Products & equipment

Anne Coates put the Britax B-AGILE 3 pushchair through its paces on a recent trip to Brighton travelling by bus, train and across the stoney beach. B-AGILE 3 passed with flying colours!

Research by the Hygiene Council reveals that less that 44 per cent of lunchboxes are cleaned and disinfected daily. Cross-contamination can cause food-borne illnesses. Here are some tips and advice for lunchbox hygiene.

This year's collection of Clarks Back To School shoes is even more fashionable than ever. Louise Pollard took daughter Mathilde to the Clarks shop in Bromley to try out their fitting service.

Emily Elias has already seen two children – her daughter and older son – through toilet training so was ideally placed to try out the Tippitoes Boy's Toilet Trainer for her younger son, Sam.

Going to school or nursery your children's clothes and possessions need to be labelled. The Brother Labelling Machine will print as many or as few labels as you need and, of course, you can change the name for each child. So if it's back to school of just starting, Brother P-touch 1080 makes identifying clothing an belongings so much easier.

Olivia Coates tried out the CARES Child Aviation Restraint System when she and Harriet flew to Menorca on holiday.

A functional but fashionable range of swimwear for active toddlers and children aged two to 14, Platypus Australia provides  a UPF 50+ rating which blocks out at least 97.5 per cent of harmful untraviolet radiation. Harriet Coates tried out the Sunshirt SS and Lycra Broadshort.

Gtech AirRAM™ has received the Good Housekeeping Institute endorsement after rigorous testing of this innovative vacuum cleaner that is sucking up success across the UK. Anne Coates put it to the PWT test.

Ella's Kitchen launches new desserts with specified stages to help parents to effortlessly introduce dairy to their babies' diets.  The desserts include fromage frais, yoghurts and rice puddings. Yvette Henlon and her daughter Victoria went along to Kentish Town City Farm to try them out.

Potty training is made a lot easier with the Tippitoes Travel Potty, as Olivia Coates discovered.

Ruth Campbell has already written about the advantages of theBabaSling

With a busy toddler to be running after, baby Thea spends a lot of time in a sling. So Ruth Campbell was delighted to trial the new BabaSling–Lite.

In a league of its own, the new sleekly designed TRIFIX seat is universally approved for use in any car with ISOFIX and Top Tether anchorage points.  TRIFIX is the first seat to feature a revolutionary ISOFIX + installation system providing complete and unrivalled protection for your little one. Harriet Coates tried it out for Parenting Without Tears.

Maybe because we use our mobile and smart phones increasingly we overlook the details on our landline phones. Anne Coates tried out the Doro Comfort 1015 Duo and was inmpressed with its simple, clear design and features – like being able to look the keys so little fingers can't make unintentional calls!

Micro Scooters are fun and get children out of doors and exercising. Are adults up for that challenge? Georgina Collins'  son Sandy on his Micro Scooter challenged his dad on a Micro Sprite to a race. The result turned into a fun family experience with even Georgina overcoming her fear of two wheels!

After the birth of Thea, a sister for Wilf, Ruth Campbell was looking for a buggy to transport the two of them together. In fact The Chicco Echo Twin Stroller was also great for their nanny share as well.

For 2012 Fabric Flavours have chosen four characters for little boys, Mr Tickle, Mr Bump, Mr Strong and Mr Funny and four characters for little girls, Little Miss Giggles, Little Miss Chatterbox, Little Miss Trouble and Little Miss Sunshine. These limited edition T-shirts make a fabulous addition to any small child's wardrobe as Harriet Coates discovered.

If you live in a city a more compact stroller makes life much easier negotiating busy pavements and manoeuvring around in shops and stores. The Quicksmart Easy Fold Stroller is also excellent for folding into a boot, or using when travelling. Anne Coates reports.