Listen, there are some fabulous clothing companies out there who are making cute kids' clothes with sensory sensitivities in mind (oh, Soft Clothing, how we love thee). But sometimes your kiddo has to wear something specific, like a scho…
There are a lot of days when having a kid with social challenges isn't particularly funny; when his feelings get hurt, when making friends is difficult, when he despairs of ever "getting it right" when it comes to following society's rul…
When Mike and Heather Spohr lost their daughter Maddie two and a half years ago, they refused to let the light this beautiful little girl brought to the world be extinguished--they started Friends of Maddie to support families coping wit…
There's little I hate more than fundraising time at school. It's not that I don't want the school to have money, it's just that there's only so many stinky candles and rolls of wrapping paper and overpriced magazine subscriptions a perso…
I'll just say it: I'm not a self-help book kind of person. Spousonomics arrived in the mail and languished on my desk for months; because, really, a book about using economics to master love and marriage? Ooooookay. But then one day I st…
Usually when I see a Kickstarter project, I think, "Huh. That's kind of neat." And then I see something shiny and move on with my day. But check this out: ReadyMade magazine's founder, Grace Hawthorne, has created what just may be the pe…
Look; I really can't get behind putting a pair of kneepads on a toddler. Aside from the hassle (and how dumb it looks) I'm of the "we all crawled on our bare knees and survived" camp of parenting. But when mom Kathryn Ames was faced with…
Back when we first told you about the all-natural, nothing-yucky baking mixes from Kids Central Kitchen, we were already impressed. But they've gone and raised the bar. Or the snack bar? [don't miss a sweet discount after the jump] Not t…
Any mom to a girl between the ages of 7 and 14 knows the dreaded Pit Of Despair when it comes to dressing them--it seems like most choices at that age fall into either the "too cutesy" or "way too mature" camp. So what's a mama to a disc…
Pam Allyn knows books, and she knows boys; she also knows, as a literacy expert, that for a variety of reasons, our boys are more vulnerable to being left behind academically and succumbing to undesirable behaviors if they're not profici…
As much as I love Threadless, I only need so many t-shirts, y'know? But it was only a matter of time before someone would realize that the model of letting the community submit artwork and then vote submissions up for production would ca…
You might remember when we told you about YesKidzCan!, the folks who are helping your kids figure out ways they can start changing the world for the better right now. We love their mission and their Act of Kindness kits, but now they're …
Remember back when lunch boxes were actually metal? I had a Holly Hobby one I adored (no cracks about my age, please!), though if I'd had the option of having my name on the box I probably would've happily chucked Holly for that. Name Yo…
It can be mighty windy up in the stands, but even if you're staying home to watch the game on the TV, every tot-sized baseball fan needs a pair of baseball-themed leg warmers, right? Just in time for the start of baseball season, I am lo…
Every year at about this time, I start digging out my kids' closets, then the other closets, and before I know it, I'm on a veritable sort-and-chuck rampage. When the dust settles, I usually have an entire carload of garbage bags ready t…
Kids seem to require an inordinate amount of Stuff Corralling, and I'm okay with that; but I'm not okay with putting holes in the walls every time I want the kids to stop putting everything they own on the floor because "I don't have any…
Kyran Pittman's subtitle for her memoir Planting Dandelions is "Field Notes from a Semi-Domesticated Life." I hope she'll forgive me for repurposing it here to tell you why this is the mothering memoir you would be foolish to skip becaus…
There's plenty of websites where you can go check out this week's grocery sales , if you're into that sort of thing. (Not judging, just, um, snore .) And we've reviewed plenty of websites and apps to help you do your weekly meal planning…
Does this rainbow umbrella design look familiar? It probably does--it's just one of the designs you'll find over at Threadless , which recently teamed up with Cool Mom Picks favorite Baggu to produce a whole series of recycled cotton can…
I thought I knew good chocolate. I rather pride myself on favoring the high cacao content and richer taste of the more expensive brands. But I had never even heard of raw chocolate when one of my readers was kind enough to ask if she cou…
LEGO is, in my mind, the quintessential building toy of childhood. I played with it when I was little; both of my kids--their ages in double digits--still love to build with it . The problem, of course, is that no matter what LEGO storag…
I can't stop giggling over these printable cupcake wrappers available from the Spaceships and Laser Beams Etsy shop. The description says it's so hard to find anything for Valentine's Day that appeals to little boys... and sure, I can se…
Having both a boychild and a girlchild, I can assure you that--despite both being wonderful and having their respective proclivities and attributes--dressing girls is just more fun. I'm sorry, but it is. Especially when there are these g…
Let me be absolutely clear, here: While I don't necessarily agree that yoga pants can only be worn for yoga, I do believe that they're closer to sweatpants than to jeans. That is to say, I don't condone the wearing of yoga pants on date …