recommendations

Want to bond with your family, offer a break from screen time, and help kids develop critical thinking, teamwork, and communication skills? Bring out the family games!

We’ve just added a new game to our collection. As parents of two kids, we actually pat ourselves on the back for this one, since it is… can you guess?... yep, a game for 2! Not that we don’t like playing games with our kids, we absolutely do, but this game is perfect for just the two of them: when we’re still working when they get home from school or when we’re busy cooking or doing other things around the house, or – we just found that out – when we’re traveling! The game is small enough to take on trips and it can easily be played in the car or on the plane.

And pssst, want to know what’s also great about this game? The brain behind it, Project Genius, is Austin-based and woman-owned! Read on to learn more about the game and Project Genius.

‘tis the Season – so much to do, so little time. December is one of the busiest months of the year, whether you’re decorating your home, holiday gift shopping, preparing for the holidays, and oh-oh – winter break is just around the corner! Wouldn’t it be nice to have a friendly Elf, who allows you to do all that, while (s)he takes care of your kiddos?

Meet Babysitting Connection, owned and founded by local Austin mom, Beth Heyer, and her team of reliable and trust-worthy babysitters Whether you need consistent reliable care on a weekly basis or a few days or nights each month, Babysitting Connection’s got you covered.

It's only April and temperatures are already in the upper 90's! Hydration is so important for your children’s health and development. Dehydration can affect your child’s ability to focus and perform, both physically and mentally. Here are some tips for keeping your kids hydrated.

Read on for details and enter for a chance to win one of two fun reusable water bottles.

It took about 10 years until Cedar allergies finally got me. Fortunately, so far my symptoms have been rather mild. I occasionally experience sinus pressure, itchy eyes, and ear aches. 

Here are some tips and treatment suggestions to ease the misery of winter cedar allergies.

Today's featured books, My Daddy is a Monster/My Kids are Monsters and My Mummy is a Monster/My Children are Monsters by Natalie Reeves Billing and illustrated by Lisa Williams are part of  “The Monstrous Me Collection”. Both books are uniquely engaging and describe one story from two points of view, the children's and the father's and mother's respectively. Once you reach a certain place in the book, you flip the book over and read it again, it’s the same, yet different.   

Who's going to be the monster today, Mom or Dad?

Read the book review of a fellow Live Grow Play Austin reader and enter for a chance to win your own copy.

Keeping your new baby close to your heart in a wrap or sling not only feels natural, it makes things a little bit easier in those busy first few months. 
If you notice that it seems to make baby calmer, it's not a fluke — science has proven that wearing your baby can benefit their physical and emotional health.

So, what can babywearing do for you and your little one? Read on to learn about 23 evidence-based benefits of babywearing.

Today's featured book Perry the Fairy and her Tail by Tsila Glidai and Illustrator Tamar Efrati  is a charming lesson about acceptance, self- confidence and inclusion told by the sweetest grandmother to her curious granddaughter. This is the first book in a series of Tell Me A Story, Grandma Glee. Children ages 4-8 will enjoy this book as they engage in rhyming sentences on each page and beautifully hand- drawn pictures to compliment every page.

Do you believe in magic? I do. I always have. And - I am fascinated with magicians. My husband smiled at me with a “I-wonder-who-has-more-fun”-smile when I took the girls to their first magic show and got them a magician box for their birthday (and he’s right, I secretly play with it when they’re at school - just kidding).

So, I was very excited to have Austin’s wonderful magician Peter the Adequate come to my daughter’s birthday party. I had seen his show before and I knew the kids would love his show. And they did. Read our review and take advantage of two special discounts just for Live Grow Play Austin readers.

Temperatures in the 80’s, leaves slowly changing colors, Halloween and fall decorations everywhere – it’s time for fall pictures!

There are a lot of great photographers in and around Austin and many families have their favorite photographer who’s taken their pictures for years and who’s seen and picture-documented their kids grow and change year by year. But, there are many new families, families that just moved here from another state or country or moved within the Austin area, or families who haven’t taken professional family pictures yet.

Read on to find or help others to find the perfect photographer for their special day.

Does your child have difficulties adjusting to school or being away from you? 

This is one of our favorite books: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn that may help your child ease his or her fears. 

The book is "for any child who confronts a difficult situation, and for the child within each of us who sometimes needs reassurance." Perfect for first day of school or back-to-school.

• 1
• 2