Spawned Parenting Podcast: Latest Episodes
The latest from Spawned, our award-winning parenting podcast
What the hell is a backpack fairy? The back to school episode. | Spawned episode 47
This week on Spawned with Kristen + Liz we're talking back to school! It's awesome! And yet...it's exhausting! Take a listen as we commiserate, laugh, offer helpful tips, and gawk at the most insane first day of school traditions that we found on Pinterest. (The...
The magic art of tidying twice a year: Spawned Episode 46
If you've already watched all the Rio Olympics replays and you need a little entertainment, here's our newest Spawned episode. On this episode on Spawned with Kristen and Liz, we tackle the topic of life with mess. How do you deal with your kids' messy rooms? What do...
Controversy over little girls and bikinis, and the new summer camp debate | Spawned episodes 44 + 45
If you've already binge-watched the entirety of OITNB and you're looking for a little entertainment, we've got you covered with two episodes of Spawned! And yes, that's kind of a pun. On the recent episode of Spawned with Kristen + Liz, we're discussing our post about...
More coolness from recent weeks…
The unicorn donut teether is the It Baby gift of the year
Don't you love when your favorite trends meld together into one perfect item? In this particular case, we're talking unicorns and donuts. So of course someone had to go ahead and create a must-have baby item in this new unicorn donut teether. From Loulou Lollipop,...
Cool skull school supplies for our edgy kids | Back to School Guide 2017
In our most recent back to school shopping guide post, we focused on the 23 of the cutest animal school supplies featuring kawaii creatures of all kind. And wow, they are cute! But for some of our kids, it takes a skull (crossbones optional) on their school supplies...
Great ideas for sweet after-school treats that go easy on the sugar. (Sorry cookies!)
When my kids were younger, after-school snacks served largely as a reward for making it through the school day. Now that they are a bit older, what they eat after school and before their after-school activities provides necessary fuel to keep them going strong through...
How to create a capsule wardrobe for kids. Even kids obsessed with their clothes.
I am happy to admit it: Marie Kondo is my guru. I love the concepts of capsule wardrobes, minimalist decor and paring down the clutter in my life overall. There is very little in my home that stresses me out more than piles of stuff -- which is why I have done my...
8 incredibly cool ways to customize your denim jacket and make it your own
One of the fun things about getting old -- ahem, I mean being a parent -- is seeing the trends we loved as kids reemerge on our own kids. Case in point: DIY customized denim jackets. Not only are they on trend this fall for back-to-school wear, they're a great way for...
Cartwheel by Target just made saving money even easier. Whoo!
This is a message on behalf of our partner Target If you're a Target shopper, you're probably a fan of the Cartwheel app like we are, because hey, we like saving money. Especially on stuff we were going to buy anyway. (At least that's what we tell ourselves as...
11 wonderful kids’ t-shirts that promote a love of learning and the importance of education. Yes!
We are enamored of those tees for our kids featuring superheroes, pop culture references, rock bands, and sports teams. And they love them. In part because they know that we love that stuff, and they're pleasing us to show their allegiance to The Justice League or...
4 times (so far) journalists have been the lifesaving heroes of the Hurricane Harvey flooding.
When tragedy strikes, we always try to follow Mr. Roger's timeless advice to look for the helpers. And as Hurricane Harvey continues to batter Houston, we've all been so moved by the efforts of the National Guard, volunteers, emergency services crews, and regular...
Hiding in the Bathroom: Tips for coping with a 24/7 world | Spawned ep 82 with guest Morra Aarons Mele
We've got an incredible Spawned podcast episode this week that we think so many of you will find helpful. We're chatting with the incomparable author and strategist Morra Aarons-Mele, founder of Women and Work and author of the brand new Hiding in the Bathroom: An...
How to help the Houston flood victims: 20+ orgs that need you now
We are always encouraged that when tragedy strikes, like Hurricane Harvey in the Houston-Galveston area right now, so many people come together to ask, how can I help? Since making landfall on Friday, Hurricane Harvey has already dropped more than 24 inches of rain in...
5 super fun bento box ideas that are as easy to make as they are to eat.
We love a fun bento box as much as the next person, but has anyone else noticed that most playful school lunch ideas require a PhD in arts and crafts? So cute, but who has the time -- or, um, ability? While we admittedly attempt more ambitious school lunches for...
Rise Shine #Woke: How this hip hop album will get kids kids moving. And thinking.
If you're a fan of Old School Hip Hop, when rappers used poetry backed by slick beats to get socially conscious messages out to the world, then you'll want to get the latest album by Oakland based kindie hip-hop group Alphabet Rockers for your own kids. Featuring...
6 kids’ back-to-school essentials to get at the J.Crew Factory sale right this second
Like you, I'm a fan of sales. I'm also a fan of of J.Crew -- especially for kids' clothing, because it's always the perfect blend of well-made and "I wonder if they have that in my size." So when I saw that everything on the J.Crew Factory site is on sale, at this...
Awesome socks that pay homage (or is it toe-mage?) to pioneers of STEM and art.
Our friends at Chatty Feet have done it again, updating their killer collection of artist and pop culture socks for kids and adults. I'm such a fan, I'm currently wearing Andy Sock-hole right now -- but only because Feetaso is in the hamper. Yay for their intro to...
6 times celebrity moms clapped back at mommy shamers, and we all said hell yeah! | Thinking: Parent
I've only been a mom for five months, but it's long enough to know that mommy shaming is a very real thing. Whether it's the sidelong stare from a stranger while you breastfeed in public or the loaded question, Oh, your baby doesn't eat 1000% organic, cold pressed...
Calling all artistic kids! This cool shop lets you design and sell your own custom plush toys
We're big fans of Budsies, custom dolls based on your kids' own artwork. My kids' own drawings were lovingly interpreted into adorable stuffed animals by their team a few years ago, and they're still favorites around our house. So when we heard Budsies was launching a...
Thank you Target, for your new line of cute new sensory-friendly clothing!
Scratchy tags, raised seams, and puffy patches on shirts or pants may seem like little things to a lot of us, but they can be big deals for kids with sensory issues. So leave it to Target to create a line of new sensory-friendly kids' clothing that's as cute as it is...
15 of the best birthday gift ideas for preschoolers that are under $15. For real.
Having a preschooler means lots of classmate birthday parties to look forward to during the school year. And that means lots of birthday gifts, which can really add up. Luckily, there are lots ideas of really cool birthday gift ideas for preschoolers that are under...
23 of the absolute cutest animal school supplies | Back to School Guide 2017
Kids outgrow trends so fast, there's something wonderful about animals, which our little kids love -- and our tweens and teens too. So next up in our 2017 Back-to-School Shopping Guide, we've put together a selection of the absolutely most adorable animal themed...
Tory Burch, Billie Jean King, and women’s equality FTW
I'd imagine that any of our mothers -- and fathers -- who were around in 1973 fighting the "battle of the sexes" would be happy to see the progress we've made since then, but disheartened to know that issues of inequality are still being fought on so many fronts. As a...
#Hairgoals: 10 cool hair braiding tutorials for girls with all kinds of hair.
SMy daughter's new obsession: hair braiding videos. She's all over YouTube, checking out the coolest braid styles she can do herself, do to her friends, do to me, do to her great-grandmother...basically anyone too nice or too tired to say no. Truth is, she's actually...