Torly Kid in Tribeca: April is Book Swap month!

Bring us your gently used books and trade them for something new (to you)from April 1 through 30. Discover new titles, refresh your library, and get 10% off just for participating!

Like us on Facebook to be the first to hear about events and new arrivals. Visit our News and Events page.    Lots of new spring arrivals coming in daily! Questions? Comments? Favorite brands you'd like to see in the store? We're all ears. Email us at torly@torlykid.com.   Torly Kid - From Tot to Tween  51 Hudson St. (near Duane) 212-406-7440 www.torlykid.com

Websites to Check Out: Time Out NY KIds

http://timeoutnewyorkkids.com/

If you're heading to NYC with kids this has to be your first port of call. Plan your trip. Check out the events and organize your stay so that the whole family has fun. There is so much to do in NYC with kids. Planning ahead will help combat jet lag and bad weather. Always have a back plan or two. 

EMPOWERING PARENTS: Elisabeth Wilkins

Elisabeth Wilkins is the editor of EmpoweringParents.com and the mother of a 9 year old son. Her work has appeared in national and international publications, including Mothering, Motherhood, and The Japan Times. Elisabeth is a graduate of the University of Illinois and also holds a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine. In 2009, she received the Pen New England Fiction Discovery award for her novel-in-progress. One of the greatest joys in her life, aside from spending time with her husband and son, is helping other parents learn how to manage tough childhood phases and behaviors. Her motto: “We’re all in this together—so why shouldn’t we help each other?”

Empowering Parents was created in 2007 in answer to parents who wanted a place on the web where they could go to get non-generic advice for their parenting problems. We offer real, hands-on tips and techniques for parents that really work—and the best part is that they can start using our advice right away. All of our articles and programs are based in practical, common sense Cognitive Behavioral Therapy principles. We offer articles from respected experts about giving effective consequences, dealing with defiant kids, handling temper tantrums and acting out behavior in teens—and any other tough behavioral problem or situation a parent has ever found themselves in, really.

 I think the fundamental flaw in modern parenting is that too often, parents want to be their kids’ friends—and I can see how this happens. We want our kids to like us, we want to be seen as “fun” or “cool” in their eyes, and we want to enjoy a good relationship with them. In an effort to be liked by our kids, perhaps we don’t hold them accountable for their behavior as much as we should. We don’t give consequences consistently (or at all) and we do too much for them. Instead of building a strong, loving relationship with our kids, this type of parenting only sends the message that we are not really in control—and that we don’t have authority. Often parents realize what has happened only after their child hits adolescence, and then they begin to feel like it’s too late. One of the messages we give our readers at Empowering Parents is that it’s never too late when it comes to our kids—there’s always hope if you’re willing to change your approach.

*Here is a link to a great article in EP on this subject by James Lehman, MSW. 

http://www.empoweringparents.com/Your-Child-is-not-Your-Friend.php

Today's deal: Mommylicious % @ Daily Candy

$50

$80 Worth of Maternity Apparel and Accessories

Go here to get it: http://deals.dailycandy.com/deal/7757/mommylicious-maternity-kew-38-percent-off?vwink=LD:Email:DEALS:KNY:20120314:16:697307:39

ABOUT: Once upon a time, in a little town called Woodland Hills, California, Natalia was pregnant with her second baby girl. It was an exciting time, but also hectic because she had so much to do before baby Presley made her grand arrival. One thing Natalia already knew from her first pregnancy with baby Adriana, was how her body would be changing. But Natalia was determined this time around, that her sense of style wasn’t going to change as much as the first time. Natalia went to all the usual suspects in the mall. She checked out the boutiques and also wandered over to the high-end places too. But Natalia discovered something that her friends were already complaining about. Cute Pregnancy clothes are limited, not very attractive and expensive. Why isn’t there something comfortable, cute, trendy, afforda and maybe even something a little sexy? Hence, Natalia’s Third baby was born: MommyLicious Maternity.

Check out their website:

http://www.mommyliciousmaternity.com

Chic Child: A New Fashion Experience

http://chicchild.com/

Trends, Fashion, Quality

Tell us about yourselves!

We [Christin Rueger + Natalie Schwartz] met years ago while both living in LA.  After each moving to east coast, reconnected and eventually worked together at Vogue.  Christin has two little girls, Scarlett, 3 years old and Harper 9 months and Natalie has one little girl, Sloane, turning 2 in March.  We both have a mutual love for fashion and once having our daughters, we channeled that passion into endless curating items for our own children's closets.  Even living in New York City with having so many great stores, we found that there wasn't one resource or destination for children's fashion that encompassed different styles and brands.  We essentially set out to create an online resource for all things children's fashion; a place where parents can go for inspiration, information and shopping!

How did you come together for this venture?

After realizing this need in the marketplace for someone to collect and share the best resources for dressing children, we left our jobs at Vogue to create Chic Child.   We felt like we have such great insight to share with other parents and wanted to turn this enthusiasm and knowledge into a business.  There are so many bloggers and websites out there with wonderful information about raising children, and many do offer fashion as one of the topics they cover, but there wasn't a site we could find that focused solely on fashion.   We had a vision of creating a website and aesthetic that felt sophisticated but also incredibly inclusive.  When we launched (last May) we started out with our website as a destination for all things children's fashion—Trends, boutiques by city, a list of our favorite resources on the web and of course, the daily content.  

The newest addition to our site, Shop Chic Child, is a retail site for all of these incredible brands we've discovered from around the world, but that consumers wouldn't normally have access to.  It will encompass exclusives from some of our favorite brands, previews of items before they are distributed to stores or available on line, and brands from overseas (not available for purchase in the US).   It is our hope that Chic Child will be come that premiere destination for all things related to style and fashion for children in one place.

What's the driving ethos behind your brand?

There is no one busier than parents, so we want to make people's lives easier!  We know that most parents don't have the luxury of time to go from store-to-store and scour the internet in search of the perfect special occasion dress, baby gift or sweetest pajamas—so we do the legwork.   We come from a place of wanting to share our finds, help with conundrums and address any personal fashion inquiries that people have.  Through both our editorial and our boutique, we aim to be inclusive of price rage and style;  this is why you will see a Gap Kids bottom paired with a top from Bonpoint.  We think that dressing your children should be much like how you dress yourself, with a high-low approach.  We have also created a community feel by having contributors (most of whom all worked in the fashion industry) and are parents of twins, boys with experiences different from ours—they help keep us in-the-know.

Why should parents check you out?

Parents will want to read Chic Child for so many reasons.  For some, they want to be inspired with ideas for what to purchase for their child each season, but may not have the time or knowledge of the countless incredible collections.  For others, they are looking for ideas for something specific and surely we've covered it (or they can email us directly and we'll find it for them)!  Some parents may just love fashion and want to know about the special brands, boutiques and items in childrenswear.  Dressing your child is much like parenting—you look for advice, trust your instinct and have fun with it!  

Baby Does NYC's  Rank = 3 stars, Quality, Easy to Use, Local Know-How

One star = Good/Useful

Two stars = Useful, Easy to Use/Get to

Three stars = Quality, Easy to Use, Local Know-How