Moms are wondering, “What’s next for me in life?” Here’s one way to figure it out. | Spawned 272
If you’ve hit a point where you’re asking yourself, “what’s next for me? Should I keep this career? Should I dump this side hustle? And where should my efforts go when my kids are getting older?” you’re definitely not alone. And...
How to talk to kids about Ukraine: Expert tips from Melinda Wenner-Moyer | Spawned 271
After science journalist and author Melinda Wenner Moyer published the NY Times article, How to Talk to Your Kids About Ukraine, I knew we had to have her back on Spawned to elaborate on her 5 expert tips. You may remember Melinda from our recent interview on raising...
Why our parenting stories matter, with author Zibby Owens | Spawned Episode 270
Liz and I have a special place in our hearts for storytelling, because that’s how we first met online almost 17 years ago. That can’t be right, can it? We connected through our personal blogs—Mom 101 and Motherhood Uncensored—and the rest is Cool Mom Picks...
Gen Z: They’re not snowflakes, they’re warriors. Here’s the data to prove it. | Spawned Ep 269
The world feels like a pretty awful place right now. I’ve seen a lot of people in my social feeds say things like, “it must be hard to have kids and have to explain things like the Russian aggression against Ukraine to them.” I always think that yes,...
“There’s nothing romantic about depression” | Spawned Ep 268
This week, I was really happy to get to sit down and chat with Amy Koppelman, director, writer, and producer of the recent film A Mouthful of Air starring Amanda Seyfried and Finn Wittrock. It’s based on on Amy’s critically acclaimed novel inspired by her...
How to be an adult, with author Julie Lythcott-Haims | Spawned Episode 267
We’ve probably all used the phrase “adulting is hard.” Probably an awful lot over the last two years. And that’s because being an adult is pretty darn hard. Way to state the obvious, Kristen. Okay, so yeah, it is obvious, but what isn’t...
What you need to know about executive function skills in kids | Spawned Episode 266
We’ve been so grateful to our recent expert Spawned guests who have offered their help in navigating these last two years with our kids. And this week’s expert, Mara Koffmann, is no exception. She shares her expertise from years working with kids and...
The top 10 Spawned podcasts of 2021: From parenting teens to to reframing self-care
Well now, this has been quite the year — giving both of us a whoooole lot of topics to cover on the Spawned Parenting Podcast in 2021. It’s been so interesting looking back at our 10 most downloaded episodes of the year and seeing what resonated with you...
Liz + Kristen’s 10 favorite holiday picks this year
As we close out the year (phew, what a year it’s been, we wanted to devote our last episode of Spawned 2021 to cool picks of the week. Holiday style. Whether you still have time to grab one last-minute, or you want to bookmark them for holidays, and other...
Lessons in gratitude for the holidays or any day | Spawned Episode 264
This week, we’re taking a little break to catch up on all of the things (anyone else feeling overwhelmed?) by sharing a Spawned podcast episode from a couple of years ago with a message we could all use right now. Back in 2019, author Nancy Davis Kho, shared how...
Incredible advice for better parent-child communication: An interview with William Stixrud Ph.D. and Ned Johnson
If you’ve ever struggled to connect with your kids, help them solve problems, open up to you, or just give you more than a one-word answer when you ask how school was today…well, help is here! We have had a lot of favorite Spawned podcast guests over the...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.
Holiday Gift Guide!
The Ultimate Guide to Gifts for Kids!
Thanksgiving Recipes + Last-Minute Cooking Help
Thanksgiving Crafts + Ideas
Our Podcast. (It’s won awards and everything!)
Best Baby Gifts of the Year
Tech Tips for Parents
Support for Ukraine
