How to talk to kids about natural disasters like the California fires
With the tragic California wildfires all over the news right now, once again as parents, we’re faced with prospect of having difficult conversations with our kids about natural disasters. We want to say the right things. We don’t want to give our kids...
5 big things parents get wrong about potty training
While some aspects of parenting little ones have gotten easier over the years, thanks to baby food makers, nursing stations in airports, and 24/7 streaming cartoons (ha), potty training is one thing that remains a major source of stress and frustration for so many...
Here’s what you can do with your family on #TheLastWeekend before the Midterms, and why it (really!) matters.
Parents. We’re not like other people who can just drop everything and fly out to a swing state to canvas, or host raucous fundraising cocktail nights, or even attend a GOTV concert on a whim. But there’s a lot we can do — with our families —...
6 fantastically fun things to do in Orlando without kids. Hey, it’s your vacation too!
With winter breaks coming up, I know lots of our readers will be planning Orlando vacations. Because, family! And…Orlando! Let me just say, our family is good at vacation. We trained on our first trip to Disney back when I was pregnant, and our sons were four...
Amiyrah Martin on the most genius time-saving hacks for moms (They are SO good!)
This week on Spawned, we’re joined by Amiyrah Martin of 4 Hats and Frugal. She’s one of our favorite writers and Instagrammers and while she’s known for her great tips on saving money, she happens to be pretty sharp with time-saving tips too....
6 natural remedies to help keep families healthy during the germy school year
Now that we’ve found new school clothes and back-to-school gear for all our kids (well, mostly), parents are now moving onto worry #2 — how to avoid back-to-school sickness. My family has already been through hand-foot-and-mouth disease and a wicked...
How to register to vote or confirm your registration, in 3 minutes or less.
Today is National Voter Registration Day which is a good time to ask yourself: Are you registered? Are you sure? Extra-doubly 200% sure? If not, do you know how to register to vote? Do it today. It takes 3 minutes. You can do this! Just click the relevant button...
How much screen time is too much? Tech health expert Dr. Mike Brooks | Spawned ep 126
When work is online, communication is online, entertainment is online and it’s all 24/7…it can be hard to get offline. We get it! So we’re happy to share so much helpful info from from tech health expert, author, Austin-based dad, and Psychology...
5 ways parents can empower our younger kids and tweens to be more independent.
It can be hard to remember when we’re so busy with the minutiae of each day, but the ultimate goal of parenting is to raise responsible, independent adults. And, well, that starts before they actually hit the age of 18. The dance of educating our kids and then...
The simple difference between Latino and Hispanic, in one clever cartoon
There is so confusion about the difference between Latino and Hispanic, whether you can use the terms interchangeable, and whether they’re two different things. So with this week kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15), it seems like a good...
One brilliant, simple thing you can do right now to help end working mom guilt | Spawned ep 124
Working mom guilt is something every working mom has experienced in one way or another. And basically, it sucks. However, we’ve always heard that guilt is the most useless emotion — and now, consider us schooled. On this week’s episode of Spawned, we...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.
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Covid Support + Quarantine Help for Families
* Our complete Covid-19 and quarantine archives
* Expert tips for talking to your kids. Very reassuring!
* Helping teens who are struggling
* Quarantine birthday party ideas in the age of social distancing
* Board games to play over Zoom or Facetime
* Meal planning tips during quarantine to stretch your budget and your time
* The best ways to clean and disinfect your phones and gadgets. Keep doing it!
* 10 books to help our kids + teens cope with anxiety
* Safety tips for ordering take-out and delivery
* Simple ways to connect with our own moms and grandmas when we're apart
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