Sunday 30 September 2012

The Little Life Day Sack Review & Giveaway!

Leo is at an age now where he is craving his independence but is not quite ready to branch off on his own, so I find myself struggling to give him the right combination of letting him fly solo topped up with the right dose of mothering.

When we go out and about now Leo will more often than not want to walk for a little while, he now has the strength to go for little walks around the local town, and he loves taking in every little detail around him. His innocent mind makes everything seem magical, even that crisp packet blowing in the breeze is ample reason to stop, bend down and marvel. Everything is new and exciting and when you are navigating the world around you with a toddler in tow, then you really need to know that you have them under control and that most importantly they are safe.


The biggest problem we have come across is that Leo will not hold my hand while we are out, if I am lucky enough to get him to do so for even a moment then that’s short lived and over in the blink of an eye. He loves to run ahead, stop when he wants and go where he pleases, but he couldn’t possibly do this by holding my hand.

With this in mind it has got me thinking of ways to combat this issue and ways of giving him what he desires while also being able to keep him in check. There are many different ways to keep your little one close, plenty of reign designs, from wrist straps to body reigns to choose from and now toddler bags that have a built in purpose reign. The beauty of a toddler bag is that as your little one get’s older they can carry the things they wish to take out with them, and you can still keep them at arms length.

Leo has been sent a LittleLife Dino Day Sack from the lovely people at Simply Hike. I loved the look of this little bag and wondered whether or not this would aid our experience while out and about. I am pleased to share that it did provide a very positive experience and allowed me to relax more while letting Leo gallivant about the town.

Day Sack Features:

- Top Grab Handle
- Removable Day Sack Reign
- Weatherproof Hood
- Zipped entry to main compartment
- Internal Name & Address Tag
- Adjustable Padded Shoulder Straps
- Chest Strap to prevent the strap from slipping
- Available in 10 animal designs – Ladybird, Turtle, Cow, Bee, Shark, Butterfly, Dinosaur, Spider, Clownfish and Giraffe
- Complies with safety standard EN 13210-2004 for children’s harnesses and reigns


What I loved about the LittleLife Day Sack range was that each of the designs had their own personality, and added that special factor in the child’s eyes. The Dino design is just great, featuring scales and even the ridges going down the spine of the bag, finishing on the tail, which really does complete the Dino’s look.

The reign attaches to a little handle on the back of the Day Sack, and once attached it is very secure and not going to be freeing any little monsters when you least expect it. Once the child outgrows the bag or you don’t have a need for the reign you can just take the reign off the handle and store it away in the bag, leaving you with a very characteristic back pack.

The Day Sack has a substantially sized main compartment, that we are not currently using as I don’t want to weigh Leo down with all of his bits and bobs, but as he get’s older it will be perfect for him to take along to nursery. It is big enough to house his drink, snacks and everything that he will need for a day out. There is even a separate compartment that hides away a weatherproof hood. It is within easy reach for Mummy or Daddy to whip it out at the first sign of rain, and this little hood completes the Dinosaur look. The hood has yet more ridges just as on the back of the bag that really allows your little one to get into character.

You can really feel the quality in this bag, and it is the perfect size and weight for a toddler to make use of, tipping the scales at just 200g. The LittleLife Day Sacks are suitable for children 1 year up to the age of 4 years old due to the padded adjustable shoulder straps that grow with the child. To make sure that the bag was set up correctly for Leo’s use I simply slipped the bag onto his shoulders and did up the front clasp. I then just adjusted the shoulder straps until I was happy with the fit and how it was sitting on Leo. With winter on the way it is great to know that we will be able to use the Day Sack with a winter coat, by just being able to adjust the straps to suit whatever Leo is wearing.

Last weekend armed with the Day Sack our little family of 3 decided to take a drive into town for a leisurely lunch and walk around the town. So that is exactly what we did, I strapped the bag onto Leo’s back and off he went. He looked so pleased with himself trotting along and acting just as he usually would. Only this time I was happy as I had the control and the knowledge that he could not run off.

On Leo’s travels around the town he came across a robotic talking Hippo named Harry, (No seriously!) who happened to be going around the streets signing songs and talking to the children on a trike ( I really am telling you the truth!). Leo was walking along as always ahead of me, when he came across Harry and he stopped right there in his tracks, staring at the unusual sight. I wasn’t sure whether he was going to cry and want carrying or would see the humour in the situation. Of course Leo being Leo soon loved this unusual robot and began to follow him as he moved away on his trike. Parents and children alike couldn’t quite work out how this robot was talking back to everyone and peddling his trike.



In the end I had to pick Leo up and carry him away from Harry, otherwise we would have been there following this mechanical robot around all day, lead of course by Leo!

Of course with the Day Sack reign I have the power to dictate where the boundaries are, if I don’t want Leo to go in a certain direction I can just hold the reign tight. In this situation though you do need to be careful that they don’t have a little fall on their bottom’s… but it allows you to assertively let them know where they can go and where the cannot. Leo likes to throw a strop if I stop him going where he wants to, but 9 times out of 10 I do have errands to run while I am in town, so sometimes he is just going to have to follow my lead.

The Day Sack gives Leo the freedom he wants, and compared to other reign choices on the market the Day Sack is less intrusive, just letting Leo get on with what he wants to, which of course is primarily causing trouble! The Day Sack gives me the reassurance that he is safe and accounted for, and provides a win/win situation for both sides. Not to mention that Daddy also loves the Dino Day Sack…I may have to look into an adult size especially for him!

You can purchase your LittleLife Day Sacks right here for £16.95.

GIVEAWAY TIME!

I am very pleased to be able to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a Little Life Day Sack of their choice. As I mentioned in my review of this fab little bag, there is a great selection for both boy's and girls.

The winner will be able to choose any one of these gorgeous designs:

- Ladybird
- Turtle
- Cow 
- Shark 
- Butterfly 
- Dinosaur 
- Spider
- Clownfish
- Giraffe

All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning the Little Life Day Sack of your choice is to enter the Rafflecopter form below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway



Competition Guidelines:

Please only enter this competition if you are a resident of the United Kingdom. If you are drawn as the winner please respond to the email notification within 48 hours. If no response is received within this time frame then another winner will be drawn at random, and your win will be void.

Good luck all!

Disclaimer: I was sent the LittleLife Day Sack for the purpose of this review. However all views and opinions are completely honest and my own.







104 comments:

  1. We have the Bumble Bee Day Sack, my daughter has been the proud owner of it since she started walking. She still wears the the Sack without the reign attached now she's over 2.5yrs, she even insisted on wearing it to the airport last week, with the Bumble Bee hat on her head!

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    1. Great choice and bless her! I think they capture the little one's imaginations and it makes all the difference x

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  2. What a really cute day sack! They have something like Nemo too. I bet my niece would definitely love it for her birthday.

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    1. They are great. I really recommend them.

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  3. Has to be the dinosaur! We love everything that goes raaawr

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  4. It has to be the cow design! Awesome!!

    @mummy_loves

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  5. The ladybird - Lara's mad about ladybirds!

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  6. Definitely the dinosaur! Im loving the design!!

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  7. My daughter loves ladybirds so it has to bethe Adybird

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  8. I love the dinosaur - my son is dinosaur mad so would love it!

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  9. The giraffe is my favorite & super cute too!

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  10. The clownfish is my favourite. My little one absolutely loves Finding Nemo and i know he'd have loads of fun pretending to be his faourite Disney character!

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  11. The Ladybird as my little girl loves them :)

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  12. Has to be the cow design! We adore cows and would probably ensure Harrys wears one!

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  13. The giraffe, soo cute

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  14. I love the bumble bee! It would go with my little girl's lunch box!

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  15. My boy would love the dinosaur!

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  16. My favourite is the Clown Fish as it is nice and colourful.

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  17. My favourite is the cow because it was one of Sons first words and he loves cows! @Bobbity666

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  18. Getting an error 404 when I try and follow by GFC ??? @Bobbity666

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  19. the dinosaur, it looks great! the clownfish too as my kids love finding nemo

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  20. I'd love the dinosaur one for my little man

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  21. Replies
    1. I love the butterfly to, not sure how Leo would have felt about it though hehe x

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  22. I love the ladybird because I know my niece would love it too :)

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  23. i love the ladybird, butterfly and cow oooo too hard to choose :) i will go for the butterfly xx

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  24. I love the butterfly as Eliza is obsessed with them!!

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  25. I love the butterfly/ladybord desgin, my little girl would love them :)

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  26. Catherine McAlinden20 October 2012 at 10:25

    I love the Nemo one, as my son would love to wear it!

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  27. what a fab and detailed review, I like the Nemo one, it's very cute; I'd love to win one for my niece, they need to come up with bigger ones for 4 year old though :-) my daughter is not very good with giving the hand lately either.

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    1. Thank you :-)
      The nemo is so bright! fingers crossed! x

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  28. Butterfly. Know a little person that would love that. :) :D Good luck to everyone x

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  29. Oh wow he looks soooo cute!!! I would have to say the Dinosaur after seeing it modeled so gorgeously :) It's adorable, and the hood? Aw I could squeal!

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  30. The cow one is cute!

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  31. Ladybird please

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  32. I love LittleLife Animal Daysack Clown Fish, because it reminds me of Nemo the fish and it is great for either a boy or girl

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  33. My daughter remould love the butterfly design she is a very girly girl!

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  34. I like the shark one as it makes me laugh

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  35. We already have the dinosaur and love it, its so cool when passersby comment on it. I also like the shark one, just looks great.

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    1. They do get lot's of attention! Ah nice choice! x

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  36. OMG!! wow, they are so cute. I'd love the dino one because my son is DINO MAD! :) He'd love it.

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  37. Love the cuddly spider - good for Halloween too.

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  38. I love the butterfly, having just had a little girl this will be perfect for when she is becoming independant x

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  39. The butterfly just perfect for our little girl. So cute!! x

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  40. Really love the Clownfish so sweet

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  41. I love the Ladybird design - so bright and colourful.

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  42. The Ladybird - I just love the spots!

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  43. Love the giraffe as my nearly 3 year old has an affection for them and was all big smiles when he saw them at the zoo.

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  44. The Dinosaur is my favourite, love it, very cute.

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  45. The Ladybird is my favourite, love it, very cute.I just love the spots

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  46. I love the shark because of the fin!

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  47. Ooh i saw someone with the ladybird one of these on the other day and wondered what they were. Such a great idea! We would love to win the clownfish design for my son.

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  48. Wow these look sooo amazing!! I love the dinosaur the most as my daughter is completely dinosaur bonkers at the moment. She is having a dinosaur disco birthday party next month & has asked for a diplodocus cake... so I know she would love this!

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  49. My daughter had the turtle daysack when she was youngerbut I just know my son would love the dinosaur

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  50. I love the dinosaur design because it's great for boys or girls, especially if they have older siblings who are crazy about dinosaurs

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  51. I love the spider - quirky & fun, my son would love it!

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  52. I'd want to win the Ladybird - I love them :)

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  53. The butterfly daysack is so pretty and colourful.I'd love to win that one if picked please.

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  54. Ooooo I'd love to win the cow on for my little cousin, he'd LOVE it! and I'd be worlds best cousin which is always a bonus! :) xx

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  55. I like the Dinosaur because boys love dinasours

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  56. The butterfly - anything that's pink/purple with wings my little girl LOVES! Brilliant idea - also she could carry a few of her own things saves me lugging them around like a cart horse ;-)

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  57. I like the butterfly, primarily because my daughter loves them.

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  58. I love the dinosaur one because my son loves anything to do with dino's :o) x

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  59. I love the turtle design and it would encourage my son to help look after our own terrapins!

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  60. I love the dinosaur one because it's so cute!

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  61. looks amazing! spider design is great! i hate spiders but my son loves them x

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  62. We love the dinosaur design, anything to do with dinosaurs in this house we just love.

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  63. This looks like a great idea - My daughter would love the ladybird!

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  64. claire thomson little1 November 2012 at 01:13

    I love the cow one as could be used for either my son or daughter

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  65. I think the ladybird is very cute and sure Jessica would love it

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  66. I can't choose between the giraffe and the ladybird

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  67. I love the dinosaur but must be honest i would be really tempted to borrow it from my son as its just so cute hehe

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  68. I love the clownfish, such a different design and one which you very rarely see

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  69. I love the butterfly as it's so girly :-)

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  70. rachael jones mann1 November 2012 at 11:22

    ooooooo i LOVE the Dino , but the spider is cool too!my son loves dinosaurs but we also have a pet trantula so either would suit him !

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  71. Oh I would love the butterfly. My little girl is butterfly mad and she is 2.5 so she has found her indenpendance and refuses to use the pushchair now so this would be a god send!

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  72. My Little boy would love the Dinosaur one best please

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  73. the buetterfly, so suitable for my little angel and she could fly up up away :)

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  74. The butterfly, very pretty, with those wings little girls could pretend to be Tinkerbell.

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  75. I love the clownfish its really cute, also reminds me of the finding nemo film which i love. My daughter would love this bag.

    Tiffany Oconnell

    @toc83

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  76. i love the cow. cows are my sons favorite animal so i know he would adore it!

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  77. it has got to be the dinosaur it is just so cute

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  78. dinosaur as my little boy loves them

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  79. My favourite has to be the butterfly because at the moment my little girl is mesmerised by them and always calls them 'flutterbyes' which is so adorable!

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  80. has to be the Dinosaur as my daughter loves dinosaurs

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  81. Love the dinosaur might have to try this one out, we had character back pack reins before but during a tantrum and him pulling away the clip popped open and he bumped/grazed his forehead so been wary

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  82. I love the Dinosaur because my son is crazy about dinosaurs and would be crazy about this bag

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  83. My little boy is mad on dinosaurs, so it would have to be the Dinosaur bag that I would love to have. It looks such a fab and cute bag.

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  84. the butterfly or the ladybird :)

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    1. I just think they look really cute whilst being practical xx

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  85. The ladybird cause I used to have a ladybird bag as a little girl

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I love hearing your thoughts, so please feel free to leave me a comment :)