Spawned With Kristen And Liz Of Coolmompicks

As parents, one of the most challenging parts of raising kids is feeding them. It's especially hard if you have your own issues with body image and food, like many Gen X parents do. Thankfully, experts like Nicole Cruz, a registered dietitian nutritionist, and mom of three can really help. Her intuitive eating and non-diet approach to food felt revolutionary to me, and it's completely changed how I approach food with my kids. And as always, we close out our show with our Cool Picks of the Week! Be sure to follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Today's sponsor is Carole P. Roman, a prolific author with over 50 books that you should know about. If you've got reluctant readers, these are the books for your kids! Learn more on our site and on the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You wouldn't think in 2022 that an author would have to fight to keep a female protagonist in a book, and yet that's just what happened to award-winning humorist Wendi Aarons when she first pitched her middle-grade book, Ginger Mancino: Kid Comedian. (Spoiler: It got published, Ginger is indeed a girl, and it's wonderful.) Wendi joins Liz to talk about the importance of funny girls in books, funny women in life, teaching kids comedy, and the road from wanting just to be "nice" to being funny enough to write for publications like the New Yorker, McSweeney's, and US Weekly's fashion police. With a lot of tough stuff in the world, this is a light, fun episode, that I really think you'll enjoy. This episode graciously brought to you by Mabel's Labels - visit now for big discounts on their cult-favorite sets of personalized labels, just for you early back-to-school shoppers! Find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and visit us at Cool Mom Picks to find all the links from today's episode.. Learn more about you

Since I got my first smartphone back in 2006, my relationship with my phone has certainly changed my life. It's also changed how I function as a person in this world, for better and for worse. Turns out, I'm not the only one, which is why I was so excited to chat with Emmy-award-winning journalist, and host of the new Mobile Diaries podcast from T-Mobile Stories, Shawna Ryan, which also happens to be today's sponsor. We chat about our first phones, how our lives changed when we got them, and how we're approaching our phone use (and our kids' phone use) now, in a post-pandemic world, plus a whole lot more! And as always, we close out our show with our Cool Picks of the Week. Find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, plus visit us at Cool Mom Picks for all the links from the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author, educator, and Prep Matters founder Ned Johnson joins Liz once again to talk us through -- or talk us down from -- the college application process. And yes, I mean parents! You'll appreciate his thoughtful insight on the whole process, "test optional" schools, financial aid, the pitfalls and benefits of stress, the impact of Covid, how Black students need to approach things differently, and why we need to reframe the concept of "selective" schools. It's amazing. // Sponsored by Dell's Black Friday in July sale: Click through this link for access to our educational membership benefits + additional discounts, no code needed. // Thanks so much for listening. Please subscribe + rate our episodes if you enjoy our show! //Find links + recommended reading from today's podcast on Cool Mom Picks, and say hi to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We often forget that social skills are taught, which seems especially important after two years in a pandemic. We're so grateful for authors, like Catherine Newman, who help make our lives as parents easier. Her new book "What Can I Say?" is a super helpful, illustrated book aimed at tweens and young teens, to help them navigate life's awkward situations, from learning how to apologize, to standing up to bullies, and pretty much everything in between. Listen to this super helpful conversation and our cool picks of the week (as usual). And word to our sponsor, Project Hashtag HPV, which might help you earn a few bucks for a little bit of your time. Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest Roo Powell is the co-founder of SOSA (Safe from Online Sexual Abuse) and has put her child advocacy and deep knowledge to use by...disguising herself as a young girl and working with police to trap predators. That work is part of the Discovery Plus docuseries Undercover Underage. Roo's story is nothing short of fascinating -- and actually more encouraging than you might imagine. Take a listen for an honest, surprisingly non-alarmist perspective about child predators, online safety, grooming, and the other subjects that we can't help but worry about as we send our kids out into the world. // Thanks so much for listening. Please subscribe + rate our episodes if you enjoy our show! //Find links from today's podcast and our cool picks of the week on Cool Mom Picks, and say hi to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I've been wondering: are moms okay right now? And are we going to be okay? Is anything okay for anyone these days? So I invited one guest I knew would have an incredible perspective, Jessica Grose, author and Parenting Editor of the New York Times. Take a listen for an honest, terrific discussion about the state of modern motherhood including childcare issues, burnout, lingering pandemic issues, the evolving role of parents on social media and "TikTok Parenting" -- and the silver linings we should all look for. // Thanks so much for listening. Please subscribe + rate our episodes if you enjoy it! //Find links from today's podcast and our cool picks of the week on Cool Mom Picks, and say hi to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've got thousands of photos on your phone, you know how painful it can be to find the ones you need when you need them, not to mention create any sort of memory or photo book. Well, get ready, because professional photo organizer Casey von Stein (aka Miss Freddy) whipped Kristen into shape (no guilt or judgment, either), and will do the same for you. Seriously, these tips are life-changing (and we don't say that lightly). This week's sponsor is Generation Joy, a fantastic kids' clothing company with the coolest basics for kids through teens. Buy 2 items get 1 free with COOLMOMJOY through April 30. Shop now! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Follow us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who better to talk about self-care with than the ultimate self-care expert, Kate Spencer. You probably know her as the co-host of the super-popular podcast Forever 35. But she recently released her first rom-com novel, In a New York Minute. On this episode, Kate talks about self-care, tackles a common complaint about rom-coms, and shares her current beauty faves in a rapid-fire session with Kristen. We'd love to hear from you! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. And be sure to check our show notes on CoolMomPicks.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Liz is so happy to be speaking (again!) with award-winning journalist and The Double Shift founder Katherine Goldstein, about her recent HuffPost article, There's a Coach for That. It lead Katherine to research the difference alllll the many kinds of coaches out there, and today she's explaining what different coaches do, who they can help, and whether what we really need is a good friend, or even a therapist. If you've been asking yourself, "What's next for me?" this is such a helpful conversation. // Thanks so much for listening, we appreciate you! 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 let's take care of each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So many parents are wondering how to have conversations with kids -- of all ages -- about the increasingly frightening attack on Ukraine. We want our kids to be informed, but we don't want to overwhelm them with anxiety and fear. So Liz is chatting once again with the wonderful journalist/author Melinda Wenner Moyer for some helpful advice. We're elaborating on the 5 expert tips in her recent NY Times article, How to Talk to Kids About Ukraine, and she's just so encouraging and specific, we hope you'll get a lot out of this conversation. // Thanks so much for listening, we appreciate you! 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 let's take care of each other. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was the power of storytelling that connected Liz and me back almost 17 years ago, and it's still the lifeline for many parents, looking for community and commiseration in their parenting journey. This week, we're chatting with author and podcaster Zibby Owens about her newest anthology, Moms Don't Have Time to Have Kids, and why our stories matter. Catch us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We love hearing from you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 temperatur

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices