Thinking : Parent Archives

Beyond cantering: 4 life lessons my daughter has learned from horseback riding

As someone who didn’t grow up around animals, I’ve learned a lot raising kids who love them, especially my youngest who is an avid horseback rider. When she first asked to take riding lessons, I thought it might be a passing phase, especially considering she had tried...

What you can do to fight anti-Asian racism and xenophobia

by Kristen Chase | Thinking : Parent

The beginning of 2021 feels just as heavy as 2020, with the pandemic still in full force, and then our friends in Texas getting hammered with snow, ice and power outages. But as an Asian American (4th generation American-born Chinese, to be exact), I’ve been...

These articles explain how the pandemic is impacting mothers and you know? We’re allowed to feel like crap about it.

by Liz Gumbinner | Thinking : Parent

Considering this is a site dedicated to mothers and parenting, I would not be surprised to learn that you were one of the thousands (millions?) who read The Primal Scream interactive series on the New York Times this week. Compiled by Jessica Grose, Jessica Bennett,...

The skincare and makeup we really want to see for a fresh 2021

by Caroline Siegrist | Beauty + Cosmetics, Thinking : Parent

I think I speak for everyone when I say that there should be a serum to fix what 2020 has done to us. And our faces. Yes, I know that scientists are a little busy developing COVID vaccines at the moment, but as soon as they’re done with that, I’m hoping...

A free lesson plan about Amanda Gorman’s inauguration poem will make for some great dinner table conversation tonight.

by Kate Etue | Thinking : Parent

My kids and I were glued to the TV last Wednesday, watching history take place on Inauguration Day. We were sobered by the national guard presence, excited about the achievements of our new VP Kamala Harris, and just so totally and completely relieved to see President...

If you’ve ever said “this is not America” in response to racism, you need to read Caste.

by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Adults, Thinking : Parent

If you’ve been paying attention for the past four years — and in particular the past week — there’s been a lot of dissection of phrases uttered by horrified, primarily white people in response to bigotry and racist violence. Phrases like This...

BURN IT ALL: My New Year’s tradition helps me manifest good things for next year. (And get rid of a little petty. Okay, a lot.)

by Ibidunni Ojikutu | Thinking : Parent, Tips + Tricks

When Ibi shared her New Year’s Eve tradition with me, I was like…this is genius. How have I never done this? I need to do this! Whatever I can do to be out with the old and focusing on better things in the year to come sounds good to me. I’m sure...

Making peace with A Very Pandemic Holiday ™ | Spawned Ep 221

by Liz Gumbinner | Podcast, Thinking : Parent

Liz has cancelled Thanksgiving. Kristen is staying in her bubble. We’ve worried, we’ve cried, we’ve reconciled with it, and then sometimes we’re not quite so reconciled. We’re being honest about what we’re missing and what sucks and...

We love these election reactions from some of our favorite moms: History is happening.

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good, Thinking : Parent

This morning, as we wake up on our first Monday with President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris heading to the White House, I’m passing the mic. Although yes, of course, we had some things to say as well. I’m sharing just a few of the...

Voting help and Election Day resources: All the help you need to find your voting place, watch the polls, report voter intimidation and more.

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good, Thinking : Parent, Tips + Tricks

You might have heard, but there’s this election coming up in the US on Tuesday, November 3 and it’s kind of a big deal. Not just because we’ll be electing the next president, but a lot of Senators, Members of Congress, and important local and state...

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...

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 still love what we do every single day. And we're so glad you're here.