This is one of those inventions that is so simple it’s brilliant.  Better yet, it’s a small business that is keeping at least the sewing part of production local, creating jobs right here in Arizona.  Shop small, shop local and a brilliant gadget that improves car travel for all of us – it sounds like a winner!!

The invention is called “The Noggle”.  Two Arizona dads figured out how to help their little ones beat the heat while riding in the car…a very hot place if you are sitting in the back seat without any direct air flow.  Conversely, I remember freezing in the back seat during the winter-time when I was growing up in Upstate New York.  This gadget comes in handy whether it’s hot or cold in your part of the world!! It can redirect whatever temperature air you are using and direct it towards your Sweet Peas.

Forward facing child – you can hang the noggle™ from a seat or let them hold the hose and direct the air flow themselves.

Using the noggle™ with a rear-facing child – it can direct air down their back, where AZ Sweet Peas tend to be the sweatiest!

From the “About Us” section of their website, www.nogglenation.com:

The heat of an Arizona Summer can be merciless. Shortly after putting my son, Hunter in the car he would begin to sweat and quickly become irritated waiting for the air conditioning to reach him in the backseat. This made travel very difficult trying to comfort a fussy child while staying focused driving the vehicle. One afternoon, my good friend Chris and I began looking for a way to beat the heat in the backseat. We worked with various parts and instruments to find a simple system that would allow A/C to be redirected to blow on both Hunter and Chris’s children. After a couple of weeks and many failed designs, we were able to create an effective design that would become the Noggle. Hunter loved it and I was thrilled! No more sweaty and uncomfortable car rides for him and no more dangerous distracted driving for me.

Check out a News Clip from a local television station HERE

We have a couple of SPB mamas who got these for their Sweet Peas – Jennifer was kind enough to share a review for your consideration:

We live in Phoenix. It is hot. In summer, it gets very hot. We have a baby. And a Honda Civic. Our civic has 4 air conditioning vents; all in the front of the passenger compartment.  This all adds up to a backseat in the car  that gets uncomfortably *hot*. My Sweet Pea is still rear-facing and spent all of last summer stewing in her car seat in a pool of her own sweat. As a result, I spent most of last summer hiding out at home with a baby.

Now she’s a toddler and she likes going places. I didn’t want to deny her the chance to get out and do things.  She also drives with me to and from work, so I had to figure out a solution. A new car wasn’t an option so I decided to try the noggle™.

My husband wasn’t sold on the idea of the noggle™.  We found them to be bit pricey. However, he finally agreed we should give it a shot this summer. The very first time we tried it, an evening in mid-May, made him a believer. “She’s cold!” he exclaimed as we pulled her out of the car.

Now a couple months and 114F later, when we pull her out of her car seat, she’s generally a bit sweaty. But then again, so am I – it can’t be helped in the desert.  I think that she would be less sweaty if I could direct the noggle™ so that it actually blew air in her direction.  This is not a design flaw on the part of the noggle™ manufacturer.  She’s just afraid of wind, so we face the air nozzle away from her.

What are some things I like? It works! Also, I like how it connects to the vent. It also easily twists off if I have a passenger in the front but no baby in the back. 

What don’t I like? We have an 8-foot noggle™ based off the recommendations on their website; but it is a bit long for my car. We are looking to get an SUV in the near future so this may turn out to be a good thing since it will fit well in an SUV. (Plus, the easy twist off feature mentioned above, will make it easy to switch the noggle™ between cars.) For now, the length is a bit annoying. Also, the price. The noggle™ is basically a fancy, pretty-patterned vacuum hose. In fact, a friend made her own noggle-hack from a vacuum hose for about $10. That being said, I would have paid much more to make sure my baby was safe and as comfortable as possible. And frankly, I knew I have no MacGyver tendencies so I wouldn’t be fashioning one out of a straw, some string, and duct tape; and since my husband wasn’t a believer he would have continually bumped it to the bottom of his honey – do list…so it was either go without or pay up. At the end of the day, I can say that I am glad I paid for a device that securely attaches to the vent and near our Sweet Pea so that we can drive worry-free.

All in all, the noggle™ is something I would definitely recommend to any parent in a warm climate.

Jennifer also wanted to pass along a suggestion that reminds her when her Sweet Pea is with her in the car.  We have all heard those heart-breaking stories of good parents who forget about the child in the car seat, and then go back to the car and find unspeakable tragedy.  She only connects her noggle™ hose to the vent when her Sweet Pea is in the car with her.  She is in the habit of disconnecting the noggle™ when they arrive at their destination, which serves as a reminder to take her Sweet Pea out of the car .

So we have some great news for our readers – the folks at the noggle™ have been very generous.  They provided us with a coupon code to share with you to make this more affordable for our Sweet Pea Families… thank you so much, the noggle™ crew!!

Coupon Code for 15% off:
sweetpea

Our readers can enter the code “sweetpea” at checkout to get the 15% off.  I am so excited for you because they normally only offer 10% off.  Take advantage of the bonus while it lasts!

What do you think? Will you be getting a noggle™ for your family?

(photo credit: KSBW.com)

I saw THIS news story posted on Twitter.  The tweet, composed by @ConsciousBirths on their another social media page, asked, “Controversial restaurant sign! What are your thoughts? Would you be offended by this or be happy to go to a child free restaurant?”

I used to be one of “those” people who believed we should have child-free restaurants, airplanes (I had a whole business plan around a child-free airline!), shopping experiences.  Who in their right mind wants to be around screaming children??

My mind was expanded when we welcomed our first child.  So much miracle in one little body – I was not leaving her alone.  Ever.  She went with me everywhere…including work.  I could not imagine leaving her for a second, especially since I was breastfeeding and babywearing…there was not a single place we couldn’t go together.

By the time she was a year old, she had already flown ten times (five round-trips).  I saw the dreaded looks from other passengers – I recognized the look of disbelief and dismay when we got on the plane and took our seats.  Without fail, every flight we heard, “She is such a good baby!”, or, “We were scared when you sat next to us – what a nice surprise!”

Why? Are we some kind of baby-whisperer? Or did I put bourbon in her bottle with breastmilk?  (Since we had a car seat in a plane seat for her, the “rule” was that she had to be strapped in for take-off and landing, so I would give her a bottle to help with ear pressure since I couldn’t nurse her in my arms.) NO!

No.  We treated her with love and respect.  We talked her through the experience.  We pointed out all the different features on the plane.  She had her breastmilk, liquid love, from the start through the end of the flight, since I could take her out to nurse while the “fasten seat belt” sign was off at cruising altitude.  She was a miniature, darling, little travel companion.

Along the lines of treating your child with love and respect, comes the part where you pay attention to their needs.  We booked flights around the times when she would naturally be sleepy so that it would be less stressful for her.  Since she nursed to sleep, we would both arrive rested at our destination.

Extend that concept of parenting with love and respect to dining out of your home.  A phrase that I learned early on when I was in management was to, “set yourself up for success.”  There are a lot of different scenarios where it can be applied, and it definitely drives the way I approach any excursions with our Sweet Peas.

You want to go out to eat with at a restaurant? Plan for it!

• Pick a day when you do not have a whole lot scheduled so that even if you haven’t been able to get a nap in, your Sweet Pea isn’t over-stimulated before you even head out the door.  Call ahead, confirm the menu is suitable for you, and for your little one if they are eating solids (to be safe, we still brought our own snacks just in case!).  While you’re at it, ask the staff when the off-peak times are, and plan to eat there during the down-time.
• Start small and start teaching your children etiquette from the beginning.  Go to a local diner or drive-in where it doesn’t matter if your Sweet Pea has a melt-down because the dining area is already operating at a dull roar.  Use all the same tools you would use at home and they are familiar with (we use the suggestions from Dr. Harvey Karp’s “Happiest Toddler on the Block”).  And if they really cannot pull it together, love on them even more, and tell them it’s okay to go home – we can try again another day.
• Bring your own entertainment.  We do not rely on restaurants to have coloring pages and crayons.  We would bring books to read, our own coloring books, and now that our kiddos are older, we bring our Busy Books.  We take turns walking around with them when the entertainment is no longer engaging and they are getting restless before the food arrives. Once the food is served, we eat, pay, and leave according to our children’s frame of mind.  If they are rested and patient, we dine.  If we are at the end of a long day, we eat at the speed of lightning, pay, and go, leaving a cartoon streak behind us.

If all else fails, we ask for our dine-in to turn into take-out, we call it a day and go home.  There is no reason to stress ourselves or our children out.  Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and being okay with that is honoring and respecting your child.  It has nothing to do with fussy restaurant owners – my children’s needs will always come before anyone else’s opinion.

We are also good at asking people, “Today is not a good eating out day for us – can we do take-out at our place or your place?”  We adjust our expectations according to our children’s needs and abilities in that moment, and hence, we get the, “Your children are so well-behaved!” every time we do go out to eat.  Of course! Because we do our best to take rested, “respected for their humanity” children out to dinner.

What if you are out of options? Like the parents in this news story, what if you are traveling and there is no “home” to go home to?  Use the tools you have at hand to set yourself up for success.  There are so many great search sites or smart phone apps out there that can help you find family-friendly dining.  Another idea is to ask the employees at the hotel where they like to eat with their families, off the beaten path.  You’ll find yourselves at a place that wants your business, and is probably less expensive than the tourist-driven restaurants.

When your children are at an age where they understand restaurant etiquette and like eating out, take them out for a fine-dining experience.  While you’re at it, take them to a place that has high chairs.  Although white linen service doesn’t necessarily cater to families with small children, by all means give your business to an establishment that recognizes that children at any age are people, too.

To the restaurant owner in Old Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey: We will not be asking for a high chair, nor will we be eating at your restaurant with our awesome and “well-behaved” children – thanks, anyway.