Spawned Parenting Podcast: Latest Episodes
The latest from Spawned, our award-winning parenting podcast
The best holiday humor from around the web. Because we needed a laugh, too. | Spawned Episode 62
If you're like us, then you could reallllly use a laugh right about now. The last-minute holiday rush. The news. More news. Well, you get the idea. So, on this episode of Spawned we scoured the web for some of the best holiday humor we could find. Ridiculous Pinterest...
We got WHAT for Christmas? The answers to all your holiday questions | Spawned episode 61
With so many holiday dilemmas and conundrums, we decided to ask you, our awesome readers and listeners, what holiday questions you'd love to hear us answer on the air. And wow, you delivered! On this extra special, extended version of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, we...
Retail is for suckers! Save money shopping online with these expert tips and resources | Spawned Ep 60
After ten years of browsing retailers for a living, putting together shopping guides of all kinds (like Holiday Gift Guides, ahem) and getting to know the ins and outs of online shopping, we thought it would be helpful to devote an entire episode of Spawned to all of...
More coolness from recent weeks…
Our President Was Called Barack: Inspiring kids to be their best selves
I'm not going to pull punches here; like a lot of parents, I'm concerned about so many American kids growing up in an age where the normalization of a lot of really awful stuff -- hatred, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, mass shootings -- is part of their everyday...
7 warm kids’ winter coats we love, because winter is coming. And yes, you have to wear a coat.
Kids' to-do lists for winter are so different from ours: Play in snow, stomp in mud, refuse to come inside without bribe of hot chocolate. So kids' winter coat requirements are different, too. They need warmth, serious durability (especially for those of us who rely...
14 cool kids’ stocking stuffers all supporting indie shops
When we shop around for our kids' stocking stuffers, our longtime readers know that our hearts always grow three sizes when we share handmade items or those that support indie shops and businesses. With that in mind, have we got a website for you. Our sponsor Bonanza...
11 of the absolute coolest Advent calendars for families who won’t settle for an ordinary Christmas
Every year, Cool Mom Picks searches high and low for all kinds of the coolest Advent calendars for our homes so that our families — and yours! — can make that countdown to Christmas more fun. And this year, we're back. Right in time! If you like to have a little extra...
The Chrismukkah ornament for all your interfaith gifting needs.
Families who celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah totally get the best of both worlds. 8 days of gifts plus one blow-out morning of overstuffed stockings and packages? Dreidels and reindeer? Eggnog and latkes? Okay, maybe not those two at the same time, but still. And now...
Color-your-own printable paper dolls that bring twice the creativity.
I've been lugging a big bag full of toys and snacks to keep my three year old entertained lately, but I'm planning on lightening my load, thanks to the cool, modern printable paper dolls by Merrilee Liddiard that I just found. Aren't they gorgeous? I fell in love with...
7 genius, edgy-cool diaper cakes that are making us change our minds about diaper cakes.
I'm skeptical of anything that masquerades as cake and doesn't taste like cake. Slash isn't edible at all. So naturally diaper cakes -- those sculptural designs made out of diapers and used as centerpieces at baby showers to make people oh and ahh and "die of...
Getting blunt with my daughters, because #metoo.
“You have to learn to tell the server what you want,” I insisted. She winced. “Go on…” No dice. For some reason, my outspoken, truth-telling, totally-not-shy ten year old is having issues asking for a waffle at the neighborhood diner. This is the diner where we know...
Feeling overwhelmed? Try this one-thing-a-day method to stay organized. You got this!
As a working mom of four kids, with a husband who often works from home too, our home has a tendency to be...out-of-control crazy. I love organization -- the pages of Marie Kondo's book are my happy place -- but over the last year it seems that I've been forced to...
FAO Schwarz is back for the holidays, and everything is not even a billion dollars!
I didn't grow up in NYC so I don't have FAO Schwarz shopping memories like some of my city friends. But I did know about them from Big, and I loved pouring through their catalogs around the holidays every year, carefully circling the hundreds of high-end toys on my...
Rock n Roll Parenting: Would you take your kid to a rock concert? | Spawned ep 93
This week on Spawned with Kristen and Liz, with Kristen just back from an Imagine Dragons show, we've got kids and concerts on the brain. Join us for a lively discussion about the joy of tweens and big kids, safety concerns, tips and tricks -- we even share our own...
The Disney Channel’s first gay character makes me shout yay for Andi Mack! | Thinking Parent
Last season, my family discovered the Disney Channel show Andi Mack and we were instantly hooked. This series for tweens and young teens pulled us in with its smart writing, well-developed characters, and diverse cast. But after the recent Season 2 premiere, I love...
A modern, small-space art solution for crafty kids
My kids' grandparents regularly ask what cool, creative gifts they can give them at the holidays (because we have awesome grandparents), and this year I'm putting Playpa play paper on our list without a doubt. I just discovered this huge roll of coloring paper that...
2 incredible new personalized keepsake gifts to make any mom or grandma cry.
Every year, I wish I'm that person who's on the ball enough to order incredible personalized keepsake gifts for some of my family members who'd love them. And every year I find something amazing...only to see I've missed the "order by" date. D'oh. So I'm so excited to...
Help your kids navigate the hell of middle school with the new graphic novel from the author of Roller Girl.
Let's be honest, middle school sucks in more ways than we can count. Which is probably why so many of us relate to the plight of outsider-turned-insider-turned-outsider-again heroines like Cady Haron of Mean Girls, Heathers' Veronica Sawyer, or Laney Boggs of She's...
Trump’s proposed tax bill will keep parents from adopting. That sucks for everyone.
As an adoptive mom, I'm committed to fighting against Trump's new tax bill that, among other things, eliminates the essential adoption tax credit for families. Here's why. Adoption is expensive. Like, crazy expensive. While it's 100% worth it without a question, by...
Ceci n’est pas un nursing cover.
Calling all moms supporting nursing moms! My favorite baby shower gift of the year is here! You have to check out this wonderful Boobs baby blanket created by Lot 801 in partnership with Gravel & Gold, which is a perfect way to honor the #dropthecover campaign....
The Stranger Things doormat you need for the holidays
Okay Stranger Things fans (isn't that all of us?), have we got the holiday gift for you! Check out this genius Stranger Things Christmas Lights doormat from Etsy shop Ry Nic Products, which is is basically made for the holiday season. Or any season really. But you...
5 popular diet trends right now: Safe or stupid? | Spawned ep 92
This week on Spawned with Kristen and Liz we're tackling diets. More specifically, some of the hot diet trends right now (or, ahem, culinary lifestyle choices or whatever they're being called that's not "diet") to discuss the pros, the cons, the differences, and...
The wonderful Disney x Kiehl’s charity collection is doing great things for people in need.
As we go into the holiday season — because, not to be alarmist about it or anything, but it is totally on its way — we love finding the coolest gifts for our family and friends. And we love it even more when the coolest gifts also give back in a meaningful way, like...
Attend this cancer charity gala…from the comfort of your own home.
Thursday night is the annual gala to raise money for Lolly's Locks, a non-profit that's donated nearly 500 fabulous wigs to women around the country going through cancer treatment. But this year there's something new about it: You can stay on the couch binge-watching...