Have a seat

How many pretty little reno'd semis in High Park have a $35 foam Dora the Explorer sofa lurking in the living room?

In a city teeming with stylish moms and their equally stylish minis, why oh why is good design for kids so hard to find? If, like me, you live in a smallish house where every square foot is accounted for, relegating offending kids' gear to the rumpus room simply isn't an option.

Which is why I was delighted to come across these grown-up kid-sized club chairs and immediately had to have one for the little girl (and the living room).

Fast-forward one year and the chair looks every bit as good as the day it was bought. Our chair has been through two birthday parties, a rambunctious holiday open house, a kid-filled summer soiree, not to mention numerous visits from the kids across the street and the occasional adult mistaking the chair for a grown-up perch--without ill-effect.

Having passed the three-part mom test admirably (functional, good price, longevity), I have just added the entire Toronto-designed range, which includes a sofa and ottomans, to my site.

So no more Dora the Explorer couches, OK?

My vote for most ridiculous product

Normally I'm all about discovering and sharing great new products, but every so often I come across someone's idea of a "brilliant" idea that strikes me as simply ridiculous. Now, I'm a fan of whimsy--in small doses--but I have no time for silly. And is there any other word to describe these breast-feeding burkas A.K.A. "nursing cover-ups?"

Touted as the modest woman's solution to public nursing, I cannot believe that a baby head's held against his mother's chest would garner more attention than a three-foot span of fake Pucci fabric knotted around the woman's neck like an oversized lobster bib. Aesthetics aside (momentarily) I admit I have no personal experience with these contraptions, and perhaps they come with an instructional video, but does this look like it's going to make anyone's life easier? I needed three hands and a convex mirror to figure out the breastfeeding thing. I can't imagine the contortions required to do it undercover and besides, isn't it really hot under there?

My guess is if a woman's uncomfortable breastfeeding in public (count me in) she'll go to great lengths to organize her day so she's in a quiet place at the right time And doesn't that really make this bib, er, nursing cover-up completely useless?