When you were a kid, didn’t you dream of the kind of house and life you would have when you had the means and liberty to run your life. Certainly, there would be more trips to the amusement park, more movies, and plenty more ice cream. I also fantasized about kid stuff I wanted in a house. No grownup wood paneling and fluffy pillows for me. I wanted fire poles and hidden doors and secret passageways.

Surprisingly, if you are renovating a house, or building one from scratch, there is precious little to help provide ideas for that kind of house. All architecture, design, and building appears to be dominated by practical women who want order more than they want screams of delight. Who said houses have to be boxes fit for a Noel Coward play. Some of us grew up along the way, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, or at least create a space for our kids to have fun.

In that vein, here are a few ideas I’ve pulled together of ideas that your kids would be excited to find in a new house. And pox on the person who says that features don’t pay back in selling price. They may not “pay back” exactly, but features sell everything, from razors, to cars all the way to big houses.

1. Roof turret: Imagine a small bubble or space that allows one or two people to sit and look at view from roof from the unimpeded area of one corner of the house. This could be a solitary space, or with a view to the heavens, a place for star-gazing.

2. Mystery house. Take a gander at this article in the New York Times on a large apartment that was designed to integrate a mystery.

3. Put in a zipline!

4. Put in a climbing wall!

5. Hidden doors and cozy spaces

(courtesy of www.SiolStudios.com)

6. Built-in play areas and theatre spaces   

(courtesy of www.SiolStudios.com)

7. Miniature golf course putting green

8. Stairs integrated with a slide

Other cool stair ideas at ideas at www.czubasteelworks.com

Also, check out Todd Davis’ new book,
Handy Dad, with lots of fun home and play projects that will make kids smile.
Todd’s book features ideas like these, but also plans on how to make them yourself, like Treehouses,

Please add your own ideas. When I went looking for ideas like this, I found very little, but there must be designers out there making spectacular living spaces for kids, and the kid in all of us.

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We’re doing a roundup of car seats unveiled at the 2009 ABC Kids show, the major annual convention for baby and kids products.

This year, the biggest story on car seats in general was in side impact head protection. While car seats have made major advances, this is still an area where more technology can save young lives. There were also at least 2 new seats developed to evolve with a child from 20 pounds to 100.

In this series, we will look at the following seats:

1. Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 (previously reviewed)

2. Britax Parkway SG (previously reviewed)

3. Safety 1^st Complete Air car seat with Air Protect

4. Evenflo Symphony 65

5. Clek Oobr

Today’s review is on the Safety 1^st Complete Air car seat with Air Protect from Tom Green of San Francisco, California.

Let me start by saying that we’ve had our share of car seats, so for me, it’s tough to justify a pricier car seat, which the Air Protect is. However, I tend to prioritize safety & function, which the Air Protect offers in spades. And it appears that you can use the Air Protect through the baby, toddler and preschool years, so maybe it’s worth the investment. Here’s my quick pro/con list on the Air Protect:

Pros:

• Side impact air cushions offer peace of mind with respect to your child’s safety if in a car accident. These cushions are also a nice head rest for your kids when they inevitably fall asleep in the car.
• Easily adjustable harness that you do not need to re-thread
• Great looking – ours is brown/orange
• Easy push button LATCH hooks which are a cinch to install
• Cup holder!

Cons:

• My youngest child is not going to be interested in sitting rear-facing until 40 lbs, no matter how safe it is, so the rear-facing option is not a plus for me. Plus, rear-facing cramps their ability to extend their legs comfortably, or at all.
• Pretty expensive ($250) considering there are other highly rated car seats out there.
• I don’t have a newborn but it looks a little large and upright for the under 6 months crowd. I think most people would feel more comfortable with, and find more utility out of, an infant car seat for the first 4-6 months.

All in all, the Air Protect seems like a great car seat for parents who are very safety conscious and willing to shell out the extra $ for the added peace of mind, especially if you want to extend your kids’ ability to sit rear-facing. I’m not sure I’d pay $250 for a car seat, but having said that, functionally the seat is easy to install/use and I like that it transitions through the different phases of baby/toddler/preschool.

GreatDad.com Review Policy: The featured product for this review was provided to us, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. We do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. We only review products that we have personally tested and used in our own homes, and all opinions expressed are our own.

Zigo. Single @ $1350 for 3 speed and double at $1399 for 3 speed. More for new 7 speed.

Allows you to bike your kids to school or market and detach bike to use the “child pod” alone.

Ready to go out of box.    

Kelty leads the outdoor childcare category with 53%. This new carrier improves on the positioning on the back Other new features includes automatic kickstand and side impact cushioning. 2.0 and 3.0 models at $199 and $249.