The 2016 National Scripps Spelling Bee finals ended last night and just wow. For the third year running, two amazing kids tied as winners: 13 year old Jairam Pathwar of Upstate NY, and Austin Texas' Nihar Janga who is only 11. Wow. To cl…
It's summertime, and lemons are everywhere. I'm making pie. Beyoncé's making music . And now babyGap is partnering with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), an organization dedicated to curing childhood cancer, with an exclusive coll…
If you see cool stuff on Instagram that you need to buy (or, if you're like us, really, really want to buy), now you can, Thanks to LikeToKnow.It. This cool service lets you shop lots of the great stuff you discover right from our Cool M…
I must admit, I was very intrigued when I first heard the idea for Amazing Water , a new book with accompanying CD that introduces kids to classical music and the way that water -- namely, rivers, oceans, the canals of Venice -- has insp…
You can tell a lot about a guy by the way he dresses, and in my mind, cufflinks say sophisticated, successful, and now, daddy. Give your kids' dad these sterling silver Dada cufflinks by Tali Gillette for Father's Day, so he can wear his…
The school year is winding down and I'm looking forward to nights with no homework (yay!) and fewer extracurricular activities on our calendar (double yay!). That means board game night. So I started to track down the best board games fo…
We are always thrilled to find new cookbooks that make life easier for parents, especially because meal planning (and cooking and serving and cleaning and cajoling the kids to eat any of it in the first place) can be...well, not our favo…
If you know us at all, you know we geek out when we find cool toys or kids' gear that promote inclusivity. So when we discovered Braille Bricks, the LEGO-inspired building blocks that help visually impaired kids can learn to spell throug…
A few months ago, I decided I wanted to celebrate my 40th birthday with a big trip, but whoa, family vacations are certainly not cheap! Especially when you're traveling with kids -- or in my case, four of them. Even though I'd been savin…
Sometimes in the world of baby gear, less is definitely way more. These modern, space-saving baby bouncers capture this spirit in a big way. Their sleek designs mean your living room can look less like a mini gymnasium and more like smar…
Whichever social media site is your guilty pleasure du jour, we’re there, making sure you don’t miss our favorite posts on parenting, fashion, apps, recipes, deals and discounts, and random awesomeness from around the web. Plus our favor…
You may be vaguely aware that another US presidential election season is upon us, unless of course you've been sequestered in a Himalayan yurt somewhere, totally unplugged until just this very second. (In which case, hey! Thanks for maki…
This year, the Zika virus is on my mind (and everyone else's, I imagine) so I've been avidly researching the best bug sprays for Zika virus protection. It happens that my daughter is extremely allergic to mosquito bites, so when she goes…
As someone who grew up with her nose in a book, I sure spent a lot of time hearing my parents tell me to put down that book and go outside to play! So in honor of today's National Readathon Day , I've rounded up five wonderful new pictur…
Not too long ago, I realized my 8-year-old son was a reluctant reader. He's a perfectly good reader, but would rather do just about anything but read. And that's a particular sore spot for me, because there are few things I’d rather do m…
With summer slip-on shoe season finally here, it's also officially stinky feet season, which is why I've been on the hunt for peds that don't suck. You know, those no-show socks that keep your feet dry while you wear your favorite TOMS ,…
If our most popular post of 2015, which introduced the brilliant and much coveted Blankie Tails , is any indication, there are now swarms of kids across America, flipping (ha) for their super-soft, well-made mermaid and shark tail blanke…
'Tis the season for graduations, whether you've got a new college graduate in the family, a niece or nephew graduating from high school, or like me, a sixth grader moving up to middle school. Sniff. While so many of us are looking for ju…
After 25 years as a woman with a period, you can't blame me for growing tired of the monthly tampon, pad, and pantyliner rotation. Sorry, no menstrual cup love from me -- though I know lots of ladies love them. So, after seeing the Faceb…
Whether the special father in your life goes by Dad, Pop, or Daddy-O , you can celebrate the year he earned that title with one of Branded's personalized cotton tees . We love this idea for the coolest Father's Day T-shirts, which, by th…
If innovative baby gear is any indication, we can confidently say this is an awesome time to be expecting. My youngest just turned 6 years old, so I'm only a few years out of the baby stage, and yet there has been so much amazing change …
I pretty much love all the hip, modern kidswear from Nununu . Some of it pushes design boundaries though, so when I heard they introduced new swimwear for kids this season-- well, I wasn't sure if it would be a little too avant-garde for…
As much as my older kids love their electronics, good old-fashioned crafts still hold some appeal for them, especially if the finished product is something really worth making. And with summer vacation fast-approaching, I really want to …
With the busy travel season upon us and so many families planning spring and summer road trips , keeping our kids safe while we're driving and preventing distracted driving is a huge concern of ours. Of course, you don't necessarily need…
