Spawned Parenting Podcast: Latest Episodes
The latest from Spawned, our award-winning parenting podcast
The impact of Covid on kids: Anya Kamenetz on what we know and what we don’t yet | Spawned Ep 285
This week on Spawned, I have the honor of welcoming back the wonderful Anya Kamenetz, NPR Education reporter and author, to talk about her new book, The Stolen Year: How Covid Changed Kids' Lives...and Where We Go Now. I will tell you this: From the title alone, this...
What you need to know about perimenopause, with Dr. Makeba Williams | Spawned Episode 284
If you're like me, you got to your mid-40s and suddenly started to get weird period symptoms and sort-of hot flashes and night sweats and asked yourself, "Wait, is this perimenopause?" Well, we're not the only ones. Even though perimenopause happens to all of us women...
The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care, by Rina Raphael | Spawned Ep 283
I will never think of yoga, supplements, activated charcoal or bath salts the same again. Today Show producer turned health/wellness journalist, Rina Raphael, joined me to talk about her absolutely fascinating, fairly funny, and very smart new book The Gospel of...
More coolness from recent weeks…
These tips from experts and research studies will help get your kids excited about reading.
Not every kid comes out of the womb loving reading. (Or, even comes out of preschool loving reading.) No matter how much you read to your kids or encourage reading, sometimes it just doesn't click right away. And that's okay! fter years of writing about this -- let...
A college guidance expert and former admissions officer helps de-stress the application process. Phew! | Spawned Ep 301
Navigating the college search and admission process is rough -- emotionally, practically, financially. (Eep!) It completely stressed me out, and I'm a pretty Type B mom. So learn from my mistakes! Make it easier on yourself by listening to all the helpful advice...
Here are the auto-subscriptions that have been saving me time, money, and a ton of hassle
One of the things that I've started doing over the past few years is signing up for practical subscriptions that get delivered to me every few months or so. It's saving me time, saving me money (a lot!), and saving me a whole lot of hassle when I'm like "oh crap, I'm...
Dr. Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech in its entirety: Where to watch, and what to talk about with your kids
Today we commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's life and legacy, as we have every year since we started this site. Over the years, we've shared plenty of excellent books, videos, resources, and websites to help kids understand the reason for MLK Day. And they are all...
Oversized handbags are back! Go big or go home!
Oversized handbags are trending again and well, hallelujah, the world is once again feeling New York City! See, we don't have cars (or trunks or gloves compartments) in which to stash our daily lives, so we just carry our entire lives with with us at all times in...
A printable rewards chart to get kids to do anything. Almost.
We started a rewards chart with my daughter a month ago, and -- although I'm scared to say it out loud -- it's working to keep her in her bed at night. So, consider me a brand new fan of rewards charts, whether you're starting potty training or well past it; and allow...
Discover the Deliciousness of Organic Snacking with Skout Organic: Perfect for Every Health-Consicous Mother and Family
As a mother, finding a snack that is convenient, tasty, and nutritious for your family can be challenging. Enter Skout Organic, an excellent option for health-conscious mothers who don't want to compromise on taste or nutritional value when it comes to feeding their...
These gorgeous printable 2024 calendars will modernize your wall in seconds
There are a lot of printable 2024 calendars out there, but (no offense!) most of them look like someone's having a good time playing with Canva templates. I'd rather recommend something for you that's a little more artful. So after a good long search around Etsy, I...
How to Make a Burn List: My New Year’s tradition helps me manifest good things for next year – and get rid of a little petty. (Okay, a lot.)
When Ibi shared her New Year's Eve tradition with me, I was like...this is genius. How have I never done this? I need to do this! Whatever I can do to be out with the old and focusing on better things in the year to come sounds good to me. I'm sure I'm not alone, so I...
New Year’s Eve home with the kids: 12 ideas to make it fun for adults too!
New Year's Eve at home with the kids isn't exactly like New Year's Eve home without them. New Year's Eve parties for parents are more about trying our very best to stay up till midnight (though 10 p.m. is more like it) and drinking fun cocktails with our kids as we...
Our big list of more than 200+ homemade holiday gift ideas: DIY gifts for moms, dads, kids, grandparents, neighbors, teachers…
While of course our holiday gift guide is always full of wonderful gifts you can buy, we adore homemade holiday gifts of all kinds. It's not just that homemade gifts allow us to save some money (well, depending on the gift of course!), but they allow us to give an...
8 of the coolest modern nativity sets that belong on your own mantel, not your grandma’s.
I love nativity sets, but I've never really gone for the Jesus-as-a-Precious-Moments-cherub style. So I've rounded up 8 modern nativity sets that skip the uber-traditional but still deliver on all the festive Christmas vibes. If you're looking for cool graphic design,...
Fitness gift idea: This celeb-favorite athletic wear brand gives back to kids in a meaningful way
We're always fans of finding gifts that give back to meaningful causes during the holiday season (or all year long, really) and one of my favorite new finds is a woman-run businesses that's also supporting one of my favorite causes: helping us raising the next...
A personalized letter from Santa generating donations to Girls Who Code? That’s the spirit!
If your kids are the age to write letters to Santa---a pretty cute age, we admit---they'll be floored to get a personalized letter from the big guy himself before he heads out on his annual trip around the world. Instead of using elves this year (they're busy making...
How moms can find more holiday joy for themselves: Margaret Ables | Spawned Ep 300
It's been some year. To say the least. With the holiday season in full swing, it can be tough to find the joys in a tough world, let alone trying to make happy holiday memories for our kids. And in doing so, moms often put ourselves last. How can moms be part of the...
Why the ultimate gift for Disney-loving kids is a hit with parents who are fond of saying “can you just put down your phone for a minute?”
When my young kids dressed up and played imaginary games, they often fought over who got to be "the bad guy" -- Hook over Peter Pan, Maleficent over Sleeping Beauty, and literally anyone over "The Prince," should he have actually had a name of his own. So when I got a...
24 thoughtful gifts for your mother-in-law (or stepmother or aunt or cool grandma) | Holiday Gifts 2023
No matter how long you've had a mother-in-law in your life, finding a perfect gift for your mother-in-law can be so hard. Especially when she's a VIP member of your family. While some mothers-in-law are verrrrry specific with the kinds of gifts they like, others make...
10 of my favorite holiday gifts from Oprah’s favorite things list 2023: For men, women, kids and teens
Over the last two years, I've browsed Oprah's Favorite Things List of holiday gifts so thoroughly that I started a tradition here of sharing my favorites from her favorites. And you liked them! So much so, it can even be hard to get your hands on some of these holiday...
Amazing gifts under $15 for adults: More than 60 VERY cool finds for everyone on your list
Each year, we love sharing our favorite affordable gift ideas for everyone on your list, and this year, we've gone back to one of our most popular guides and updated it fresh for 2023. Behold: 60+ incredible gift ideas under $15 for adults -- none of them stocking...
12 cool DIY holiday gifts from the kids . . .For parents, grandparents, teachers and friends
Every year, we love to find the best handmade, DIY holiday gifts for the kids to make for all the VIPs in their lives. Even if we're not the craftiest people on the block, we love to give out DIY holiday gifts that feel more personal. (Not that our Holiday Gift Guide...
20 special gifts that give back to great causes. | Holiday Gift Guide + Giving Tuesday
This Giving Tuesday, there is no shortage of worthy organizations to support. From Veterans charities, to those trying to help civilians in need in Israel and Gaza, to the organizations pushing back against the ongoing threat of gun violence in our local...