Liz Gumbinner, Author at Cool Mom Picks

Parenting lessons from the first debate: Teaching kids how to have a productive discussion, without bullying or name-calling.

My kids’ eyes flew wide open when they stepped into the living room last night and caught some of the fiasco (or you know, Dana Bash’s more colorful term) that passed for a presidential debate. This morning, our team discussed that while we’re...

No hate: A kids’ craft kit supporting a message we can all agree on.

by Liz Gumbinner | DIY, Doing Good

Well. This certainly has been an interesting start to Anti-Bullying Month. After four years of strife, anger, division, hatred, bullying…I can safely say that parents are tired. I know I’m tired of apologizing to my kids that they have to grow up seeing...

How to help fulfill Justice Ginsburg’s last wish: 3 simple action steps to help voters

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good

“My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in a statement to her granddaughter before she died, this past Friday. I have been so saddened and yeah, troubled and angry since...

A study about the ignorance of teens + young adults around the Holocaust + anti-Semitism is disturbing. Here’s what we can do as parents.

by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Kids, Doing Good, Kids, Thinking : Parent

This morning I woke up to the study that’s making the rounds on Twitter: Nearly 2/3 of US young adults are unaware that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust — some get the numbers wrong, some didn’t know at all. Dig deeper into the survey results...

Election Fact Check: Absentee ballots and voting by mail | Spawned ep 215

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good, Podcast

Whether you’re pinned to election coverage right now, or avoiding it as much as possible, we think every American should listen to this interview with Amber McReynolds, former Director of Elections for Denver, and now the CEO of the bipartisan National Vote at...

How to get your hands on iconic photos + paintings to support equity for Black artists. We can’t pick a favorite!

by Liz Gumbinner | Art + Decor, Doing Good

By now, I think our readers are aware that that creating more equity and representation for Black Americans across every industry is one of the most impactful ways to dismantle racist systems. So as a fan of original rock portraits — and of organizations that...

Setting up a study space at home for distance learning or homeschool: How to make it one your kid will actually use

by Liz Gumbinner | Back to School Shopping, Kids' Furniture, School Gear, Storage + Organization, Tips + Tricks

Right now, so many parents are trying to figure out how to set up a study space at home for the kids because hey! 2020! Whether your kids are going to be doing distance learning with their school, or homeschooling — maybe for the first time — I can only...

Michelle Obama’s VOTE necklace: Found it, want it.

by Liz Gumbinner | Fashion

Like everyone I know, I was absolutely captivated and moved by Michelle Obama’s DNC speech last night. (Please, watch if you haven’t already.) It’s what I woke up thinking about this morning and I know I will keep thinking about it. And while it was...

The best presidential election resources for kids: Reader Q&A

by Liz Gumbinner | Entertainment + Media, Kids

Q: I’m looking for good resources for talking to my 11- and 12-year-olds about the presidential election, like candidate platforms that are kid-friendly reads. – Monica, via our Spawned Podcast Community. A: Well, this certainly sent me down an enjoyable rabbit...

How to help Beirut after the explosion: A list of trusted organizations that can really use your support.

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good

As I look for ways to help Beirut after the horrific explosion this week, I’m grateful to Fadia Berberi, (@karzel), a mom in the suburbs of Beirut who I’ve known through Instagram for a while. She DM’d me to explain, What happened here in Beirut is...

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz!

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Picks in 2006 to help make life cooler, more meaningful, and more fun for parents of all kinds.

Trivia: It was called Cool Mom Sh*t for the first two days. (Yeah, we rethought that.)

We had no idea our site would grow to become a major lifestyle network, that we'd end up sharing our finds with the TODAY Show and Martha Stewart, that we'd be able to make a real difference for so many small businesses and women-run companies, or that we'd end up with an incredible community of the coolest readers on the planet. (If we do say so ourselves).

We did.

And we still love what we do every single day.

We're so glad you're here.