beach gear Archives | Cool Mom Picks

The absolute best wagon for families, from infant to big kid. And I’ve tried a lot of them.

I currently have…oh, probably 5 wagons in my garage. It’s overkill, for sure. I have the awkward and bulky molded plastic wagons that don’t fit easily in your car (sorry, sentimental Radio Flyer). I have the fold-down fabric wagons from the athletic...

Here are our favorite mineral sunscreens: 3 splurges and 3 saves, all safer than chemical sunscreens

by Caroline Siegrist | Beauty + Cosmetics, Health, Fitness + Wellbeing

If you’ve seen the new report from the FDA concluding that chemical sunscreens are not as safe as we thought — for you or the environment — you may be looking for the best mineral sunscreens out there to replace your former go-to. I started using a...

Can you go swimming during your period? You can with PantyProp.

by Caroline Siegrist | Fashion, Health, Fitness + Wellbeing

Having grown up in a time that lots of girls couldn’t go swimming during our periods, it’s so nice to see brands taking on that issue. Even if you’re wearing a tampon, lots of girls and women have a heavy enough flow that the thought of an accident...

The most stylish summer totes under $50 right now, for the beach and beyond

by Marsha Takeda-Morrison | Fashion

Along with cool sunnies, a good beach read and sunscreen with a high SPF, the perfect summer tote is an important summer essential. It needs to be big enough to hold everything you (and your kids) will need for a day out, be durable enough to handle some sand and sea,...

Scaring your friends: The best part of summer!

by Lexi Petronis | Toys + Playthings

If you thought Michael Phelps racing a great white was the summer’s biggest shark-in-a-pool news, that’s because you haven’t seen this hot water accessory yet. Yes. It’s a wearable shark fin. We know our own aquaphiles will get themselves into...

The sweet kids beach poncho that multitasks in a big way

by Kate Etue | Baby, Kid Fashion

The thrill of watching a joyful toddler play in the ocean is almost enough to outweigh the pain-in-the-neck routine of swim diapers and sunscreen and sand and coverups. Not to mention the wagon full of towels, toys and other gear. But I just checked out a press sample...

Should you really avoid SPF over 50? We’ve got facts, and we’ve got answers.

by Kate Etue | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing

Growing up as a fair-skinned, redheaded kid, I’m no stranger to the intricacies of SPF labels. Or sunburns. Like lots of us, I always believed that the higher the SPF, the better the sun protection I’d get, but that’s not necessarily the case. In...

2017 EWG best safe sunscreens for kids and babies: Which is the most affordable?

by Kate Etue | Family Travel, Health, Fitness + Wellbeing

Every year, I take a look at the Environmental Working Group’s report on the best safe sunscreens for kids and babies. This list measures popular brands against the EWG’s standards, including everything from worrisome ingredients to false marketing claims....

5 cool one-piece bathing suits for girls with all the benefits of a two-piece

by Cool Mom Staff | Kid Fashion

It’s finally getting to pool and beach season (yippee!), which means time to shop for bathing suits for kids. Like many parents, we like that one-piece bathing suits keep our littlest ones covered up…although we also appreciate that a two-piece swimsuit...

Frogglez are the kids’ swim goggles you’ve been looking for forever

by Liz Gumbinner | Kid Fashion

Leave it to my own cool mom to provide us with a most excellent Cool Grandmom Pick as we make the most of the final sweltering weeks of summer — Frogglez Goggles. My kids refuse to go in the pool without goggles, and these are the first ones I’ve ever...

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).