parenting Archives | Cool Mom Picks

Raising kids to be good collaborators with 4 simple lessons | Life Skills Series

In our three-part Life Skills Series, we’ve shared tips to help you raise critical thinkers and to raise problem-solvers. Now, I’m excited to share ideas around collaborating and working together. Because what the world needs now (besides love, sweet love)...

Raising smart problem solvers: 4 tips to help parents teach kids | Life Skills Series

by Cool Mom Staff | Tips + Tricks

In the first post of our Life Skills Series, we shared tips to help you raise critical thinkers. And next up, we’re talking about how to teach your kids problem-solving skills. As adults, we know how important they are in our everyday lives, but it’s hard...

8 things to think about if you’re considering homeschool because of COVID-19 this fall, from a homeschool mom

by Kate Etue | Tips + Tricks

With school districts all over the country releasing their preliminary plans for school this fall, I’m hearing so many parents trying to determine whether or not their kids are going back. The requirement between states and districts varies greatly, with some...

Raising critical thinkers: 6 expert tips for parents | Life Skills Series

by Cool Mom Staff | Tips + Tricks

If one thing has become abundantly clear over the past few years, our kids are growing up seeing all kinds of problems we face in the world, and they’re increasingly asking us what they can do, or how they can be part of the solution. That’s pretty...

The GenX midlife crisis: It’s real, you’re not alone, and it’s not your fault. | Spawned Ep 207

by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Adults, Podcast

This week on Spawned, I have a fantastic, encouraging conversation with Ada Calhoun, prolific author and writer, who’s always got her finger on the pulse of culture. Her latest book, Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis (from Amazon,...

3 excellent educational videos about Juneteenth for kids. Watch and learn.

by Kate Etue | Entertainment + Media, Tips + Tricks

I’m trying to do a better job of raising anti-racist kids, and I believe that starts with learning more about the history of the Black experience in America. An essential part of that education is the understanding of Juneteenth, a holiday that I was certainly...

Out-Tech Your Kids: Our new tech-positive podcast for parenting in the digital age

by Kristen Chase | Tech CMP-Style

Big news, parents! We’ve got a new podcast called Out-Tech Your Kids, a tech-positive podcast for the age of digital parenting. Liz and I answer parents’ top burning tech questions in just 15 minutes or less each week. Hey, we know your time is valuable...

Rene Syler on speaking up and speaking out about racial injustice. Now. | Spawned Ep 205

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good, Podcast

We understand that everyone is at different stages when it comes to understanding, internalizing, and speaking out against systemic racism and Black Lives Matter. But it’s important to know that even if a lot of the information coming out these days is new to...

You believe that Black Lives Matter. You are non-Black. You don’t know what to say or do. So start here.

by Liz Gumbinner | Doing Good, Tips + Tricks

We have spent more time listening than talking this difficult weekend. But I woke up this morning knowing I want to make it perfectly 100% clear where Kristen and I stand: Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter. This was originally posted on...

KJ Dell’Antonia on how to be a happier parent in a pandemic. Is it even possible? | Spawned Ep 202

by Cool Mom Staff | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Podcast

This much is clear about parents right now: We’re stressed. We’re tired. We’re anxious. We’re sad. We’re coping in any way we can, all while taking care of our kids’ feelings too. So the big question is, is it selfish to want to...

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).