Spawned Parenting Podcast: Latest Episodes
The latest from Spawned, our award-winning parenting podcast
What manners do kids need to know?
Here's hoping Emily Post doesn't roll over in her grave after our discussion about kids and manners on today's episode of SPAWNED with Kristen and Liz. We share which manners are important to us: Please and Thank You, yes. Using Mrs. Last Name for every single adult...
Letting kids fight their own battles: Should parents intervene?
Do you let your kids handle their own battles, or do you step in to help? Or, gulp, do you fight the battles for them? On this week's episode of SPAWNED with Kristen and Liz tackle this pretty sticky parenting question and offer some solid approaches for how to...
Letting your kids play outside alone or walk to school: Is it bad for kids, or just bad for parents?
Do you let your kid walk to school alone? Or to the park? Or to the neighbor's house to play? But more importantly, have you ever let your kid go out alone...and lied about it for fear of repercussion? Today on the latest Episode of Spawned, Kristen and Liz have a...
More coolness from recent weeks…
No way: Custom plush animals that look just like your actual pet.
A few years ago my kids tried out the cool service Budsies, which turns kids' drawings into stuffed animals. They were so excited when their creations arrived, and they still have them in their beds today. So, when we heard that Budsies was launching a new company...
16 gifts for the cool dad | Father’s Day Gift Guide 2017
It's not that lawnmowers, fishing, and ties can't be cool, it's just that if you want a gift for a cool dad in your life for Father's Day, you've got to get creative. Because he probably is too. So we're kicking off our annual Father's Day Gift Guide with 16 gifts for...
Hot trend alert: Rose sneakers are this summer’s new neutral
This summer we're seeing a new trend that -- I'll admit -- I was skeptical about at first. But now, I'm hooked. Rose-colored sneakers are everywhere. In fact, I'm declaring them the new neutral. The pretty, soft color dresses up our jeans-and-a-tee outfits, and...
2017 EWG best safe sunscreens for kids and babies: Which is the most affordable?
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. Not every...
The world’s cutest baby playmats: We found a contender!
When you've got a baby who's tummy-timing all over the house, it's nice to have something for her floor exercises that goes beyond a slippity blanket or boring bath towel. We've BTDT and what we wanted for our little ones? Something cushioned, soft, portable, and --...
#MyYoungerSelf campaign puts kids’ mental health first with videos from celebrities who have suffered from anxiety and depression.
Would you believe me if I told you that out of 74 million US kids, 17.1 million of them have or have had a mental health disorder? That's a huge percentage! So huge, in fact, that the Child Mind Institute (CMI) has noted that more kids are dealing with mental health...
5 cool one-piece bathing suits for girls with all the benefits of a two-piece
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 makes...
15 of the funniest Father’s Day cards that will have him laughing til he cries
Father's Day is coming up, which means we've been busy searching for the coolest, most unique and fun gifts for dads. And one of our favorite roundups we do every year is finding the funniest Father's Day cards, because we're suckers for a good laugh. If the dads in...
After Manchester: Essential safety tips to discuss with your kids about crowds and separation
The second I saw those big pink balloons in early images flooding media from the Manchester Arena last night, without knowing a single other thing about the story, I thought, Oh my God...whatever happened, there are children there. It was a rough night for me, as I'm...
You don’t know these 10 favorite household hacks of ours? Prepare for life to change!
As a busy parent, I rely heavily on household hacks. In fact, I would say just about everything I do around the house involves some sort of easy hack or trick or clever time-saver. But some tricks work better than others, and some you wouldn't believe it until you see...
Gwendolyn Brooks’s new children’s book offers a joyous lesson in empathy
Once in awhile, a children's book comes along that's equal parts timely and and classic, and that's just how I'd describe the We are Shining, penned by the late poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner, Gwendolyn Brooks. It's filled with exquisite but accessible words...
The cast of Hamilton gets bigger and cuddlier
Of our entire 2016 holiday gift guide, by far one of the most popular gift ideas were the genius handmade Hamilton dolls by Christina of Etsy's Bobeena Shop. What can we say, you all have good taste in artists -- and game-changing Broadway musicals. Now she's out with...
Getting kids excited about science: A chat with NPR Wow in the World hosts Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas | Spawned ep 76
Well, if Spawned with Kristen and Liz haaaaas to be beaten by someone in the Kids + Family podcast category, we're happy it's the new NPR podcast Wow in the World, a weekly science show "for kids and their grownups." Especially because it's hosted by two of our...
How to get started with yoga when you feel like the last person to try it: 6 easy tips to help
If you've never tried yoga, I get it. I was there once too. From the outside, it either looks like a torturous exercise regimen for slender, flexible folks in really expensive stretch pants...or, a hippie-dippy religion that will demand veganism and colon cleansing....
The danger of fidget spinners: Miniature death traps! Or…not.
THE DANGER OF FIDGET SPINNERS is appearing all over our newsfeeds and splashing across subject lines flooding our inboxes. Hm, why are we not shocked? It was inevitable that the number of articles about the fidget spinner craze (hey, our kids are fans too), would be...
8 tips to start now to help your kids avoid the summer slide. It’s coming.
Summer break will be here in just a minute, but there are some things you can start planning now to help make sure your kids don't hit the summer slide on their reading and math skills over the break. Research shows that most kids lose about two months' of learning...
The quick-fix, natural bug bite remedy that really works. Really!
With the weather getting warming and my kids spending the afternoons playing outside, we're starting to see a lot more bug bites on their tender, sensitive skin. Mean ones. The kind that turn bright red, itch like crazy, and keep them up at night. Ugh! But, I've found...
8 surprising rules about flying with children that every parent should know
If you've watched the news recently, you've probably heard a disconcerting story or two about air travel passengers -- which can be all the more troubling when the story involves parents flying with young children who were subject to rules that no one knew, or worse,...
GapKids’ newest clothes collection: When activewear meets the Avengers.
Kids' activewear is kind of a funny phrase, if you think about it, since kids are such constant blurs of motion -- it's like every piece of clothing turns into activewear, purposefully or not. Which is what makes the new GapKids and Marvel collection even more super...
We tried the FLEX disposable tampon alternative, and here’s how it worked for us. In full detail (sorry). | Damn You, Social Media Ads
I'm coming up on my 25thish anniversary of my first visit from Aunt Flo. And over that those 2.5 decades, I've had the same exact routine every month: tampons and pads. I wasn't necessarily looking to spice things up in that department, but when I saw the ads on...
This Is How We Do It: The fabulous new book that teaches kids empathy while celebrating diversity.
One of the best ways our kids can learn empathy and celebrate diversity is to see the myriad of ways different people live their lives all around the world. Which is why I am loving the brand-new children's book, This Is How We Do It, by Matt Lamothe. My kids get to...