect for a bunch of grapes or handful of crackers. Made with a 100% cotton exterior, it’s soft to the touch and comes in lots of awesome patterns. The interior sports thick PVC-free lining that makes the pouch waterproof inside. Grab a few; there are so many ways to use these bags. Also available are the “Wet Happened?” Bags that are a godsend for potty-training pre-schoolers.

3) Smencils - These collectible pencils are actually made by covering a writing core with tightly compressed rolls of newspaper. They are then dipped in appealing scents like Cinnamon, Bubble Gum, and Tropical Blast. They come in a pack of ten — enough to share with some new friends.

4) Ugly Doll Keychains - Ugly Dolls are truly a phenomenon. They started as an inside joke between graphic designers and became a bestselling collection of creatures, each with his own unique personality. The keychain sizes are perfect for dressing up a backpack (and making it easier to spot in a crowd). They are collectible, so they also make great incentive prizes for good behavior at school and finishing up veggies at dinner.

5) Butterflies in My Stomach Book by Serge Bloch - In this gorgeously illustrated book, award-winning artist Serge Bloch tells the story of a boy facing his great fear — the first day of school. Whether your child is 6 or 16, the story’s whimsical mash-up of line drawings with photographs makes for an unforgettable book. The best part? At the end of the story, the butterflies are gone. They have flown away one by one with each great experience at school. It’s a perfect read to quell the back-to-school nerves.

6) Cleanwell Hand Sanitizer Pocket Sized - This all-natural sanitizer is made from non-toxic plant oils that kill 99.9% of germs. We love the gentle herbal scent and the easy spray bottle. Stash one in your kid’s lunch box (and your purse) for instant germ-killing.

7) Skip Hop Zoo Backpacks and Lunch Boxes - The Skip Hop collection of lunch bags and boxes feature your child’s favorite zoo animals. We love that it is free of all BPA, phthalates, and PVC — also, it comes with an insulated pocket for snacks. There is a write-on name tag inside, so be sure to use it.

8 ) Teach Me Time Clock - Tired of getting woken up at 5 a.m. because your child just wants to say hi? Pick up a Teach Me Time Clock, one of our very favorite products for kids. This kid-friendly clock glows green when it’s time to wake up Mom and Dad and even teaches kids how to tell time using the clock’s interactive features. They also offer the OK to Wake! Alarm Clock that offers the same great features without the time teaching functions.

9) Clementine Art Supplies - When we found these at Toy Fair last year, we knew we had a winner. This line of all-natural art supplies includes ingredients like soy wax and rich mineral pigments. Their crayons and markers offer smooth and rich lines while the glue provides a chemical-free adhesive.

10) Uncle Goose Block Sets - These classic wooden blocks are updated with lovely embossed details, non-toxic inks, and a range of language options. Whether your toddler is embarking on Japanese or just practicing the ABCs, these special sets will make learning a lot more fun. They are also made here in the USA in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ]]> http://mbeans.com/spillingthebeans/uncategorized/the-cure-for-back-to-school-jitters/feed/ http://mbeans.com/spillingthebeans/baby/mom-to-mom-preparing-for-baby/ http://mbeans.com/spillingthebeans/baby/mom-to-mom-preparing-for-baby/#comments Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:54:29 +0000 Sheri http://mbeans.com/spillingthebeans/?p=2804 This week on Facebook, we asked people what they wished they had known when they were expecting their first baby. We were amazed by the great tips you guys shared. I have compiled some of them into a list (with some editorial license). Enjoy!

• When it comes to baby gear, you usually do get what you pay for.
• Invest in a great stroller right from the start.
• Don’t buy too much before the baby comes - some things that are registry “standards” are actually of limited use for some parents (swings, wipes warmers and bottle warmers were all mentioned, though several moms were quick to defend the importance of a wipes warmer),
• When you can, try to borrow some of the shorter-lived items from friends and family.
• Cloth diapering isn’t as hard as you think.
• Breastfeeding is harder than it looks - be patient and have the number of a good lactation consultant, just in case.
• Get a great baby carrier (Ergo was mentioned more than once).
• Child-rearing is not a competition. Try not to compare your kid with your friends’ kids.
• Take time to read some sleep advice books before the baby comes and you’re too sleep deprived to read any books. “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child” is frequently mentioned as a good one.
• Find and join a local moms email list. It’s a great way to meet other new moms.
• Layer a few sheets (with something waterproof in between each one) on your crib mattress to make late-night disasters much more manageable.
• Fill your registry with high quality products and include some natural and organic things - these are the things you’ll use again and again.
• Register for gift cards - it will give you ultimate flexibility.

What are we missing? What are your favorite tips to give your friends when they’re expecting their first babies? Comment below, or visit our Facebook page to see the original conversation. Thanks so much to everybody who contributed.

If you’re trying to get organized in advance, we are gladly accepting pre-orders in our stores, over the phone and online. Simply call or come in today or tomorrow, let us know what you’d like to buy and we’ll take it from there. If you want to order online, use the coupon code “TAXFREE” - but keep in mind your order won’t ship until Monday at the earliest.

We’re also running a really fun promotion - if you shop with us during the Tax Free holiday (preorders included), you can be entered to win your entire purchase for free. That’s even better than tax-free. Ask in the stores for details on that one.

What else are you shopping for this weekend?

On Tuesday, in the middle of a totally crazy day, a reporter reached out to talk to me about my feelings on the maternity leave ruling that happened on Monday in MA. I gathered my thoughts, dropped everything and spoke to the reporter, hoping that I was able to clearly communicate my dual perspective on the issue. She sent a photographer, and I was happy to help with that, too, swallowing my self-conscious anxieties that I think are typical in these sorts of situations.

Now today, there I am in the Globe, and at first I’m just worried about the hint of my belly in the picture, still soft from three kids no matter how many crunches I inflict on it. And then I realize that one big detail is missing from a key quote.

Here’s the quote:

“It’s my dream that someday Magic Beans is big enough and secure enough that anyone who works for us would get three months maternity leave, but that’s just not an economic reality right now,”

Here’s what I actually said:

“It’s my dream that someday Magic Beans is big enough and secure enough that anyone who works for us would get three months fully paid maternity leave, but that’s just not an economic reality right now,’

That’s a big difference.

In fact, as I told her in the beginning of our conversation, Magic Beans has enough employees that we are subject to the FMLA, not the Massachusetts state law. We would never consider anything less than 12 weeks time off for our employees. I told her that from the perspective of most working mothers, 8 weeks is nowhere near enough time.

When I had my second child, I was just starting Magic Beans. I came home from the hospital and got right back to work. The store opened a little more than 3 months after my daughter was born, and there was so much that needed to be done. I was the only “employee” at that point. It was crazy, it was exhausting and it was certainly not ideal.

Four years later, when I had my son, I still had work to do here and there after he was born, but with a bigger company, I was able to take off the time I needed. It made a huge difference.

I told her that story. I also told her that I sympathize with small business owners, who are sometimes just scraping by in this economic environment. Every employee is so important and it can be hard to lose someone for 8 OR 12 weeks. That’s a reality of small business. But it doesn’t change the fact that women need to take time to recover and get into a groove after their babies arrive.

Those early months are incredibly challenging, precious and wonderful, and I wish more than anything else that this country had better infrastructure in place to make sure that all women could be home for as long as they wanted without fear of losing their jobs or missing a paycheck.

I also think, that the point is not really whether Eli and I get a paycheck every month (the reporter sounded surprised by this, but no small business owner I’ve ever met has experienced anything different). We’re really lucky to have incredibly supportive families who have helped us make our Magic Beans dream a reality and who have enabled us to quit our jobs and go down the complicated path of retail start-up. We’ve been able to help so many mothers along the way, and I’m incredibly grateful for that every single day.

I fear, with the omission from my quote, this article gives the impression we aren’t completely supportive working mothers, which is ludicrous and couldn’t be farther from the truth. We support working mothers, we support stay-at-home mothers and we support fathers, too, by the way, but we weren’t talking about that.

The maternity leave system in the USA is broken, along with a lot of other really complex things that come along with running a big, huge country. Most of the other nations have figured it out - the US is one of the only countries in the world that doesn’t guarantee some sort of paid leave to new mothers. It’s a shame, and it needs to be addressed in a way that will not create huge burdens for small companies who are trying to get their businesses established or are struggling in a not-so-hot economy.

I remember going to the toy store when I was little, determined not to leave empty handed. With only a little allowance change jingling in my pocket, the only option would often be a little red egg filled with Silly Putty. Popping open that plastic egg and stretching the pink putty as far as my arms could reach was a simple pleasure, no batteries required.

The first benefit of the Go Crib is its ease of setup. The entire process should take no more than a minute thanks to the dual-action manual air pump included with the crib which fills the inflatable structure quickly. The air mattress doesn’t add any time or energy to setup because, miraculously, it self-inflates. Basically, all you have to do is plug in the pump hoses, blow up one side with just a couple pumps, and repeat for the other side. Having such a simple process is a great advantage over some of the other travel cribs like the phil&ted’s Traveller and most pack-and-plays.

The Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light is sort of the gold standard around here: it’s compact, lightweight, and easy to set up. The Go Crib is actually 10.6 lbs, beating the Baby Bjorn’s 11.8 lb weigh-in. Even more important, Guava Family has managed to make their crib easier to carry with two simple additions: backpack straps which leave both hands free for the countless other attention-grabbers on your trip and a cinching mechanism that will squeeze the deflated crib back into it’s original shape.

With a lot of the travel cribs on the market, parents have to pack them back up in a very specific way, and even with years of practice, the package never fits the same way that it did when it first came home. That frustrating experience will be gone for good with the Go Crib. In fact, I present an open challenge to actually repack it incorrectly. No matter how haphazardly it’s stuffed back into the bag, you can still tighten it down to a tote-able size.

If you’re taking this bad boy to the beach, I would suggest bringing an extra blanket for sun cover. The crib makes it easy to access your children by including zipped openings on the sides. You can leave the flaps open during less structured play time and they’ll be able to come and go as they please.

Is it the perfect travel crib for every family? Not necessarily. The competition is strong. The Baby Bjorn is easy and durable, the phil&teds Traveller is light but spacious, and the Pea Pod offers an incredibly small package. Priced at $249.99 (right between the P&T Traveller and Baby Bjorn) the Go Crib, provides an alternative to the travel cribs we carry at Magic Beans. It is lighter than the Baby Bjorn, easier to set up than the phil&teds, and larger than the Pea Pod.

Well designed baby products are really important to us at Magic Beans and the Go Crib is giving us something new to be excited about.

My how you’ve grown.

You can run and jump. You sing songs and tell jokes. You love books. You know the difference between a square and a triangle.

You like the slide and the swings but most of all the woodchips on the ground.

You like to cook imaginary food and serve me imaginary bagels.

You love lollipops and rainbow sprinkles.

You’re a night owl and an early riser. You fall asleep best when I’m dozing in your chair.

You say you “want to ‘nuggle” and I melt.

If we don’t come right away when you cry during the night, you pretend to vomit. Or poop.

You’re a die-hard fan of Yo Gabba Gabba and Thomas the Tank Engine, but no one makes you laugh like Grover.

You’re a little bit obsessed with Beyonce.

You always want the pink one. You love to play trucks.

You sometimes steal my toothbrush (probably because it’s pink).

You might never stop breastfeeding, if that decision were up to you alone.

You hug your sisters when they cry. You’ll take any excuse to laugh.

You have opinions. You start conversations. And in just a few weeks, you start school.

How did that happen?

Happy 2nd birthday, Zev.

Playmobil has certainly upped their game with this beautifully detailed play set. The school building itself is big - almost 3 feet wide - and there are tons of furnishings and interactive accessories to add to the fun - including a working bell!

If you have a kid getting ready for the first day of school, this is an amazing way to inspire some role play and help alleviate anxiety.

The Furnished School Building is new and hasn’t yet arrived in our warehouse, though we expect it to come within the next couple of weeks. The winner will get his/her prize as soon as we receive our first shipment.

And with this giveaway, we close out our 2010 31 Days of Giveaways celebration. We hope you had as much fun as we did. I want to send a special shout-out to all the people in the Magic Beans universe who worked so hard all month long - you guys are all amazing (especially Dustin). We’ll see you next July with a whole new crop of amazing giveaways, and keep an eye on our Facebook page, because we’ll be continuing our Facebook Friday giveaways on an ongoing basis.

The genius of the Treat concept is their Make-Your-Own Cupcake Bar. Think about how much your kids (and you) love ice cream sundae bars. There’s something so empowering about having all those toppings - the candy and nuts and whipped cream and chocolate syrup - at your fingertips, just waiting to be placed atop your ice cream in the proportion you and only you can exact. Now - replace ice cream with a freshly baked cupcake (your choice of flavors) and add the toppings - frosting, candy and cookies. If it sounds like fun, that’s because it is.

Treat offers a menu of everyday favorites including Red Velvet, Peanut Butter Overload, Funky chunky Oreo, Neeham Creampie, and more. They also have a range of specialty seasonal cupcake flavors including Almond Joy, Creamsicle, Mint-o-Green, Caramel Swirl and Pumpkin Pie.

If you have some sort of allergy, Treat even has you covered with gluten-free and vegan flavors. Their private party room will host the most delicious kids’ birthday parties in town, and their decorating classes will be a great way to learn along with your kids.

In short, we wish there were a Treat Cupcake Bar in Coolidge Corner (though our waistlines are thankful they’re in Needham). For more information visit www.treatcupcakebar.com!

I first heard about the Taga in July of 2008, right before they showed their product for the first time at the Kind+Jugend show in Cologne. I was totally fascinated by the idea, and I checked their website constantly for almost two years, trying to find out when they were coming to the USA. Finally, all the checking paid off and Magic Beans was the first retailer in the country to launch the Taga Bike & Stroller.

If you've never seen the Taga or heard anything about it, here's the basic idea. It's a bike with a seat up front for a baby. The frame is essentially an inverted tricycle, so it has a tremendous amount of stability, and it's easy to pedal - even with a heavy load - I know this because I pedaled it with my husband sitting in the seat. So that alone is impressive, but what sends the Taga off the charts is this: When you get to your destination, you can transform the bike into a stroller in just 20 seconds. It's unbelievably easy to do.

The Taga Bike & Stroller was created by a multinational team comprised of Dutch and Israeli designers. Years of research and engineering went into the product - there are a lot of moving parts on the Taga and it's essential that every single one does what it's supposed to do.

And it does. The Taga is a product of impressive quality, and it's had a great response. We expect to be getting a large number of the Taga Bikes back in stock within the next week, so maybe my dad will finally get his Birthday/Father's Day gift.

Meanwhile, today you can enter to win one for free. This is the biggest prize of the whole month! Enter now at mbeans.com/31days.

Check out some great YouTube videos for more information about the Taga Bike & Stroller:

The 20 Second Fold
The Taga Experience

There are also some great accessories for the Taga - a second seat attachment, and a new wooden wagon attachment that can hold two kids, coming very soon.

You can see our complete selection here.

Keep in mind, the Taga is a bike, so it's very important for both you and your passenger to wear a helmet at all times.

Despite the hype, most mosquito bites are harmless. But they’re itchy and annoying no matter what, and it’s certainly better to avoid them. If you’re a homeowner, be very vigilant about any standing water - make sure your kids don’t leave toys out in the rain to fill with water, too. Even one cup of water is enough to breed a small town’s population of mosquitoes. They’re also most active at dawn and dusk, so if you’re going out at that time of the day, use bug spray that contains DEET, Picaridin or Lemon-Eucalyptus oil.

Or you can put your kids in bug-repellent clothing.

Soy Genius has come out with Buggies - a line of clothing and accessories that’s been infused with Insect Shield, a safe, man-made version of a natural insect repellent found in certain chrysanthemum plants. The protection lasts about 70 washes - the standard life expectancy of a garment. Insect Shield has been proven to repel mosquitoes, fleas, ticks and flies. The Soy Genius fabrics are a mix of organic cotton and soy fibers.

We’re carrying the Buggies hats, which are very cute and reversible, too, as well as the Warmers, a pair of open-ended tubes that can be worn on children’s arms or legs - perfect protection for cool summer evenings.

When the flight landed, Lauren looked at me and said, “Are you ready to run?”

Now I’m in pretty decent shape, and I run (at a leisurely pace) at least a couple of times a week. So I figured I wouldn’t have a problem keeping up with Lauren - she in her ballet flats and me in my flip-flops. How fast could we really go? But it turns out Lauren was a college athlete and probably a track star at some point, and she sprinted, gazelle-like from one end of the Detroit airport to the other, while I brought up the rear, huffing and puffing and looking nothing like a gazelle.

We made the connecting flight with time to spare, and sat together for that last leg of the trip. After my heart rate slowed to the point where I could carry on a conversation, we had a really nice time together.

It was a treat to discover how much I genuinely liked the woman behind the wildly successful UPPAbaby brand. The Vista stroller has been on a hot streak lately, with parents raving about the features, the quality and the value. With someone as thoughtful and smart (and fast) as Lauren leading the way, it’s no surprise.

The UPPAbaby Vista is our Day 29 giveaway. Enter now.

The House of Representatives already voted yes by a landslide earlier this month, so we’re optimistic. Just in case, we’re calling our local State Senator to ask her to vote in favor of the Massachusetts Tax Free Holiday for 2010. If you’d like to do the same, you can click here to find and contact your senator - it’s the beauty of democracy.

Actually, most babies like being held, right? So what new parents really need isn’t a swing - it’s a family member, permanently installed in the kitchen, always willing to hold the baby. And essentially, that’s the mamaRoo. There are five different motion settings, each developed based on the soothing movements mothers make when holding their babies. Each motion can be speed-adjusted, too. The mamaRoo plays white noise or five different pre-set nature sounds, or you can plug in any mp3 player to add music to the ride.

So say sayonara to your swing and bye-bye to your bouncy seat. Meet mamaRoo and you’ll never go back.

Parenthetically, while I haven’t heard of any downsides from parents actually using the mamaRoo, my toddler son is both fascinated with and a little bit terrified of the rollicking floor model in our store. So if you have a toddler-age older sibling in the house, introduce it slowly.

The mamaRoo from 4moms is our Day 28 giveaway. Enter now.

Not too long after that, Brio ceased operations in the US and signed on with K’nex to distribute the brand. That was a flop, and at this point, Brio is essentially a dead brand here.

So the door is wide open for others to grab a little piece of the wooden railway pie. And let me tell you - wooden railway is still big with the toddler set.

Melissa & Doug is very good at spotting opportunities to augment their expansive line of toys, and wooden railway was a natural direction for them to take. Their Wooden Railway Set is an amazing value, packed with over 130 pieces. There’s plenty of track for a variety of layouts, lots of trains, plus bridges, accessories and traffic signs. Their Multi-Activity table is the perfect surface for wooden railroad play. It’s solidly built and easy to assemble, reasonably priced, but it holds up to all kinds of toddler abuse. There’s even a nice storage drawer built right into the table.

As usual, the wooden track pieces included in this set are cross-compatible with track from Brio, Thomas the Tank Engine and Nuchi. So this set is a great way to kick-start a new collection or infuse some excitement into an old one.

The Melissa & Doug Multi-Activity Table and Wooden Railway Set prize package is our last Toy Tuesday prize in the 31 Days of Giveaways. Enter now.

Britax is a company that is totally obsessed with car seat safety. A few years ago, research started coming out that revealed head injury to be the leading cause of death for children in automobile accidents. Britax took a good look at those findings and then took their existing line of car seats to the crash test lab, wondering if they were doing enough to protect kids’ heads. While all the older seats already exceeded the federal standards for head excursion, the Britax engineers still thought they could do better.

After many hours at the drawing board, the results are really impressive. The new seats look better and perform better than their predecessors. They offer better features and higher weight limits but (surprisingly) there will be no price increase.

Here are some of the highlights:

~ New contours - the shape of the new car seats is really different. The center of gravity is lower, to create a downward rocking motion in a crash, instead of a forward thrust. The shell is more enclosed and protective.

~ Steel reinforcements - the new models have steel bars running down both sides of the seat for extra strength.

~ Crumple zones - Britax has introduced a new SafeCell technology - a honeycomb-shaped plastic zone at the base of the car seat that’s designed to crumple, absorbing and dissipating the impact from a crash.

~ Foam galore - the sidewalls of the new seats are fully lined with energy-absorbant EPP foam.

~ Versa-Tether - it’s not a new feature, but now’s a good time to point out the thought behind the design of this safety feature. The webbing is sewn so that , in a crash, it releases its seams in stages, slowing the forward motion.

~ Easy to clean - the new seats (except the Roundabout 55) have an Easy-Remove cover that comes right off without having to uninstall the car seat - so you can dread those spills just a little less from now on.

~ Quick adjusting - all the new models (except the Roundabout 55) have a quick-adjust harness, which allows you to change the height of the harness straps without needing to rethread the straps.

~ No Slip - there’s a rubberized strip on the base of the car seat, which prevents it from slipping around - a small but very nice touch.

~ Simplified LATCH - the LATCH connectors are now “one handed” meaning they’ll work fine in either position, so you don’t need to switch them around when moving from rear- to forward-facing.

~ Improved lock-offs and belt path - the location of the built-in seatbelt lockoffs has been moved to the center of the seat, and the belt path is more open, so you can comfortably pass through the seatbelt and lock it off even if you’re standing outside the car.

We got a sample of the new Britax Marathon 70 last week, and had a chance to catch up with the amazing Paula Sanders from Britax. You can check out our video (below) comparing the new 2010 Marathon 70 to the original Marathon. You can also take a look at the very charming video Britax produced to explain the redesigned seats.

Take a look at the full line of next-generation Britax seats for 2010 and pre-order now.

My sources at Maclaren USA tell me this new hinge has been in the works for several years and is a logical design evolution, not a response to last November’s recall, which was resolved with a cleverly designed zippered hinge cover. The basic frame is the same, though there’s a slight change in the dimensions, so older seat fabrics will not fit the new strollers. The new frames are making a gradual entrance on select colors and models shipping this summer, and eventually on the entire line. Keep an eye out for good deals on the older Maclaren models during the changeover.