How to help the victims of Hurricane Irma: 25+ orgs that need you now
Hurricane Irma caused such severe damage in the Caribbean that it destroyed 95% of the buildings on the island of Barbuda alone. Puerto Rico is still coping with major flooding and widespread power outages. The hurricane tore through the Florida Keys before slamming...
An animated film celebrating Black dads, daughters, and a whole lot of hair love.
When I discovered a Kickstarter project for an animated children’s short film that will celebrate Black dads, their daughters, and the beauty of natural hair, my heart swelled with love. As a mom to two curly-haired biracial daughters, I personally know how...
Every kid doesn’t deserve a trophy. But they might deserve a merit badge.
Your kid may not be in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or the National Honor Society. But I still love this new take on old school merit badges by The Honor Society. It’s simply a collection of badges that encourage kids to do good, be good, and live good lives that...
How one celeb is making Bessie Coleman’s story soar for kids.
You may still know Karyn Parsons best as Hilary Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but we now know her as the incredible founder of Sweet Blackberry, where she’s hard at work sharing stories of notable African-Americans who empower and instill a sense of...
The hipster baby carrier of the year, courtesy of Keith Haring
The upcoming Keith Haring special edition Ergobaby carriers are being promoted as a celebration of parenting and art. Which they are. But if you know about the vision of this now iconic pop artist, wearing these new carriers says so much more. Keith Haring’s rainbow...
Speaking up is hard to do: The N-word, the culture of complicity, and why we have to say, that’s not okay.
This weekend, Senator Ben Sasse issued a response to address the (rightful) outrage around his Friday night appearance with Bill Maher. He stated that he should have spoken up when Maher unacceptably used the N-word. He tweeted that “just cringing last night...
21 ways your family can volunteer for your own community. Small scale, big impact!
If your news feed has been dragging you down lately, take heart. Volunteerism is a great way to put that energy to positive use, and spring is the perfect time for you and your family to discover ways to volunteer for your own local community, Leslie Knope style. To...
A brilliant way to figure out how to be the change you want to see in the world.
In order to stay positive in life, I always try to find the good in a bad situation. Sometimes it’s easier said than done. But I honestly believe that actually doing something about the issues that concern me, give me hope, even if busy parents like me struggle...
The Favela Art Project: bettering the lives of kids in Rio through art
During this summer’s Olympic coverage, we all enjoyed seeing beautiful images of fun, lively Rio, and its gorgeous beaches, but there was one major aspect of the city that wasn’t broadcast — the favelas, or slums, which populate Rio and rarely sees...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.
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.
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