The latest from Spawned: Our award-winning parenting podcast
The latest from Spawned, our award-winning parenting podcast
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...
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...
“Acceptance is Protection”: Kate Brookes on parenting a trans kid, or any child on their own path. | Spawned 299
I could not be more thrilled to share this wonderful interview with award-winning TV reporter/producer/mom Kate Brookes, author of the upcoming Transister: Raising Twins in a Gender-Bending World. While our conversation is super helpful for parents looking for advice...
More coolness from recent weeks…
Daily Question: If you could only listen to ONE kind of music the rest of your life…
We're so happy to bring back our Daily Question! Thanks to you and all of your input, it's now a whole lot easier to tell us what you think. Today, we've got music on the brain! So we're wondering... Check back each weekday for a new Daily...
One Cool Thing: Jim Henson Idea Man, the trailer is here. Grab tissues.
Jim Henson Idea Man starts streaming to Disney + subscribers on May 31, but since no one I know can wait that long, it's a good thing that the Jim Henson Idea Man trailer just launched. The original documentary is directed by Ron Howard, so of course it's going to be...
These 24 self-care gifts for Mom can help her slow down and breathe. | Mother’s Day Gift Guide
Among the most popular Mother's Day gifts now and forever are self-care gifts for moms. (And grandmas and stepmoms of course.) We are all increasingly aware that moms are working harder and longer than ever before, often juggling paid work, family obligations,...
One Cool Thing: Make homemade crowns for Mother’s Day and give back to kids in need
While this DIY crown and tiara kit from SuperSmalls is designed for kids, it reminds me of the homemade Mother's Day crowns, jewelry boxes, necklaces, and other sparkly gifts my kids made me when they were young. The kit makes it so easy for kids to accomplish on...
Spark a love for our planet with these 13 enchanting Earth Day books for kids
Earth Day is a time to celebrate our wonderful planet with our planet, and these Earth Day books for kids present the perfect opportunity to nurture our children's love for nature and environmental awareness. If you're unsure where to begin, I've put together some of...
Modern custom family portrait art from 12 exceptional artists: Incredible gifts for moms, dads, and grandparents
We've always been fans of custom family portrait art, as a creative personalized gift that celebrates all the people you love. We're huge fans of photo gifts of all kinds including , of course, photo books. But if you want to get a little more creative, these modern...
One Cool Thing: Social-emotional learning through play
While looking at all the amazing new toys and gifts out this year to include in our new and improved Ultimate Birthday Gift Guide (it's on its way!), I came across this just wonderful Shapes of Emotions social-emotional learning toy. It seems like a clock at first but...
10 essential non-fiction books about climate + protecting the planet | Recommendations from a Gen Z sustainability expert
It’s officially Earth Month, which means it’s a great time to pick up some new books about climate and having conversations about preserving our planet for the next generation -- whether you're a hardcore environmentalist or just a compassionate parent and citizen....
One Cool Thing: These cool toys get kids outdoors – and help plant trees with every purchase
We've officially hit that stage of mid-April when the weather is warm everywhere, and we're trying to get the kids to play outside more. While browsing for some cool new outdoor toys for kids, I came across an awesome program: One of our favorite indie toy shops, Fat...
An age-by-age guide to teaching kids about money: Things we can do as parents.
With April being Financial Literacy Month, it's a great opportunity to share an age-by-age guide to teaching kids about money. After all, it's one of the most important things we need to teach our kids -- it impacts every one of us for our entire lives -- and yet...
One Cool Thing: Skout Organic all-natural snack bars pass the picky kid test.
This Earth Month happened to be the perfect time for us to stumble on Skout Organic, as a lot of us are thinking about how to get more plant-based foods into our family's bellies. So why not start with the lunch box? We recently tried the certified organic,...
What do libraries do? You’re not going to believe this list. | National Library Week
Several years ago, we wrote a lengthy post explaining what libraries do, and advocating for their funding. Wth this being National Library Week, at a time that there is an inarguable war on public libraries in the U.S. I thought I'd share that list with some 2024...
Deal Alert: Save 25% off at PlanetBox in Honor of Earth Month (Plus a Special Bonus)
With Earth Month here and Earth Day coming up, we wanted to share a fantastic deal from Planet Box, the company making the incredible bento-style lunch boxes and earth-friendly reusable lunch accessories that we've been recommending for years. For adults, too! Some...
One Cool Thing: Jackie Robinson commemorative merch is a fantastic gift for fans
There's a whole lot going on in April: Tax Day, Earth Day, and the first full month of baseball season. And this year, there's something extra special coming up -- the 20th anniversary of Jackie Robinson Day. Poking around for something cool at the official MLB store,...
Mott & Bow jeans make it easy (and fun!) for you to find the perfect fit. And maybe some extra savings.
After seeing ads for Mott & Bow denim in my Instagram feed for a while, a friend insisted that I had to check them out. I did! And I ordered! Turns out the brand isn't only legit, they're beloved by a ton of fashion editors, they have customers who swear won't buy...
One Cool Thing: Colorful Mermaid Scale Wine Tumblers
While it's still a little cold in my neck of the woods -- because, April in New York -- we're getting a little spring fever around here and we're determined to get outside more. Even if jackets are required. Next week, we've got plans to head to a local park to watch...
Daily Question: Which Mobile Games Do You Loooooooove?
If there's one thing moms need more of, it's downtime. We love reading, watching shows, hobbies, and yes, playing games. SO many games. No judgments at all -- whatever it takes to decompress is good by us. (Let alone starting each morning with Wordle without fail.) So...
Daily Question: Congrats, You’re Mega-Rich! Who Do You Hire First?
Welcome to our next daily reader question, where cool moms get to share their opinions and ideas with other cool moms. (Dads welcome too.) Today, we're asking about all your lottery-winning, surprise-inheritance, found-ten-million-dollars-in-a-coat-pocket dreams. We...
One Cool Thing: Happy Jack x Kenneth Cole is supporting students struggling with mental health
You know how much we love gifts that give back, and I was thrilled to find one more in the new Happy Jack x Kenneth Cole capsule collection. Our posts may contain affiliate links and some purchases generate a small commission to support our work at no additional cost...
Daily Question: Which Breakfast Club Character Were You in High School
Welcome to our next daily reader question, where cool moms get to share their opinions and ideas with other cool moms. (Dads welcome too.) After our first daily question about the best 80s teen movies ever (click over for the results!) it turns out you all have a...
The Best April Fool’s Prank We Ever Pulled. Still Hilarious.
Over the years, we used to create the best April Fool's posts each April 1 until it became...well, kind of a thing everyone did and readers got savvy and started expecting them. Then we started sharing the best April Fool's pranks you could play on your kids and hey,...