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Right now, the world is a pretty terrifying place, but we think you'll find a lot of reason for hope in this interview with John Della Volpe. Especially if you're raising a tween or teen right now -- or a kid who will be one soon. John is a notable expert on data around Gen Z and youth movements, the Director of Polling at Harvard's Kennedy School, and most recently, the author of FIGHT: How Gen Z Is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America. He's funny, he's smart, and he's got a fascinating perspective -- backed with facts -- on why we should never doubt the most educated, diverse generation yet. // Thanks so much for listening. Please take a moment to subscribe if you like our show. // Want to say hi? Find us on FB, Twitter, IG, Pinterest // Shownotes: CoolMomPicks.com. // Stay safe out there friends, and take care of yourselves.

This week, Liz chats with Amy L. Koppelman, writer, director and producer of the new film A Mouthful of Air, starring Amanda Seyfried and Finn Witrock. It's based on on Amy's critically acclaimed novel inspired by her own struggles with postpartum depression 20 years ago.Join us for a thoughtful discussion about issues around women and mental health. Like the shame women still experience, how partners and friends can help identify PPD (and organizations here to help), and the important reminder that people who seem to "have it all" -- yes, even beautiful Instagram influencers -- may be struggling too.Shownotes: Cool Mom Picks podcast page. Follow us on social media: Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

In this episode, we're chatting with New York Times bestselling author Julie Lythcott-Haims about her new book Your Turn: How to Be an Adult. You might know Julie from her first book, "How to Raise an Adult," which was a New York Times bestseller and was the antidote to overparenting culture.Thankfully, she's back with a sort of follow-up to that one, aimed at older Gen-Z and millennials (and hey, Gen-Xers too), with a super helpful guidebook to what it means to be an adult. It's supportive, thoughtful, and inspiring, whether you need it for yourself, or you've got a budding adult in your life.Follow us on social media: Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

We've been so grateful to our recent expert Spawned guests who have offered their help in navigating these last two years with our kids. And this week's expert, Mara Koffmann, is no exception. She shares her expertise from years working with kids and families as co-founder of Brain Trust Tutors, especially in the area of executive function skills. These are the extremely important skills that help us plan, focus attention, and manage multiple tasks successfully (just to name a few).As always, we end our show with our cool picks of the week. Don't forget to say "hi" to our awesome sponsors, Breathwrk and Renzo's Vitamins, both of whom have awesome offers for you!We're on social media! Visit us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

As we round out the year (yes we made it, phew) we're keeping things light with an entire COOL PICKS EPISODE. We're sharing 10 of our favorite holiday gifts that we recommended across our sites this year, but if you know us, we've always got a few more we sneak in! Take a listen, don't stress the gifts (seriously), shop local when you can, find time with people you love, and stay healthy. That's our greatest wish for you. Please support our sponsors, for whom we are so grateful: Save 40% on Elixinol's award-winning CBD products with code COOLMOM40 for calm, better sleep + general well-being. And Remind Tutoring is helping thousands of kids with affordable one-on-one online math tutoring, and your first session is free.You'll find ALL the links from the show on Cool Mom Picks. Find us on FB, Insta, Twitter and Pinterest and say hi. We're so grateful for all of you!

As Liz and I try to keep our heads afloat this holiday season, we decided to take a week off and instead, re-share a timely episode with a message we all need right now. A couple of years ago, I interviewed our friend, author Nancy Davis Kho, about her book The Thank You Project. This gratitude project changed her life, and well, with all that's happening around us these days, and the holidays only a couple of weeks away, it seemed like the perfect conversation to share again. Our sponsors, for whom we are so grateful! Please take a moment to check our Vrbo and Bombas. They help us keep doing what we're doing! You'll find all the links from the show at Cool Mom Picks. Don't forget to reach out on social media. We love hearing from you!

This interview with William Stixrud Ph.D. and Ned Johnson may be one of the most helpful episodes we've ever run, and if you've ever struggled to help your child manage any kind of problem at all, we think you'll agree. They're the best-selling co-authors ofThe Self-Driven Child, and we're talking about advice from their brand new book, What Do You Say? Talking with Kids to Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance, and a Happy Home. You'll get tons of practical, actionable tips to help you improve parent-child communication, increase empathy, decrease anxiety, and help raise kids to be their own best problem solvers. Plus, they're just delightful! Speaking of which, wow, do we have some fun Cool Picks of the Week for you at the end of the show.Many thanks to our sponsors: Google Kids Space, a kids mode available on select Android tablets (that start at $59!) and the Panasonic Long-Range Baby Monitor, which offers incredible security, interference-free coverage, customizable alerts for sound, motion, and temperature, and a whole lot more.Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and visit our site for all the links in the show!

We originally had researcher and author Emily Oster on the show to chat about her book, The Family Firm, which is a helpful guidebook for parents that offers a smart method for making decisions (because as parents, we make a lot of them). However, we couldn't have her on and not chat about some of the research she has done about opening the schools in the pandemic, and most recently, the effectiveness of masks, which has made her reviled and revered. What you'll hear is a lively chat about lots of important things that we know lots of parents are thinking about right now. And, as always, we share our cool picks of the week.Thanks to our sponsor Vrbo, who just released their 2022 trend report, and KidsBEETV.com, a fun, safe, and surprising app for kids.Follow us on social media: Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Links from this show, including Emily's book The Family Firm, can be found on our site.

This time of year, when we're aware of those who have so much and those who don't, we wanted to have a candid, frank conversation about kids and gratitude during the holiday season. This is a great talk about what we can do to raise kids who value gratitude, practice empathy, and see the joy in giving back. We hope you love it too. Much thanks to our sponsor KidsBeeTV, a fun, and safe app that stimulates learning in kids up to 7 with  their favorite songs, engaging educational videos, fun activities, and popular shows, all vetted by teachers and experts. It's a sweet way to bring families together. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and visit our site for all the links in today's show!

We're so happy to be joined by a top NYC pediatrician, Dr. Preeti Parikh, to answer parents' biggest questions about the Covid-19 vaccine and kids 5-11 so you can make the best health decisions for your family. We think you'll get a lot from her thoughtful, thorough answers -- we even learned a few things too!This episode is graciously brought to you by GoodRx Health, a brand new online health resource, filled with solid, trusted, vetted answers to so many medical questions of all kind. Plus their new Vaccine Guide is offers plenty of information, and even lets you browse available Covid vaccine appointments near you.Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and visit our site for all the links in the show!

If your kids are like ours, they're obsessed with Minecraft, which is why were so excited to chat with author Delilah Dawson, whose new book Minecraft Mobsquad is all about... Minecraft! She's the perfect person to share why Minecraft can be a really positive experience with kids. And as always, we share our Cool Picks of the Week.Thanks to our sponsors: Google Kids Space, a kids mode available on select Android tablets (that start at $59!) and KidsBeeTV, a fun, and safe app designed for kids up to 7 years old, that stimulates learning, promotes diversity, and brings families together.Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and visit our site for all the links in the show!

We know that over the last few years in particular, many of us have felt extra activated to help make change in the world. But if we're honest, being an activist can be exhausting and soul sucking. Well, our good friend and author Karen Walrond has a whole lot to share about this exact issue, and what we can do about it. She's chatting about her new book The Lightmaker's Manifesto, and we hope you find this chat as inspiring as we did. Make sure to stick around for our Cool Picks of the Week!Our sponsor: Check out Google Kids Space, a kids mode on select Android tablets that's designed to inspire growth, discovery, and curiosity in kids.Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and make sure to check out our site for all the links from our show.

Ever wondered about the 5 principles of being a good digital citizen? Well this week we're talking to Diana Graber, founder of CyberWise and author of Raising Humans in a Digital World: Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology. As you might have guessed.... we talk through how we can raise our kids to use digital tools safely, responsibly, and even to put more positivity out in the world. She even gives us a whole new way to think about cyberbullying -- and how to talk about it. Whether you have teens, tweens, or kids too young for their own devices, it's never too early to learn these essential tips for the digital world our kids are growing up in.Thanks to all of you for your generous reviews! Keep them coming, we're beyond grateful. You can find all our links and more at CoolMomPicks.com on our podcast posts, and be sure to say hi to us on social media: IG, FB, TW. We like to say hi back!

Considering our kids are well beyond picture book age, it might seem odd that we're so excited about a picture book. (Okay, okay, so Kristen does have one of her own coming out in late 2023, but still). Hello, Star, by author Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic and illustrator Vashti Harrison is a wonder to behold, and how lucky are we that they came by Spawned to chat with Kristen about their new collaboration. Don't miss our cool picks of the week! Thanks to our sponsor Beam Dream Powder that might just help you get more sleep. Don't miss their awesome special offer just for Spawned listeners! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! And don't forget to visit our site, CoolMomPicks.com.

This week we're talking to Jenny Lawson. and we can't even believe we hadn't done it before! The best-selling author, humorist, new indie bookstore owner, and all around amazing human is joining us in time for National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month for a candid discussion about...well depression. And anxiety. And other mental health issues that so many of us experience but are sometimes scared to talk about. If you know Jenny, you know that you'll laugh, you'll learn, you'll get info that may truly help you or someone you love....and then you'll laugh some more. And of course stick around for all of our cool picks of the week.Thanks for your awesome reviews! Keep them coming, we're so grateful!! You can find all our links and more at CoolMomPicks.com, and be sure to say hi to us on social media: IG, FB, TW. We like to say hi back!

For ages, we've wanted to cover the topic of raising LGBTQ+ kids with kindness, compassion, understanding... and we have the absolute perfect guest for that: Kristin Russo, the honest, hilarious and incredibly helpful author of This is a Book for for Parents of Gay Kids. So basically the 3 H's. We know you'll love this chat, which is like an entertaining audio FAQ for parents -- or anyone who wants to be more supportive (and less awkward) with the LGBTQ+ kids in your own life. And as always, we close out our show with our Cool Picks of the Week so stick around til the end for some good ones!Yay for our sponsors: This is the perfect time to sign up for Giftster, the original, free two-way family gift registry that helps eliminate gift anxiety and helps you give (and get!) the perfect gifts every time. Thanks for your awesome reviews! Keep them coming, we're so grateful!! You can find all our links and more at CoolMompicks.com and be sure to follow us on social media: IG, FB, TW.

It's a big Spawned milestone as we welcome our first ever aerospace engineer, Keji Sojobi, who chats about her work with the new Netflix show, Ada Twist, Scientist. She shares how she's working hard to make STEM more accessible to girls, particularly girls of color. And of course, we close out our show with our Cool Picks of the Week.You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Let us know what you thought of the show!

We parents feel the pressure of social media, so it's no surprise that our kids are feeling it too. And according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, it's young women and the effect of Instagram on their body image that's a huge problem that Facebook is not talking about. So... we are! We chat about the problem, but better, offer possible solutions for parents. And as always, we share our cool picks of the week (which is now an email, which you can subscribe to right here).Follow us on social media! We're on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We'd love to hear from you. And huge thanks to our sponsor Entangled Publishing. Did you stick around for our very special Spawned Extra? We hope you enjoyed our chat with author Christina Hovland.

As we watched the York Central School District make national news with their recent book ban, we thought it was important to reshare this fantastic episode with author Meena Harris, who chats with Liz about the importance of diverse books for kids. Even though YCSD overturned the ruling, many school districts around the country are following suit. SPONSORS: Sign up for a free 7-day trial plus save 20% off with code CMP21 at ParentEducate.com. And don't miss saving over $150 off an ECOVACS Deebot N7 at Amazon.com with code CLM300. Find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We'd love to hear from you!

We get some of our best topic ideas from YOU -- like this week's episode on how to manage step-parenting, divorce, and welcoming new kids into your heart We're so happy to chat about this with dynamic Certified Parenting Coach, author and educator, Naja Hall. She's the founder of the popular community Blended and Black as well as the force behind VIP Stepmom and we know you'll love her frank, often hilarious wisdom. As always, we close out our show with our Cool Picks of the Week -- let's just say we all have beauty on the brain this week!Yay for our sponsors: Save 20% off your ParentEducate.com subscription with CMP21. And this is the perfect time to sign up for Giftster, the original, free two-way family gift registry that helps eliminate gift anxiety.Thanks for your awesome reviews! Keep them coming, we're so grateful!! You can find all our links and more at CoolMompicks.com and be sure to follow us on social media: IG, FB, TW.