Oh, the joys of the summer birthday party when the nice weather means celebrating with friends out-of-doors. And whether this means gathering everyone into your backyard, meeting at the local park, or even taking over a quiet piece of sa…
They may be growing up oh-so-fast, but our elementary-school aged kids are more than happy to get as messy as their toddler selves used to, especially when it's all in good fun. Our tip: Every so often, it's okay to get messy. So throw o…
If you find yourself saying Don't make a mess! to your curious, imaginative, and, yeah, messy preschooler more times than you care to count, we're going to challenge you to say Let's make a mess for a change. Wait til you see how good th…
When my kids try climbing onto the huge woven rope hammock in their grandparents' back yard, it inevitably flips over and leaves them dangling inches above the ground, hanging on underneath for dear life. It's so hilarious. I mean...awfu…
On a recent trip to Venice Beach, I wandered through skate shops and hung out at the skatepark. What can I say -- I'm still a skatebetty at heart, even at my age. But unlike the old days when bumper stickers proclaimed Skateboarding is n…
If it's not yet clear from the pages of Cool Mom Picks, the holiday season is upon us. And for a lot of us, that means time to come up with a standout holiday gift for the little guys and gals on our shopping list will be a hit without b…
It hasn't yet snowed here in Colorado, but it's only a matter of time before the flurries fly and the birds are scrambling for food. Because I love to craft pretty things that are also useful, I've been looking for DIY bird feeders. I'm …
Those iconic handmade wooden crate and roller-skate-bottom scooters from the Great Depression have been retooled and re-imagined to form the fierce-looking Skate Crate , hopefully coming soon to a sidewalk near you. At least if you ask o…
Summer may be winding down, but that doesn't mean kids will be hanging up their scooters anytime soon. In some neighborhoods, we're even scooting to school and hopefully safely. Our partner Micro Kickboard (we love them so much!) is a br…
With all the United States National Parks for us to explore and enjoy with our families, there are probably certain ones that pop to mind first: Yosemite, Yellowstone, Acadia, Sequoia, the Grand Canyon. But if you haven't heard of Great …
It can be a struggle to get kids to remember to wear their helmets, but when their bike safety gear looks as good as these cool bike helmets for kids--they're much more likely to use one. So since it's July, and in our house the Tour de …
With ride-on toys like the Skoooch , the CycoCycle , and the Explorer Go-Kar t in our garage, our own driveway is often the most fun place to be in the summer. And if you're looking for something totally different to get your kids out an…
If you have yet to get your kids into gardening, you're in for a treat - kids are naturals. Last year my husband built us a small garden box in the back yard, and my kids and I planted some seeds and watched them grow into tomatoes and s…
Tis the season for playing in the sand (yay for summer!) so we've rounded up some of the most fun and coolest-looking new beach toys for kids. If you've got a seaside trip planned,we hope these help you amp up the standard buckets and sh…
We missed the boat on a big fancy modern swing set for my kids--maybe because we live in the city and don't have a yard? Yeah, that could have a little to do with it. But their Grandma and Papa put up a handmade swing for them which made…
It probably comes as no surprise that my favorite part of camping is campfire cooking. There's something satisfyingly primal about giving up my stove and cooking over an open fire in the great outdoors. And with the right camping recipes…
For years, we've been preaching that it's often the little things that make the biggest impact, especially when it comes to those fun treats and creative ideas that help make summer magical for families. Just ask our own kids how much th…
We've featured some really great micro-gardening tools here over the years, like the cool Click & Grow smart herb garden , which helps to create gardening projects for those of you with kids -- but not a lot of space for traditional sowi…
We love balance bikes here at Cool Mom Picks because they do such a great job of teaching young kids how to get around safely on two wheels. I was sold on them after learning the hard way how challenging it is to wean a fearful child off…
It's officially the season for travel (whoo!) and whether you're planing it, driving, or taking the subway uptown for a picnic in the park, we're all for getting out with the kids. A top question from our readers is always "but what do I…
Whether your toddler is ready for their first balance bike or you have a mini speedster on your holiday list, a ride-on toy makes an awesome "big gift" for either Hanukkah or Christmas. As the inadvertent ride-on-toy expert at Cool Mom P…
Last summer, after my kids saw some little beach bums flinging skimboards into the surf, they couldn't wait to try the sport themselves. Uh, I'm not sure their tailbones will ever be the same. Let's just say that skimboarding is not easy…
Every so often, it's fun to see how the rich and famous live, especially those with kids. Should you have a spare 10, 20, or 50k lying around , check out these unbelievable kids playhouses. Or hey, if you buy one yourself? Invite us over…
I have to say that one of my proud parent moments is realizing my girls aren't afraid of bugs or worms or things they see in the garden . Of course I can't take credit for it at all (thanks, grandparents!) but nonetheless, I love encoura…