Keep the lil’ ones close!

   “Stay right next to me!”  “We are in parking lot, you need to hold my hand.”  “I know you are excited, but you need to stay near me so you don’t get lost!”  Have you ever found yourself saying these things to your young ones?  I know I have.
After the birth of our second child, it became harder to keep my oldest near me, as my attention is not fully on her.  Now, being a childcare provider going out and about makes me nervous!  All my children are great, no runners…but, it still makes me a nervous wreak in crowds and parking lots.  Well, luckily I found a great solution to calm my nerves a bit.

Enter the Gripsterz Stay Along.

Let me start by saying I am not a fan (under-statement) of harness’.  I know that safety is the concern of parents who use them.  But, I feel like if you run from me…your getting strapped in a stroller! Well, with the Gripsterz, I can feel that my child is not being restrained like a puppy, but instead is holding a fun handle that I can adjust the length on.

We first tried out the Gripsterz on a trip to a farmstead near us.  Awesome place, with lots of kids, busy parking lot and school buses’ full of kids on field trips. So, with two Gripsterz, each girl (ages 4 and 5) held their purple monkey that was attached to the stroller. Honestly, I planned on using the Stay Along if either girl had an issue staying close or keeping up.  But, they each wanted to hold the monkey and was happy doing so!


Let me tell you.. these little Gripsterz eased my mind.  Again, the girls don’t run (wander, yes) so I wasn’t sure how they would go over.  But, they worked perfectly and I WILL be using them every time we go into a parking lot or busy situation.  I also like how they give the kids a little length.  When I used to have C hold onto the cart I felt like I was going to run over her toes at some point!  Plus, I can’t have C hold onto my youngest little guy’s stroller while he is riding.  He starts screaming and pushing her hand away- he is a bit protective of his stoller I guess!  Yet again, the Gripsterz is my sloution! A carrying bag and children’s mini book is included, which was great to introduce the purpose of the Gripsterz to the girls.

     

So, if you have a little one that you need to keep close, give the Gripsterz by Vive Vita a try.  Certainly eases my mind on trips out with more than one kiddo!
Check out the configurations that can be made with the Gripsterz at the Vive Vita website.  You can purchase on the Vive Vita website or through Amazon.
My only suggestion for this product—More characters to accommodate more kids!  I think these would be a really cool match to the Unique-4-Me line that I reviewed a couple weeks back.  See that review here.

*Disclosure: this product was given to me free of charge in return for an honest review.