Baby Expo Offers One-Stop Shop

Seeking to provide services to parents of babies and toddlers in the Westfield area, NJ Mom's Guide's second annual Baby and Toddler Expo on Sunday offered a variety of offerings for demographic.

The morning long expo featured a series of displays and workshops covering a variety of topics of concern to new and expcting parents. The subjects included how to select a daycare, child health, car seat safety, among other issues.

Lucy Pritzker, owner and director of Just Babies Daycare in Westfield, kicked off the Expo with the first workshop of the day; 'Babies 101.' Rather than make a sales pitch for her own center, Prtizker pointed out a number of important factors that should be included in parents' decision on which daycare center is right for their children.

She went on to explain that references are important. If you ask for references from the center itself, they will surely give you only positive references and not the contact information of someone that was displeased with their services. She explained that there is a better way to get a true reference of a place.

“I tell families that are interested to work their schedule so they can arrive between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. when it's pick-up time at the center,” Pritzker said. “You'll be able to meet a variety of parents in the driveway. You can tell them you just toured the center and would like to know a little about their experience. This way, you get a decent sampling instead of only positive reviews from the director."

Just Babies Daycare is located at 462 West Broad St in Westfield and has been around for five years. Pritzker started the company in her home. The handout folder provided by Pritzker included a guide from the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies which outlined many important recommendations, processes, and things that are important to look for when choosing a daycare center. The Goddard School also had a display. They are an early childhood development institution with locations nationally.

Representatives from Nessalee Baby, a car seat safety compay, spoke about the importance of car seat safety and the products offered by their company, which span a variety of price ranges.

Creative Kids, a company with locations in Westfield and Livingston, had a table at the event. Their main goal is to create a positive atmosphere for children starting at three months. They provide activities for children ranging from dancing to art.

Each visitor to the Expo was given a gift bag compliments of New Jersey Mom's Guide. Included were baby food samples, a yoga dvd, gift certificate to Motives Custom Cosmetics, and other useful guides and brochures. Attendees were also able to shop the vendors at the event and purchase or sample products from each table.