11 incredibly creative ideas for first day of school photos | Back to School Guide 2018
I’ll be honest, I don’t have a whole lot of time for planning creative’ first day of school photos for my kids. Between making sure everyone remembers to put on shoes after a no-shoe summer and packing up 47 pounds of school supplies, our first day...
A professional organizer’s top back-to-school organizational tips for the real world | Spawned Ep 119
While we’re enjoying a little time off for summer, we’re updating some of our greatest hits Spawned episodes you might have missed — starting with “organizer for the real world” (as we call her), Laurie Palau of Simply B Organized. She...
5 things parents need to know before buying your kids glasses
I’ve worn glasses my whole entire life, and up until now, have been the only one in my family who needed them. Then, in the middle of the school year, we learned my youngest daughter needed glasses — reading glasses, specifically. It’s an issue that...
A guide to the top video games kids are playing and watching, that parents should know about
We know it’s so hard to keep up with your kids’ tech when you’re a parent — there are social channels, apps of all kinds, and so many games! On Out Tech Your Kids, our private Facebook community for tech questions and answers from parents,...
10 things you should do before you leave for vacation, that you might be forgetting.
Whether you’re hitting the road for a quick weekend getaway, or are heading out for a family vacation, getting out the door can be pretty overwhelming. Between packing lists and all those last-minute to-do-before-we-leave lists, it’s so easy to get sucked...
6 of the best tips and tricks for cleaning kids’ sneakers. Because summer shoes stink.
My kids’ shoes never smell quite as bad as they do in summer. It’s the downside to me telling them to get outside and get active everyday. Muddy, sweaty, grass-stained shoes aren’t easy to clean, but I’ll take it over bored and inside all day...
How to put together a first aid kit for travel: Everything you need. Just in case.
Do you have a travel first aid kit to take along on all of your summer trips? As I type these words, I realized…I don’t have one! And I should. Luckily, we have the internet, online shopping, and 24-hour drugstores that make it easy for me to put a travel first...
20 free things to do with your kids this summer when you’re all out of ideas
Anyone else searching for free things to do with your kids this summer? As the mom of a toddler who hasn’t stopped moving since 2017, I know I am. And since I want to keep the whine at bay and still budget for our vacation, I’ve set out to find the best...
How to deal with mean girls: Expert tips for building resilience + strength in our daughters
If you have a daughter, it’s inevitable at some point that she will encounter the heartache of mean girls. It may be when she hits middle school (oh God, middle school) — or it may be as early as kindergarten. And when it happens, it will hurt you as much...
12 summer essentials you’ll always find in our handbags, for travel or every day
Whether we moms are hitting the road for vacation, or just shuttling the kids back and forth to camp every day, we’ve always got a list of essentials in our handbags that we can’t live without. It’s part of our summer ritual: switch the black leather...
10 alternative ways to celebrate the 4th of July, if you’re not feeling like waving a flag this year.
This year, a lot of readers and Facebook fans and even some of our own team have mentioned that they feel different about July 4th this year. They’re not alone. Just yesterday, Gallup released a poll stating that fewer people feel proud to be an American this...Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz!
We started Cool Mom Picks in 2006 to help make life cooler, easier, more organized, 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).
But we did.
And we still love what we do every single day.
We're so glad you're here.
Keeping Families Together: What You Can Do
Summer Science Activities Guide for Kids!
OUT TECH YOUR KIDS: Join our new private Facebook community
RECIPE RESCUE: Join our new private Facebook community
