With Marvel and DC pretty much taking over entertainment for the past decade or so, plenty of kids are clamoring for superhero action figures for the holidays. But what I think is even cooler than Chris Evans in miniature (not that I'd c…
Let's face it: Some nativity sets are just begging to be played with. Their tiny animal figurines and family of little dolls is simply irresistible to little hands. And as anyone who's ever tried to convince a preschooler that these are …
With the massive popularity of Cards Against Humanity, it was only a matter of time before someone created a G-rated (ok, G-rated-ish) adaptation that pays homage to its irreverent mastery. Enter Not Parent Approved , a truly hilarious, …
My daughter isn't what you'd typically call a "girly girl." Her favorite clothes are athletic wear and she can hold her own (and then some) with the neighborhood boys in a game of flag football. But she still loves to dress up and has a …
When Kristen and Liz started Cool Mom Picks, their desire was to highlight cool, indie shops that make innovative products with fresh ideas for kids and families. A decade later, that's still our driving passion, and the chic handmade ba…
The first-ever gift I gave my daughter was a beautiful handmade doll I found on Etsy, and ever since then I've had a thing for gifting my kids one-of-a-kind dolls . Of course, she has her fair share (and then some) of American Girl every…
As a parent, your head banging days may be over. And at five months pregnant, mine are coming to an end pretty soon. In fact, lately I've been spending much more time agonizing over the perfect lullaby playlist than attending music festi…
If you've ever had this tune stuck in your head, "We've got the whole wide world in our yard to explore...", you can thank Dan Yaccarino. He designed Pablo, Uniqua and the rest of the Backyardigans crew, and he's also the creator of the …
When you've got a little one, you probably know that means you have a whooooole lot of preschooler birthday party gifts to look for over the course of the year. One gift for each party for each kid in your child's preschool class? Yeouch…
It seems like one of the great organizational issues that all parents have in common is finding stuffed animals storage solutions for those dozens of critters that seem to accumulate out of nowhere. When I was a kid, it was Beanie Babies…
When I discovered the incredibly adorable, beautifully handcrafted fairy doors from Sugar Bush Fairies on Etsy, I instantly fell in love. Because I’m all about bringing a little magic and enchantment into my kids’ lives -- but I’ll be ho…
We all know the transition from balance bike to training wheels to full-on bicycle takes a while (and can get a little wobbly). Add the required coordination to ring that out-of-my-way-new-rider-here bell and your kid may be in danger of…
The coolest thing you'll encounter in the water this summer may be my daughter, who has transformed herself from a normal 13-year-old into a full-fledged mermaid. And, whoa, if you have a child who would love to swim like one of these cr…
We all know that there are some pretty amazing possibilities when it comes to LEGOs, from the skills they develop to the fantastical forms they can take. But the new LEGO Disney Castle is honestly pretty jaw-dropping. Disney fans, this i…
If I had a dime for every time I walked into what was once a clean den or bedroom to discover it's been colonized by tiny pillow forts and sheet palaces, well, then I could buy one of these awesome, animal-shaped HULKI playhouses instead…
Let's be real: kids' room clutter is the gift that keeps on giving. And it's not just kids' bedrooms that are problems -- we always find the need to declutter our entryways, the kitchen, the bathroom, the garage, the area around the TV, …
We're already big fans of To The Market: Survivor-Made Goods , which produces the most gorgeous accessories, home goods, and toys. A couple of years ago, our editor Liz featured the store and its mission to support causes such as the fig…
Though the Fourth of July may be the number one holiday of the summer, Shark Week comes in a close second. It's pretty popular among our readership because our kids get a good excuse to watch an entire week's worth of programming about o…
Over the years, we've featured loads of great craft kits for kids that flex our children's creative muscles as they try their hand at making cool new works of art. But I've never seen anything quite like the brand new craft kits for kids…
I was one of those parents who insisted that I'd raise the kind of kids who would play fun, screen-free car games on our family road trips, or perhaps watching the world whiz by while asking intelligent questions about all the sites and …
Now that my kids are old enough to play "real" games -- you know, the ones where I don't have to let them win -- I love finding new clever and fun options for when we all gather around the table to play. So I was really excited to learn …
If your little camper is heading off to sleepaway camp this summer, possibly for the first time (sniff), you'll likely receive from the camp a long list of all the essentials to pack -- extra socks, bug repellent, water bottles, headlamp…
We've found the cutest new children's toy, and it includes fairy dust. Or a treasure map. What more could any child want, really? The new, cool nature kits from Rose & Rex are what little kids' dreams are made of, packed neatly into a cu…
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…