Spawned With Kristen And Liz Of Coolmompicks

We were so honored to sit down with Kate DiCamillo, the wildly popular author of The Tales of Despereaux, Because of Winn-Dixie, and Flora & Ulysses, to talk about kids, reading, writing, imagination, superheroes, the need for diverse protagonists, and so much more. And we especially love her answer to the question: Should we make kids read the book before seeing the movie? Wow, she is a joy! // Shownotes and Cool Picks of the Week:: Cool Mom Picks podcast page // Brought to you by Outschool, the platform offering thousands of engaging, live online classes for kids of all ages...from manga illustration to Hamilton choreography, coding to filmmaking.Some as affordable as $5 each! // Please subscribe and leave us a nice review! And thanks so much for listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fair warning: This episode may really make you miss your IRL get togethers with your favorite mom friends, because that is exactly what this conversation with Dr. Janice Johnson Dias feels like. We knew that talking to Janice -- you might know her as "mom of Marley Dias" -- would be helpful, but we had no idea it be SO funny, so honest, so inspiring, and just so nourishing! (Also a little NSFW if you have little ones around.) Enjoy her tips about parenting and caregiving, joy, raising activists, nurturing kids' passions, and always always making time for yourself, // Brought to you by the 2021 3M Young Scientist Lab. Be sure your problem-solving kid enters by 4/27/21! // Shownotes and links: Cool Mom Picks podcast page // Thank you so much for listening, for subscribing...and extra socially-distant air hugs to those of you who take the time to write a nice review on iTunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, in honor of Black History Month, Liz has an incredible chat with Dr. Martin Luther King's goddaughter, activist and actress Donzaleigh Abernathy. Her stories about "Uncle Martin" and her childhood memories of the segregated south are simply riveting -- plus we talk current events, politics, racial justice, and being more engaged as anti-racist parents. She shares her honest views about what's changed in America, what hasn't, and what she finds incredibly encouraging. (Hint: it has to do with parents like us.) We also share a great love for scented candles and Meghan Markel! // Shownotes: Cool Mom Picks podcast page // Thank you so much for listening, sharing, and for your kind reviews. If you haven't yet, please leave us a five-star review, which is an easy way to support Spawned, totally free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a reason lots of us are organizing, uh...everything right now -- it helps us feel in control, during a time that so much feels beyond our control. So we're thrilled to be joined by professional organizer and President of the National Association for Black Professional Organizers, Naeemah Ford Goldson. She shares some brilliant advice, insight, and tips that we're already putting to good use in our own homes. // Graciously brought to you by Chicco baby feeding essentials, which have the safety, function, style and performance parents love. They're also the sponsors of our new 2021 Guide to the Best Baby Gifts! // Thanks SO much for listening and subscribing, and if you have a sec, please give us a nice five-star review! We're so grateful for all your support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've talked a lot about self-care over the years, but nothing as deeply honest as we do in this week's episode with our friend, author and podcaster Dr. Christine Koh. She's been sharing her own journey of radical self care on her Instagram feed, so we wanted to tap her to share what she's discovered along the way, and how we can reframe our own view of self-care to get us through tough times. You can find our cool picks of the week, along with links from our show over at Cool Mom Picks. Make sure you're following us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there's one thing we're all talking about, and maybe even tearing up about (if you're Liz), it's the arrival of the Covid-19 vaccines. So we invited the most perfect guest, vaccine expert, author, NYU professor, pediatrician, NY Times science columnist of "The Checkup," Dr. Perri Klass. She's offering a fantastic perspective about the vaccine that we hope will either help put you at ease, or give you another reason to continue celebrating. She's so informative and reassuring, that we really hope you'll take a listen. Be sure to share this episode with someone you know who needs to hear it too. // Shownotes: CoolMomPicks.com // Many thanks to our awesome sponsor Life360, the leading family safety membership service, which offers comprehensive, easy-to-use safety features for life at home, online, and on the road, all through one simple app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since we started Cool Mom Picks nearly 15 years ago (!) our hearts have always been with small businesses, especially those run by women and moms. So we're devoting this episode to sharing some of our favorite ways to shop small this holiday -- including lots of tips for shopping local and helping your own community businesses, that you may not have considered. Also, we talk about why we're tipping. A lot. And we share some of our favorite gifts from our 2020 Small Business Holiday Gift Guide should you need some great ideas! // With gratitude to our sponsor, Life360, which is keeping families safe in so many ways. Try it free now for 7 days! // Shownotes: Cool Mom Picks podcast page // Chat with our Spawned community on FB // Thank you for listening, subscribing and your kind, generous, lovely 5-star reviews which helps support our own small, mom-run business! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Thanksgiving here, Kristen + Liz sat down for a really honest conversation about the holiday season during a pandemic: What we're missing, what we're grateful for, who we're judging, who we're trying not to judge, why women and moms bear most of the brunt of this (grrr), how our kids are doing,....and where are finding the silver linings. Even if you're cynical, they're there if you look for them! // Thank you for listening and subscribing. We're thankful for all of YOU. And thanks to our terrific sponsor, the Big Life Journal for kids and teens. Use code COOL10 for 10% off your order in time for holidays // Shownotes: Cool Mom Picks podcast page + Join our Spawned community chat on Facebook // Have a good one friends...be safe and healthy, and please wear a mask.! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We needed a little diversion because these last few weeks have been rough, so on this episode, we're chatting about what we're wearing these days. Are you wearing workout clothes? Or are you getting dressed and putting make-up every day? What are you buying? What will you never buy again? And how is that affecting your sense of body image? If you need a little break from the news, THIS IS IT! Thanks for listening! And huge thanks to our sponsor, The Connected Parent: An Expert Guide to Parenting in a Digital World, now available at Basic Books. Follow us on social: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and be sure to check our podcast page for all the links from the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've had kids struggling with reading, writing, and other basic skills, you're not alone. (We've been there too!) Language expert and learning scientist Dr. Cindy Blanco is completely enlightening us with the connections between language and literacy, and let's just say...minds blown. We know you'll get some great tips here for helping even reluctant kids become readers, including a whole lot of tips that take the pressure off both of you. (Did you know cereal boxes count as reading? They do!) // This episode graciously brought to you by the new Duolingo ABC app for kids 3-7, FREE from the makers of the #1 educational language app in the world. Download today at the App Store.// Shownotes: Cool Mom Picks podcast page // Come chat with us in the Spawned FB community! // Don't forget to subscribe + leave us a nice review if you enjoy our show! - xo Kristen + Liz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, Liz stumbled into a wonderful idea: Plan to do "one good thing today," each day. Just one. AScial media friends and followers responded with the most fantastic variety of ideas for their "one good thing," that we couldn't wait to share them on this week's episode to help inspire your own. We hope it gives you some positivity and lightness during some really tough times. We need it! // Grateful for our cool sponsor Gallileo Anywhere classes for kids. Save $5 off your first class thru 10/31/20 // Shownotes: Cool Mom Pick podcast page // Thanks for listening -- and for your kind reviews! (You know how we love those five-star reviews.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With gender reveal parties on our minds these days, we were so glad to chat with author Lisa Selin Davis about gender stereotypes and what parents need to do to start to changing them, all of which she talks about in her new book, Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to Be Different. And as always, we close out our show with our cool picks of the week. Follow us on social: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and feel free to say "hi" with an email at spawned@coolmompicks.com. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for supporting our podcast by subscribing, downloading our episodes, and giving us a 5-star review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you have an older child or teen who's just gone back to school, you're going to want to pay close attention to this week's episode of Spawned. Because we're talking with best-selling author, psychologist, and new podcaster Dr. Lisa Damour, who's here to elaborate on her her viral NY Times article, "The 2020 Back-to-School List for Teens' Emotional Well-Being." She helps us all learn a little more about 4 things we can do to support our kids right now through a school year that's bound to be like no other. To say the least. // Thanks so much for listening and subscribing, and for your kind 5-star reviews! (Write one: it only takes a few seconds.) // Find shownotes on Cool Mom Picks // Thanks to our sponsor, the Panasonic HomeHawk WINDOW security camera. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether you're pinned to election coverage right now, or avoiding it completely, we think everyone should listen to this interview with Amber McReynolds, CEO of the bipartisan National Vote at Home Institute. She's got the real facts (as in, not alternative facts) about voting by mail and absentee ballots. You'll learn some of the benefits we hadn't considered, the positive changes that vote-by-mail can make to our democracy, why voter fraud by mail is nearly impossible -- and the extra special advantage that voting by mail can have for parents. Take a listen right now! We walked away so much smarter from this interview and we hope you will too. // Graciously brought to you by PerfectClean - save 25% with discount code COOL // Shownotes: Cool Mom Picks // Thanks so much for subscribing, and for your kind reviews which help support our show. And don't forget to V O T E ! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jordan Shapiro is the author of The New Childhood: Raising Kids to Thrive in a Connected World, and he's about to blow your mind. We discuss the benefits of kids and tech,, embracing family screen time, why fear of technology may be worse than actual technology, how video games got such a bad rap, and so much more -- in fact he's completely reshaped our own attitudes about digital parenting. // Shownotes here. // Chat with us in the Spawned FB community and join our Out-Tech Your Kids community to find the most supportive parents! And hey, subscribe to our new Out-Tech Your Kids podcast, for easy 15 minute tech tips for parents each week. // Many thanks to our sponsor, Kobi Kids Natural Deodorant, formulated just for tweens and teens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're so honored to welcome back The Double Shift podcaster, journalist and working mom expert Katherine Goldstein for an incredible conversation about one of the many troubling aspects of the Covid pandemic: its profound impact on working moms. We discuss the real challenges, who it's hurting most, how to rally for the help we all need, and what the long term impact of Covid could be on an entire generation of working mothers...if we don't start prioritizing childcare in America. Plus, she's got a great alternative to the "mommy war" shaming over parents' (decidedly limited) choices right now. // Thanks so much for listening and subscribing. You can discuss this episode with us in the Spawned FB community // Shownotes: CoolMomPicks.com // Many thanks to our fantastic sponsor, Breyers CarbSmart for helping us get through this hot summer at home Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So let's talk time management. (Ha! Hahahahhaha!) We get it. Lately, it's like we look out the window, see it's getting dark, and think "where the heck did this day go!" But with back to school (-ish) creeping up on us, we're trying to regain at least some sense of normalcy and routine. So we're examining the top 5 time management techniques from experts to help you figure out if one is right for you, and can help you be a little more productive in work and in life.. No pressure to write the great American novel or plant a community garden! Just...baby steps. // Show notes and links: Cool Mom Picks Podcast Page // Chat about the episode in the Spawned FB Community // Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode! // Please support this week's wonderful sponsors, Darkness Drops Again by Melissa Manning + Breyers CarbSmart Frozen Treats. (Yum.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's really only one topic we could think to cover this week: What to do about back-to-school in 2020, during the Covid pandemic. We don't have the right answer for you (and FFS let's not turn this into the next mommy wars) but we do have a terrific list of 14 considerations we've seen parents discussing -- including plenty you might not have thought about at all just yet. Take a deep breath, take a listen, and then think about the decision that feels right in your gut. Even if it changes in a week. Or a day. We have to start somewhere. // Show notes and helpful links from the show on Cool Mom Picks. // Discuss this topic with us in the Spawned podcast community on FB // Gratitude to our sponsor, Breyers Ice Cream for making this week's. episode possible. // Don't forget to subscribe! Lots to discuss these days. Hoo boy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, our oldest girls turned 15 and 16 (eep!) and we found some interesting ways to celebrate. So we really wanted to have an honest, helpful discussion about kids' birthday in the age of Covid, including party alternatives, finding joy in small gestures, acknowledging the loss and the FOMO, and above all, remembering that celebrating our kids' milestones should be about love...not Instagram. We think you'll come away with a lot to think about. Plus, you get to find out why a "ball-inator" is a big deal in Liz's home on birthdays. (Don't worry, it's safe for all ages.) // Show notes and links: Cool Mom Picks Podcast page // Spawned Podcast Community FB page // Much thanks to this week's cool sponsors, Breyer's CarbSmart and Cisco's Global Problem Solvers: The Series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last couple of weeks, many schools have been releasing their plans for fall, and not surprisingly, it's all the parents in our social media feed are talking about. We recently featured a post about things to consider if you're thinking about homeschooling this fall by our Editor Kate Etue that was so popular with our readers that we decided to talk about it on Spawned. On this episode, Liz interviews Kristen (a former homeschooler) to get her thoughts on making this difficult decision. And as always, we close out our show with our cool picks of the week. This week's sponsors: We're so happy to welcome back Breyers Carbsmart and Cisco's GPS: The Series, both of which you can hear more about on the show. Learn more about this show, and find all the links we discuss on our podcast page. We'd love to hear from you! You can find us on social media - Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices