Dads are the greatest. They are there to wipe your tears when you are sad, they teach you how to throw a ball, they are who you run to when mom says no. But then there are those dads who have gone above and beyond their normal dad duties and invented items to help make their lives and the lives of other dads easier to manage.
Dad and inventor Bryan Lifshitz along with his two co-inventor brothers, Wayne and Jonathan Lifshitz, have eight children between the three of them and have had to give a piggyback ride a time or two. As their children got older, the piggyback rides were becoming more strenuous than when the kids were little. This got the brothers thinking about alternative ways to make piggyback rides less strenuous and this thinking snowballed into the birth of the Piggyback Rider (U.S. Patent No. 8,424,731). The Piggyback rider “is a compact, lightweight child carrier for toddlers 2.5 y/o+ up to 60lbs that creates a mutually enjoyable, effortless way to carry a child on your back, replacing bulky backpack carriers and strollers. Standing firmly on a shoulder-strap mounted bar, with integrated grab handles and safety tether for security, children love the height advantage and rest. The sturdy, unisex design functions like a standard backpack, distributing the child’s weight at your core enabling a natural upright posture.”
As one of a dad’s primary duties is carrying things, it’s not surprising that another dad inventor developed a different product to assist in carrying an infant’s car seat. Nathan Day learned firsthand how strenuous it can be when he dislocated his shoulder while lifting his daughter’s car seat. “After much research, I was shocked to discover there was nothing on the market to make baby carriers easier to hold. My idea quickly turned into a sketch, which evolved into making LugBug (U.S. Patent No. 8,671,523) a reality with molds, testing, patents and now manufacturing.” The LugBug is a lightweight, ergonomic and exceptionally strong little handle that adjusts to any single-handle baby carrier. It offers a more comfortable and enjoyable carrying position that eases tension on the wrist, forearm and shoulder.
Finally, what dad hasn’t struggled in keeping up with baby’s schedule. Greg Sheldon was sleep deprived and having trouble keeping track of when his child last ate, when he changed the last diaper, when the baby took the last nap. Engineer and new dad Greg decided to figure out a way to make remembering these things easier. He invented the Itzbeen (U.S. Patent No. 7,522,477), a baby-care timer that displays how long it has been since the last bottle, nap, diaper change, etc. “It’s as simple as pressing a button once after each diaper change, nursing or feeding, sleep or awake time; medication or other task.” The popularity of this item has grown so much there is one for adults called the “Pocket Doctor”.
Not all dads are inventors and that’s fine, we at Suiter Swantz IP want to say, to all the dads out there, inventors or not, Happy Father’s Day.
