New England has plenty of big, splashy water parks from Rhode Island to Maine, but if a nearby summer adventure suits your family best, look no further than Connecticut. Ranging from a large theme park to a sandy beach, these water parks offer both thrilling slides and little-kid-friendly fountains.

For more ideas for cooling off this summer, check out our Connecticut Summer Fun Guide and  Mommy Poppins Theme and Water Park Guide. 

Don't like the weather in Boston? Wait five minutes! That means summer days or winter days (and any day in between) could turn into a rainy day, but just because the weather calls for rain, it doesn't mean the day needs to be dreary. From free museums to indoor play spaces, here are 25 ways to keep kids active and entertained when showers put a damper on outdoor plans.

For even more great (dry) kids' activities, check out our indoor fun guide; and don't forget to keep tabs on our events calendar, which is packed with plenty of fun activities—inside and out—for every day of the week.

Toys are awesome, but homemade toys are even better, especially ones that are as easy to make as this toy parachute. Gather some commonly found household items to create your very own toy parachute in minutes. It's also a great hands-on science experiment for kids.

There’s a new way to save on some of the best Long Island has to offer families, from historic museums and seasonal boat rentals to hand-pressed burgers and craft doughnuts.

Discover Long Island has created the Long Island Downtown Deals Travel Pass to bring special money-saving offers to LI natives and visitors alike. The easy-to-use mobile pass serves up exclusive discounts and promotions across participating downtown areas while helping to support local businesses as they recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Meanwhile, Discover Long Island’s YouTube channel and new podcast offer the lowdown on the Island’s most-loved activities, events, and deal-packed downtowns, from Great Neck to Greenport.

It's no secret that Brooklyn is one of the most family-friendly boroughs in New York City. More young families are discovering the rich culture and kid-friendly perks that make it a great place to raise your family. It's the reason why strollers outnumber the hipsters in most Brooklyn neighborhoods. And one of the best ways to enjoy the beautiful tree-lined blocks is to go for a walk with your tot in tow to visit some of the amazing toddler playgrounds in the area.

We've ranked the best playgrounds in Prospect Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and even the top playgrounds for big kids in Brooklyn, but now we're presenting a list of our favorite toddler playgrounds in the borough.

If you've got a child in public school, you live by the school calendar, and after a year of fits and starts, delays, and COVID-induced quarantines and closures, parents are wondering what this school year will bring. As back-to-school looms, it's looking like students will return to school in semi-normal fashion (on August 30), with in-person learning taking place on campuses across the city five days a week. The Chicago Public School Calendar for the 2021-2022 school year is below, and you'll want to bookmark it now for reference—and to help with planning family vacations and school break camp coverage.

Read on for all the dates and details of the current 2020-21 school year plan.

We don't want to condone lying, but sometimes a parent has to rely on a little white lie to get through the day...or to just emerge unscathed from Target's toy aisle. A little white lie might also be put to use to coax a kid into a much-needed nap or away from the ice cream truck that always shows up 10 minutes before dinnertime.

We recently asked our readers about the funniest lies they had told their kids, and wow, some of these are next-level genius parenting hacks!

One of the oldest hamlets on Long Island, Bay Shore's historic roots date back to the 1600s. The British armed forces used it as a headquarters during the American Revolution, and George Washington even spent some time at Sagtikos Manor. As the centuries went on, Bay Shore developed into a vacation destination for city-dwellers, and eventually housing developments took over. Still, modern Bay Shore has no shortage of family-friendly destinations worth a visit.

From Main Street to the marina, here are the top spots to explore in Bay Shore with kids. Find more family-friendly towns in our Moving Guide to Long Island.