Long Island Parent Talk

From her chic sense of style, to her hands-on playdates at the park, to her eco-friendly business, we can’t get enough of Jessica Alba. After creating The Honest Company last year, the mom-of-two is now promoting her debut book, "The Honest Life" (Rodale, $22.99).

“It’s a colorful how-to guidebook for people who want to make a healthy and nontoxic home without giving up the fun fashionable...

It's the size of a snack that prompts kids to eat it, not necessarily because it's in fancy packaging, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab found kids eat more fruit, such as apples, when it's sliced or cut into bite-sized pieces.

While most parents know kids love to eat fruit that's easy to eat, in most school cafeterias, fruit is served...

Smithtown-based Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI), which serves children and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities, is holding a workshop for family caregivers and those who work with individuals with developmental disabilities. The workshop is designed to help caregivers recognize and overcome compassion fatigue. The workshop is on April 25 at 7 p.m. in the lecture hall...

With Earth Day approaching there's no better time than now to talk to your kids about reducing, reusing and recycling. If you're looking for something to do with your kids in honor of Earth Day, why not create your own fossils to display by using old coffee grounds? Try this fun Earth Day craft from Disney's Spoonful.com:

Coffee Ground Fossils

What you'll need - 1 cup of used coffee...

Looking for something to do on Saturday? Head out to the Port Jefferson Health and Wellness Expo in the Port Jefferson Village.

As part of the Health and Wellness Expo, St. Charles Hospital is hosting a free Pediatric Health Fair for kids and parents alike.

Children will receive free dental, scoliosis and diabetes screenings and have the chance to participate in free bike safety and...

Looking for things to do with the kids this weekend? From Earth Day and "Snow White" to a children's festival, a scavenger hunt, crafts and more, there's much to do on Long Island. Here are my top five picks for fun, family friendly activities this weekend:

1. National DNA Day Scavenger Hunt at the DNA Learning Center, 334 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor. On Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m....

Two of my children took the controversial new state exams Monday. This year’s tests, thought to be more rigorous than those used in the past, for the first time, reflect new national Common Core curriculum standards. State authorities have already warned that passing rates statewide could fall 30 percentage points or more when tests are scored but I am not having any anxiety attacks yet.

My...

In my ongoing quest to find tasty, kid-friendly food appropriate for the whole family, this week I chose an easy-to-prepare dessert. I found the recipe in "Simply Sensational Cookies" by Nancy Baggett (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; $29.99).

One-Pot Honey-Oatmeal Drop Cookies (Makes 40-45 21⁄2- to 3-inch cookies)

Ingredients - 1 1⁄2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks...

People say some incredibly unhelpful things to parents. At the top of my list: When your child turns 11 or 12 or 13, he or she will become unbearable for roughly the next decade.

I’m here to tell you, my daughters are 14 and 15, and I actually like them most of the time.

A few years ago, people would often comment, “Well, you’ve got a couple more good years with your daughters before...

When I heard about the explosions at the Boston Marathon, my first thought was, yet again, another perfect day turned into a tragedy.

Like many parents, hearing about Martin Richard, the 8-year-old boy who lost his life while waiting to give his father a hug as he crossed the finish line, hit close to home.

How do assure your children that this type of violence won't happen at a large...