5 simple things I’m doing to stay calm, centered, and not lose my *$&t this year.
The past few years have been — as if you didn’t live through them too — kind of hellish. Okay, very hellish. You don’t need me to share the many many articles about how much work moms in particularly have been doing to balance everyone’s...
Answering parents top questions about the Covid-19 vaccine for kids 5-11 | Spawned Ep 260
While some of us (including Kristen and myself) are rejoicing about the approval of the Covid-19 vaccine for kids 5-11, we know that a lot of parents still have questions. As you should! This is our kids we’re talking about, and as parents, we research...
Jenny Lawson on depression, anxiety and why we have to talk about it | Spawned Episode 255
We can’t believe after all these episodes of Spawned, we’ve never had the chance to chat with Jenny Lawson. A.K.A. The Bloggess. A.K.A. the best-selling author. A.K.A. new indie bookshop owner. A.K.A. the woman who first left a comment on Liz’s blog...
Instagram, girls and body image: What parents need to know | Spawned Ep 252
Recently, I wrote about that article, the one about Instagram, teens, body image and self-esteem — and the conversation I had about it with my 14-year-old daughter. It generated so much great conversation on our social feeds, that Kristen and I wanted to chat...
The one trick to make sure your child’s face mask fits properly, to comply with the brand new CDC recommendations.
After 18 months (sigh) it’s now clear that we’re past the point of “any mask is better than nothing” for preventing Covid spread, especially with the Delta variant here. In fact, just this weekend, the CDC issued new, specific recommendation...
If you’re having trouble sleeping, Dream Powder helps naturally.
This is a sponsored message from Beam If there’s one thing parents can unify around it’s that we could all use a lot more sleep. (Well, we all pretty unanimously like Ted Lasso too. But that’s another story.) The one issue: It’s hard! Our minds...
Where to find at-home rapid Covid tests, kid-sized KN95s, and other essentials you may need
At-home rapid Covid tests isn’t the only thing we’ve been on the hunt for lately. With cold and flu and yes, yet another Covid-19 season upon us, I’ve been making a list of a few essentials so that my family isn’t scrambling if we do come down...
Cerebral has been called the “best online service for mental health” and we can see why.
We are pleased to present this sponsored message on behalf of Cerebral We all know that we’ve been through a lot this past year. The need for affordable, accessible mental health treatment has grown immensely, and finally someone is doing something about it....
On modeling body positivity for our kids: Where we succeed, where we can do better | Spawned Ep 245
When Kristen wrote a viral post last week about wearing crop tops over 40, in response to a conversation with her daughter, the comments from our readers were so inspiring, we knew we wanted to discuss body positivity further on Spawned. Interestingly, we each have...
The single most important thing your kids can do after they’ve been vaccinated from Covid-19
I can hardly express the relief and utter joy we’ve felt over the past few weeks, since my teens got their first Pfizer vaccines against Covid-19. The feelings increased substantially since their second shot — knowing they can safely see friends, go to the...
10 cool vaccination t-shirts that let people know, even when you’re walking around (safely) without a mask.
Vaccination t-shirts are more than a trend, they may be kind of important to you. I have seen so many people tell me that they are thrilled to be vaccinated, they’re ready to take off their masks outside or with friends — but they don’t want people...Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz!
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 still love what we do every single day. And we're so glad you're here.
All the Best Children’s + YA Books to Read this Year
The Best Gifts for Kids by Age
Our Podcast. (It’s won awards and everything!)
Best Baby Gifts of the Year
5 New Dinner Ideas Each Week
Tech Tips for Parents
Doing Good: We’re supporting…
