A great crib will be versatile, solidly-constructed, and an attractive centerpiece in your child’s room. We spent 15 hours researching hundreds of cribs, and three days assembling and converting 10 of them, before concluding that the DaVinci Kalani 4-in-1 Convertible Crib is the best choice for most families. This sturdy crib converts to a daybed, toddler bed, and full-size bed, offering the potential for years of use.
A crib mattress is the type of thing you want to shop for once and never have to worry about again. After 11 hours researching hundreds of crib mattresses and a month testing 12 of them, we think the two-sided Moonlight Slumber Little Dreamer is the best choice for most families. It provides a firm, comfortable, easy-to-clean sleep surface for your child from infancy until it’s time for a big-kid bed.
After researching pocket knives for over 60 hours and talking to two people who have reviewed at least 450 knives between them, we tested 28 knives—by slicing up 20 cardboard boxes and peeling 30 apples—and found that the Columbia River Knife and Tool Drifter is the best knife for most people to carry every day.
Many ultrabooks are good—by definition, they’re powerful thin-and-light laptops with long battery life—but only a few stand out as great. After testing 12 new models in early 2020 and testing hundreds of laptops in the past six years, we found that the Dell XPS 13 (9300) is the best Windows ultrabook for most people. Different versions of the XPS 13 have been our top pick since early 2015, and this new redesign is the best one yet.
Ready to take on anything, teenagers are growing into their identities as young adults. They’re attuned to what’s happening around them and ripe for new experiences and challenges. And they value their friendships more than ever. Teenagers are also exploring and wrestling with more serious adult themes. “They’re starting to read more grown-up books, watch more grown-up movies, and play more grown-up games,” says Brian Mayer, a gaming, learning, and library specialist in New York City. But on the inside? They’re still kids at heart, and they find joy in the silly and the absurd.
Between the ages of 9 and 12, children start to outgrow their little-kid personas and move on to more grown-up interests. These so-called tweens are developing first crushes, taking more interest in their appearance, following social media personalities, and growing increasingly independent. But they still harbor a fondness for fun, silly, even “babyish” things, too. “[Tweens] present like they’re mature, but they still like kid stuff,” said Catherine Pearlman, a parenting adviser, an associate professor of social work at Brandman University, and a mother of two teenagers. “They’re a mix of wanting to be grown up and thinking they can handle everything, but also still learning.”
If you want a 4K TV that delivers the best performance for the best price, look no further than the TCL 6-Series. This 4K LCD TV offers up a fantastic image with TV shows, movies, and video games—and it outperforms many TVs that cost a lot more. The built-in Roku streaming platform makes it easy to use, and it’s packed with features you’re likely to need in the future.
