parenting Archives | Cool Mom Picks

Jenny Lawson on depression, anxiety and why we have to talk about it | Spawned Episode 255

by Cool Mom Staff | Books for Adults, Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Podcast

We can’t believe after all these episodes of Spawned, we’ve never had the chance to chat with Jenny Lawson. A.K.A. The Bloggess. A.K.A. the best-selling author. A.K.A. new indie bookshop owner. A.K.A. the woman who first left a comment on Liz’s blog...

How to be a compassionate parent of LGBTQ kids | Spawned Episode 254

by Cool Mom Staff | Books for Adults, Podcast

If you have questions about parenting LGBTQ+ kids, wow do we have the answers, thanks to the absolutely delightful Kristin Russo, author of This is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids. If you know her — or her terrific book, or popular podcast about Buffy the Vampire...

Want to win $1000 cash? Or gift cards? One of our readers will this week and it might as well be you.

by Cool Mom Staff | Baby, Kids

So here’s something amazing — a Cool Mom Picks reader, and only a Cool Mom Picks reader (or social media follower or email subscriber) is going to win $1000 by the end of the week. Right now you’re thinking…wha-aaa? So let’s back up a...

The best new parent advice from 9 of the smartest, most insightful parent bloggers we know

by Cool Mom Staff | Baby, Kids, Tips + Tricks

In addition to the hilarious bad parenting advice we once received, and the advice we wish we knew when our kids were babies, we’re so grateful to be able to share some of the best advice from some of the most wonderful, caring, helpful parents we know. You...

Navigating step-parenting with Coach Naja Hall | Spawned Episode 250

by Cool Mom Staff | Podcast

We keep saying that we often get our best parenting podcast topic ideas from our readers, and a lot of you have asked for support navigating step-parenting. And that’s just what we’re talking about, in this dynamic, wonderful chat with Certified Parenting...

9 things we wish we knew when our kids were babies. Oh, do we ever.

by Cool Mom Staff | Baby, Kids, Tips + Tricks

There’s so much we wish we had known when our kids were babies, and we were stressed, anxious, or just entirely clueless. All normal feelings when you’re juggling a new baby or toddler! But hey, maybe we can help you out a little here. So in addition to...

The one trick to make sure your child’s face mask fits properly, to comply with the brand new CDC recommendations.

by Liz Gumbinner | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Kids, Tips + Tricks

After 18 months (sigh) it’s now clear that we’re past the point of “any mask is better than nothing” for preventing Covid spread, especially with the Delta variant here. In fact, just this weekend, the CDC issued new, specific recommendation...

The worst parenting advice we got: 10 tips you definitely want to ignore as a new parent

by Cool Mom Staff | Baby, Kids, Tips + Tricks

Raise your hand if you’ve ever gotten terrible parenting advice! Wait, all of you who have kids? Ha, yes. Of course all of us have. It’s like a rite of passage for new parents. But the good thing is, with some perspective and guidance (thanks to BTDT...

The kids are fighting and it’s exhausting: Tips to resolve sibling conflict from a psychologist and family counselor | Spawned Ep 248

by Liz Gumbinner | Podcast

With everything going on in the world right now, kids are extra-stressed, they’re extra-restless, they’re extra-anxious, and, if they have siblings, they’re fighting. Yay! So what’s a parent to do to help manage it all? After a few listeners...

If you’re having trouble sleeping, Dream Powder helps naturally.

by Cool Mom Staff | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing

This is a sponsored message from Beam If there’s one thing parents can unify around it’s that we could all use a lot more sleep. (Well, we all pretty unanimously like Ted Lasso too. But that’s another story.) The one issue: It’s hard! Our minds...

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.