Please call for store hours and directions to our location. We Buy Gently Used Kids' Stuff We buy and sell gently used kids' stuff - all seasons, every day! We pay on the spot for items accepted. Welcome to Once Upon A Child Seaford Sell us your kids stuff and receive $CASH$ on the spot for all items accepted. It's a great way to recycle yourkid stuff into cash or trade for "new to you" Please Call for Store Hours !! NEW BUY BACK HOURS: We are available to purchase your gently used items: TUESDAY - SATURDAY: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. We are OPEN TODAY No appointment is necessary during our buying hours. We purchase infant sizes - big kids 16. We accept clothing new and gently used Due to current inventory levels: Infant size WINTER clothing Newborn - 18 months must be NEW with tags in order for us to purchase. Spring & summer infant apparel (0-18m) can be accepted gently used. Please watch the video on the
Clothing must be neatly organized in storage bins, containers, or shopping bags with handles. Please place 2 piece outfits together. We DO NOT accept clothing in plastic garbage bags. We are more likely to purchase your items if they are clean and organized. Please organize toys with pieces and package them individually so we may process your items more quickly.We accept shoes as long as they are clean and have no wear in the heels, toes, or scuff marks. Toys should be clean and have all necessary parts. Equipment should be less than 5 years old(2012 or newer), have all necessary straps and accessories and be clean. Our pricing is based on brand, condition, and demand. We pay CASH on the spot for all accepted items.Since safety is our main concern, we DO NOT accept cribs, mattresses,carseats, infant carriers, and baby bath tubs and rings.We check all equipment and toys for recalls. We do not accept toys that connect to the t.v., or ride-ons with recharable batteries.
We do not accept computer games. Games and Puzzles Boys and Girls Clothing size 24m - big kids 16A used crib mattress could be safe, depending on how it was used and cared for. Setting up a nursery can set you back a few dollars, so when a friend offers you a free crib mattress -- or you see one out on the side of the street with a "free" sign on it -- you might be tempted. The trouble with a used mattress is that you don't know how it was cared for or if it meets today's safety standards. If you used the mattress yourself for a previous baby, using it again may be safe, as long as you cared for it properly. Firmness Crib mattresses made today provide a firm sleeping surface. As an adult, the mattress might seem too firm to you. But a baby needs a firm surface not only for support but to reduce the risk of smothering. When a mattress is too soft, loses its shape or develops soft spots, the mattress could conform to a baby's face if he rolls over with his face in the mattress, blocking air flow and smothering him.
An older mattress might be too soft to use today, either because it was made that way or because it was stored improperly, with heavier items on top of it, weakening it in spots. Fit A new crib mattress must measure at least 27 1/4 inches by 51 5/8 inches, according to Consumer Reports. Older crib mattresses made smaller might leave a gap between the crib sides and mattresses that could entrap and possibly smother a baby. If you can fit two fingers between the crib side and mattresses, it doesn't fit tightly enough and could pose a risk to your baby. Between January 1, 1997, and July 15, 2002, nine infants, all under age 1 year, died in crib accidents involving improperly-sized mattresses, the U.S. Consumer Safety Product Commission reported. Contaminant Growth Diapers leak and urine and feces can seep into a mattress, leaving not only stains but also the possibility of bacterial contamination, which could make a baby ill or possibly contribute to sudden infant death syndrome, although this has not been conclusively proven.
In addition, many parents don't have room to leave an unused crib mattress in the house and store it instead in the garage or basement. Both environments can be damp at times, and mold and mildew can grow on or inside a crib mattress, increasing the risk of allergy or respiratory symptoms for a baby. A crib mattress stored in a dry area is safer to reuse. Studies Several British researchers have proposed theories linking previously used crib mattresses with an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. A Scottish study conducted by researchers from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and published in the November 2002 "BMJ" found a correlation between SIDS death and sleeping on previously used mattresses, especially those that came from someone else's home. However, researchers cautioned that cause and effect weren't conclusively established with this study and offered no explanation for why the connection might exist. References Consumer Reports: Crib Mattress Buying GuideBMJ: Used Infant Mattresses and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in Scotland: Case-Control StudyJournal of Applied Microbiology: Used Cot Mattresses as Potential reservoirs ofBacterial Infection: Nutrient Availability Within Polyurethane FoamConsumer Products Safety Commission: Hazard Analysis: Crib-Related Deaths Photo Credits Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
For 75 years, Finland's expectant mothers have been given a box by the state. It's like a starter kit of clothes, sheets and toys that can even be used as a bed. And some say it helped Finland achieve one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates.It's a tradition that dates back to the 1930s and it's designed to give all children in Finland, no matter what background they're from, an equal start in life.The maternity package - a gift from the government - is available to all expectant mothers. It contains bodysuits, a sleeping bag, outdoor gear, bathing products for the baby, as well as nappies, bedding and a small mattress. With the mattress in the bottom, the box becomes a baby's first bed. Many children, from all social backgrounds, have their first naps within the safety of the box's four cardboard walls. Mothers have a choice between taking the box, or a cash grant, currently set at 140 euros, but 95% opt for the box as it's worth much more.The tradition dates back to 1938.
To begin with, the scheme was only available to families on low incomes, but that changed in 1949."Not only was it offered to all mothers-to-be but new legislation meant in order to get the grant, or maternity box, they had to visit a doctor or municipal pre-natal clinic before their fourth month of pregnancy," says Heidi Liesivesi, who works at Kela - the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. So the box provided mothers with what they needed to look after their baby, but it also helped steer pregnant women into the arms of the doctors and nurses of Finland's nascent welfare state. In the 1930s Finland was a poor country and infant mortality was high - 65 out of 1,000 babies died. But the figures improved rapidly in the decades that followed. Mika Gissler, a professor at the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Helsinki, gives several reasons for this - the maternity box and pre-natal care for all women in the 1940s, followed in the 60s by a national health insurance system and the central hospital network.
Dressing baby for the weather: Finland's official childcare adviceAt 75 years old, the box is now an established part of the Finnish rite of passage towards motherhood, uniting generations of women.Reija Klemetti, a 49-year-old from Helsinki, remembers going to the post office to collect a box for one of her six children."It was lovely and exciting to get it and somehow the first promise to the baby," she says. "My mum, friends and relatives were all eager to see what kind of things were inside and what colours they'd chosen for that year."Her mother-in-law, aged 78, relied heavily on the box when she had the first of her four children in the 60s. At that point she had little idea what she would need, but it was all provided. More recently, Klemetti's daughter Solja, aged 23, shared the sense of excitement that her mother had once experienced, when she took possession of the "first substantial thing" prior to the baby itself. She now has two young children. "It's easy to know what year babies were born in, because the clothing in the box changes a little every year.
It's nice to compare and think, 'Ah that kid was born in the same year as mine'," says Titta Vayrynen, a 35-year-old mother with two young boys.For some families, the contents of the box would be unaffordable if they were not free of charge, though for Vayrynen, it was more a question of saving time than money.She was working long hours when pregnant with her first child, and was glad to be spared the effort of comparing prices and going out shopping."There was a recent report saying that Finnish mums are the happiest in the world, and the box was one thing that came to my mind. We are very well taken care of, even now when some public services have been cut down a little," she says.When she had her second boy, Ilmari, Vayrynen opted for the cash grant instead of the box and just re-used the clothes worn by her first, Aarni.A boy can pass on clothes to a girl too, and vice versa, because the colours are deliberately gender-neutral.The contents of the box have changed a good deal over the years, reflecting changing times.
During the 30s and 40s, it contained fabric because mothers were accustomed to making the baby's clothes. But during World War II, flannel and plain-weave cotton were needed by the Defence Ministry, so some of the material was replaced by paper bed sheets and swaddling cloth. The 50s saw an increase in the number of ready-made clothes, and in the 60s and 70s these began to be made from new stretchy fabrics. In 1968 a sleeping bag appeared, and the following year disposable nappies featured for the first time. At the turn of the century, the cloth nappies were back in and the disposable variety were out, having fallen out of favour on environmental grounds. Encouraging good parenting has been part of the maternity box policy all along. "Babies used to sleep in the same bed as their parents and it was recommended that they stop," says Panu Pulma, professor in Finnish and Nordic History at the University of Helsinki. "Including the box as a bed meant people started to let their babies sleep separately from them."