Five Finds for On-The-Go With Your Little Monkey
The comparison between kids and monkeys is an obvious one. Both wiggle out of any situation. Both love to climb. And both are just too darn cute. With roadtripping on my mind of late, and starting to top the minds of parents planning vacations everywhere, I’ve put together a list of my favorites for on-the-go with your little monkey!
Before you can get this show on the road, you have to have everything ship shape and bristol fashion. Or car shape and booster fashion as the case may be. The olli from clek has earned its place as parents’ favorite booster seat because it’s easy on us all! With a strap that makes it easy for them to carry (especially if you’re taking a trip by plane or train), a easy click system into the LATCH on your standard automobile and a design that’s easy on their hind end and legs on long car trips, the olli has alley-ooped into our hearts. Throw on a Paul Frank cover (which can be removed for washing!), and I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if this isn’t the best booster seat I’ve found yet. Get one from CSN Baby for $99.99 with free shipping with little Julius monkeys printed all over or get the Standard Julius (just one big monkey face) for the same price (including free shipping) from Strollers.com.
If your kids are crazy about the little rubbery decals for their Crocs, Martin the Monkey from PakNak is waiting to clamber up onto their bag. For dressing up their bags when they’re on the go, PakNak’s decals sport a Velcro backing so they can be changed in and out while the “loop” side of the Velcro stays attached to their bags. We’re bananas for Martin, but he’s got other pals out there too. Get them from PakNak for $3.99, and take advantage of the promotion going for Babble readers – enter PAK20 at checkout to get 20 percent off your order. 
And what’s a bag decal without a bag to put it on? They weren’t monkeying around when they made this one. The Four Peas Blue Monkey Duffel bag does succeeds where many bags for kids fail by offering plenty of space for all their stuff. Whether this is an “overnight at grandma and grandpa’s” bag for hauling all their valuable stuffed animals or the suitcase for all their staples for summer trips, the sturdy nylon and denier bag (PVC-free), can handle everything they want to stock inside. Bonus points for the adjustable strap to make this one last out of toddlerhood and on toward teen. Get it from PolkaDot Patch Boutique for $46.
Before you offer up a primate education, I know monkeys and chimpanzees are not the same thing. Monkeys have tails, chimps don’t, and so forth. But most folks who are fans of one are fans of the other, and every kid could use a friend in the backseat on a long trip (especially one who doesn’t scream “I’m not touching you” with its finger hovering a quarter of an inch from his forearm). Why this admittedly non-monkey buddy? His plush outside is made from 100 percent soybean fibers, his insides from 100 percent Kapok. Part of Aurora’s eco-friendly “Aurora Naturally” line, he’s super soft and naturally resists bacteria (because we all know how clean kids keep their toys.) Get him from Amazon for $29.99 and qualify for free shipping.
Truly a two-for-one deal, Steven Joseph’s toiletry bags are so soft and cuddly kids can fill them with their toothbrush and other must-haves or they can use them as a pillow on the ride to granny’s house. Steven Joseph doesn’t monkey around when cooking up goodies for kids – the bags are all machine-washable. Get the monkey toiletry bag for $18.95 from Chocolate Cake Club (add $10 if you’d like to get it personalized).
And check out these on-the-go goodies:
