ZRecs is officially sponsored this week by YBike, an innovative company that is redesigning balance bikes to push them further in the direction they deserve to go.

Longtime readers will know we've been fans of balance bikes for years. Balance bikes help young kids learn to balance, move independently of their parents with increasing confidence, and do all sorts of other things that go along with riding a bike before expecting them to master fairly complicated things like pedal and brake. Balance bikes are low to the ground, move as quickly or as slowly as their small riders push them with their feet, and provide a natural transition between balancing and standing on one's own two legs that makes it easy for children to experiment with their ability to balance on top of a moving frame.

Our daughter Z got a balance bike at around three. She didn't get really comfortable on it until sometime in her fourth year, however, and by five she was eager to move up to a pedal bike. Through hard work and persistence she then quickly learned to ride a bike without ever using training wheels, and was soon a confident (and adventurous) bicyclist. We thank her earlier experience with her balance bike for some of that drive and that ability to balance naturally while focusing on the new task of pedaling and braking.

YBike takes the concept of the balance bike a step further in two ways: by shifting the front wheel forward (YBikes remind us a bit of the Harley "chopper" motorcycle for that reason), which makes turns wider and decreases the likelihood of falling forward while turning, and by increasing the width of the back wheel, making it even easier to balance than on two tires. It's almost like a cross between a bicycle and a tricycle, except that the back wheels are side by side and thus don't widen turns the way a pair of tricycle rear wheels do. It's these form factors that have parents purchasing YBikes for kids as young as two, who use them through around age four. The YBike can hold 100 pounds.



YBikes sell for around $80 and are made of injection-molded plastic. Even the wheels are plastic, which has its advantages and disadvantages -- plastic is good on paved roads and dirt, less so on gravel or any bumpy terrain. The seat is non-adjustable, as an adjuster clip would raise the lowest seat height by a couple of inches. In our view, the YBIKE is an attractive first balance bike for a child who would struggle with a larger balance bike, most of which are ideally sized for three- to four-year-olds. If we had a toddler now, we'd be tempted to get one instead of a tricycle.

They come in green, blue, pink and orange, as well as in an "Extreme" version with an aluminum frame and a taller profile:

ZRecs Giveaway: Win a YBike!

Just in time for the holidays, we have an orange original YBike to give away to one ZRecs reader! To enter to win this $80 balance bike, send an email to zrecseditors (at) gmail (dot) com with your U.S. mailing address (U.S. residents only, please), "YBike" in the subject line, and the correct answer to this question: What is the YBike Schools Program? (Hint: You can find the answer on the YBike website.) We'll accept entries until Sunday, December 5 at noon CT, and will pick a winner at random from all correct entries. The winner will have an orange YBike Original shipped to their door in plenty of time for Christmas.

Fine print: One entry per household, entrant must be 18 or older, U.S. entrants only.

Want your company to be a ZRecs sponsor? A week-long sponsorship includes a clearly labeled, sponsored post discussing your product, a week-long display ad, and a giveaway hosted on Z Recommends and promoted on the web's largest blog giveaway listings hub, PRIZEY. Immediate slots are available, and our rates are reasonable. You can get in touch with us at zrecseditors (at) gmail (dot) com.

A couple of weeks ago we posted a link to a hugely informative and potentially lifesaving blog post we found in our everyday scouring of the entire internet for useful child safety information. (OK, that's an exaggeration, but we do get around.) This particular post was about the fact that a person who is drowning does not flail their arms around and splash and scream. They slip under the water, resurface, and slip back under. Struggling is in fact pre-drowning behavior, which may or may not occur, but the fact that actually not getting enough air in the lungs prevents you from doing all of the things that get people saved in movies has tremendous consequences for our behavior. It also goes a long way to explaining how children so often drown in pools when their parents are home, or in bathtubs when their parents are feet or even inches away. Well-written, accurate, and surprising, the post was just the kind of news and information we try to highlight in the regular links we send to ZRecs feed and email subscribers. The post has received over 500 comments to date and its publication bookended a pair of truly tragic infant drownings within weeks of its appearance, and the author has since followed up with a post about mitigating home pool hazards.

Reader Lindsey replied to our posting of the link with a story of her own:

This struck a chord with me since my son had a near drowning incident in March during a swimming class, with 4 instructors in the pool with him. They all had their attention directed away from him while he was struggling in water that was 4 feet deep - just a little too deep for him to touch. He was only a couple of feet from the edge but couldn't make it there. I was watching from the balcony, where parents are required to sit during lessons, and saw the whole thing. Fortunately, one of the instructors turned around and noticed him in time. Like this article says, he didn't make a sound, but he was traumatized by the event and afterward was asking me if people die when their feet can't touch the bottom of the pool. Very scary!

Please, parents, watch your children closely around pools or any accessible water play area, do not assume that pool covers or fences will prevent a child from gaining access, and never leave an infant or young toddler unattended in the bathtub. And if you aren't yet a subscriber to our blog - which will not only get you access to stories we find like the one above, but also keep you abreast of our blogging on the rare occasions that we temporarily go dark, as we have over the past two weeks (we missed you!) please feel free to do sign up. We offer a full, not excerpted, feed of posts and links in RSS or email format, and our email digests arrive once each day content is published, packaged up with whatever links to outside content we've found that day.

Cut scraps of fabric, yarn, string, and ribbon into short strips (3-4 inches in length should be safe). Stuff them into one of those mesh bags from tangelos or satsuma oranges and hang the big ball of stuff in a tree. Voila - instant nesting materials for local birds!

Other items to consider for your supply cache include dried grass, spanish moss, dog or human hair, pine needles, feathers, and thin twigs. (Thanks to Erin for letting us know that dryer lint is a no-no - despite its recommendation in numerous other sources, it might contain chemicals and doesn't hold up in weather; the latter means it could result in a weak nest after some spring weather.)

We ate Satsumas like fiends this winter, so Zella and Jenni made a few bags of nesting materials using this method. We always have scraps of fabric and plenty of yarn around, and Jenni even fashioned one materials holder by wrapping thin-gauge wire around a large wooden egg and then somehow separating the two. With a little more polish you'd be on to a cheap springtime gift or favor for kids you know to fill with their own household and yard nesting finds.

Welcome to the first of four dispatches from the 2010 American International Toy Fair, going on this week in New York City. We were thrilled to get one of our favorite bloggers, Amy Kraft of Media Macaroni, to be our eyes and ears for big event.

Remember the summer when suddenly every kid on the playground was on a scooter? I couldn't walk through the neighborhood playground without getting cut off by a kid blasting by on a Razor. Well, judging by the showing at Toy Fair, summer 2010 is poised to be the summer of the balance bike.

ZRecs has reported on some of the balance bikes currently on the scene, including Kettler and Skuut, but now a new crop of toymakers have jumped on board. I have seen nearly 30 different balance bikes at Toy Fair this year, with prices ranging from $75 to $450. My favorites include:


Skip Hop Wishbone Bike: Made from sustainably managed woods and 60% post-consumer recycled plastic wheels, the Wishbone is three bikes in one. It begins as a tricycle and transforms into two different sizes of two-wheeler balance bikes. $249 | Amazon.com | Direct


Early Rider: Major style points go to the Early Rider line, which have flames blazing across the bike and pitch-black tires. Around $160 | Direct


Footcycles: More balance bikes to feel good about are made by Footcycles, who plant a tree for every bike manufactured and give 10% of their profits to bike-related non-profits. And they're nice and durable, too. $150-200 | Direct

I liked the durable offerings from Kazam, on display at the top of this post. They retail for about $100 on Amazon.com. And one other item of note: Of the metal frame balance bikes, I found the mini-balance bikes from TootScoot hilariously tiny. You can see them here.

But I've saved the best for last. My favorite find of the day is the Moov construction set from Berg Toys. It's a balance bike. But it's also a scooter. And a tricycle. And a helicopter, crane, windmill, and scale. Basically, it's a set of super-sturdy pieces that come in different kits to make your own vehicle (SRP $249 - $439). They've also put together activities for schools to use the kits in a variety of educational ways. I got Gary Landis of Berg Toys to demonstrate the Moov for me:



Stay tuned for tomorrow's Toy Fair dispatch on the latest in environmentally friendly toys, featuring some surprising new toys from Green Toys, Sprig, and several exciting newcomers. And make sure to check out Media Macaroni for more finds from Toy Fair all week long.

We live in one of the many communities where all playgrounds seem to have the same equipment. But we're visiting family and making art in Seattle this week, where there are many playgrounds that are memorable for their unique play structures and toys. Z and I visited a park a couple days ago that had this amazing piece of equipment. In addition to the actions my second cousin is performing below, the backhoe also turns 360 degrees on its pole, allowing for some major construction projects.

On a recent visit to Houston, Z and I abandoned plans for a major museum visit when we drove by a broken water main and a driving lane full of water. Some scenes:












Love this kid.