ABOUT US We’re a group of mummies (with an occasional daddy, a favourite aunt or granny thrown in) who want to share our experience of kiddie products, activities and services with the rest of you moms in India. We’ve got mothers with kids of all ages who, with their wisdom and experience, give you their take on kidstuff ranging from safe computer games to car seats; from backpacking with kids in Europe to local summer workshops; from where to eat out with your bacchas in your city to where to get organic cotton clothes for your child. We look out for the unusual, the educational, the fun and the unique, so you don’t have to. So log on to mummyknowsbest.com everyday and discover a whole new world of kidstuff, mummy splurges and gift suggestions. We’re happy to answer any questions you have about our reviews (or anything else you want to ask us), and we’d love your comments and feedback, so please interact with us as much as you like. Nisha is writer and co-founder of mummyknowsbest.com. She is surprisingly happy living in the ‘burbs of Bangalore and only wishes for a neighbourhood coffee shop, and oh maybe a neighbourhood bookshop, and um… a restaurant or 2. Life would indeed be perfect then.
THE MUMMIES
When she’s not running in circles around her 2 little boys, or pretending she knows something about gardening, she is busy scouring the city – and the internet for kids and mummy products that are a little bit out of the ordinary and make her gasp and mutter “Must have”. She is especially drawn to independent boutiques, eco-friendly accessories, organic food, cool kids bands, hand-made items, and unfortunately cannot resist bags of any kind - diaper bags, lunch bags, kids backpacks, handbags, wallets, clutches…sigh. In her previous life before mummyhood, Nisha vaguely remembers working as a web designer and programmer and is now a freelance writer whenever the kids allow her to be one. Talk to her at nisha@mummyknowsbest.com Fortunately for her food styling requires endless jaunts to stores and malls where she hunts for knick knacks and food products. This is also where she finds her bargains, her favourite things and she is usually accompanied by her three and half year old daughter, a lot of kid shopping gets done as well. Being an avid contributor to social media sites, she loves to keep up with new products and trends which she is more than happy to share with her friends. Stepping into her 30’s has allowed Parul to reconnect with a lot of schoolmates and childhood friends who have kids too, most of her e-mails and Facebook messages are about the wonderful challenge that children are. And those mails reinforce the fact that a community helps her cope better, stay happier and most of all shop smarter. Find her take on what’s hip, healthy and happening for your kids on mummyknowsbest and mail her on Being married to an adventure sport professional has helped her deal with the transition from free-spirit to responsible mum to a 2 year old boy. She is always on the look out for fun, interesting and off the beaten path ideas, toys and activities for her baby and on mummyknowsbest.com, Priya shares her excitement of discovering these unique kiddie products and services which are bound to be great tips for the parent and entertaining for the baccha too. Having always been in the media line, she loves connecting and sharing with like-minded people and looks forward to hearing from moms in Mumbai and elsewhere. So leave comments on her posts or write to priya@mummyknowsbest.com. Swathi is a geneticist by profession, who has recently started delving into her other passions that have been kept on hold for the past 10 or more years of research and science. Writing being one of them, mummyknowsbest works great for her as it combines with her added interest in children’s development, thinking and products, especially creative and out-of-the box ones. She has a four-year-old son who is the guinea pig for all her ‘experiments’ (can’t take the science out!) and the immeasurable source of joy (read ‘frustration’ at times) in life. She shares her husband’s penchant for wildlife and the outdoors, adding to her eclectic lifestyle. She loves books and will spend on them even in times of recession and starvation; loves design in different forms and techniques, which she hopes will develop into another avenue of work. Her mantra is ‘Balance, balance and more balance’. Will need it! She would love to hear from other moms about their discoveries, eureka moments and the ‘aaarrrggghhh’ times, so go ahead and write to her at swathi@mummyknowsbest.com or comment on one of her posts.
Parul is a full time mummy with a full time job. She works from home as a Marketing Manager for a stock photography company and styles food for photography too. She likes to believe that she still has ‘free time’ in which she has 3 bonsais left to do, 2 unread books to finish and pending drafts of two cookbooks. Those are also the contents of her to-do list for the last three months.
parul@mummyknowsbest.com to tell her what you think.
Priya is a Mumbai based senior writer who over the last 14 years (in what feels like another lifetime to her) was a flight attendant with Delta, a client service manager at Fountainhead- the promotions and events management firm and a part-time radio jockey with Times FM while she was pursuing a BA at St. Xavier’s College.
Baisali is trying. She is trying to keep her feet on the ground while simultaneously trying to keep her head above water. Raising two adventurous, impish boys will do that to you, she swears. Her sons have introduced her to the hither-to unknown Little Boy World of bumps, bruises, bodily lacerations, muddy socks and imaginary dragon warriors, yet they share some common interests — like in climbing for
example, they climb things double their height; she, the walls!
But along with the Dettol, Band-aids and Betadine that they’ve bought into her life, they’ve also brought in immeasurable joy, humour and an incredible bounty of wonder and magic.
Once upon a time, Baisali used to work for AVON. And then with quiz-master Derek O’Brien. She is now a freelance writer, having written for ‘Mother & Baby’ magazine, ‘Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul’ and various websites. Oh, and she has an MA in French which has now been rendered redundant due to lack of use.
As far as mummyknowsbest is concerned, it helps that she loves shopping, because she’s always on the look-out for the best buys for her boys. Seriously. ‘Always’ — she was like this even when they were in utero. Talk to her at baisali@mummyknowsbest.com
Disclaimer:
Mummyknowsbest is owned and managed by Ruchika Chanana and Nisha Subramaniam.
Our blog reviews children’s products. The opinions contained in our posts are our own. Products that do not meet our rigorous quality and use standards are not featured on the site. What you read in our reviews are honest opinions and feelings about products we believe will be good for our children and those of our readers.