It's past bedtime, but a barking cough and noisy breathing are keeping your toddler wide awake. Weekend soccer practice ends abruptly with a slide tackle right to your middle schooler's ankle. Your otherwise healthy teen is suddenly covered with welts from head to toe. The pediatrician’s office is definitely closed and panic starts to set in as you weigh whether the circumstances warrant an emergency room visit.

Well, as it turns out, there may be a better option. A pediatric urgent care center—like those operated by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in Chalfont, Pa., Glen Mills, Pa., and King of Prussia, Pa.—can actually handle all of these problems and then some, including a number of illnesses and injuries you might think require an emergency department visit. And while many issues may feel ER-worthy to us worried parents, they might not meet the medical criteria that require a trip to the hospital. So, instead of booking it to the nearest emergency room or waiting for the pediatrician's office to open for your kiddo's next fever or fall, call your child’s doctor and ask if an urgent care for kids might be the best option. These facilities treat your child when you need it—on evenings and weekends—and how you need it—with special consideration for his or her needs.

Want to inspire your kids to do their math homework, or maybe visit JPL, La Cañada's Jet Propulsion Labratory? Maybe this amazing mom, who is a professor at CalTech, has a son who also works at JPL, and just won a freakin' Nobel Prize, will inspire your little ones to get more excited about STEM stuff (and might just inspire you to think big, too). 

Halloween isn't the only spooky holiday to celebrate this fall. Day of the Dead—or Día de los Muertos as it's known in Spanish—is observed by many Latino cultures and is especially popular in Mexico.

Day of the Dead officially takes place on November 1 and 2 to coincide with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. However, NYC events are spread throughout October and early November and most of them are FREE. Revelers honor friends and family members who have died by building altars, or ofrendas, and adorning them with colorful paper flowers, beautifully decorated skeletons, and candles. It's a joyful way to remember the deceased—without freaking kids out. We've rounded up nine Day of the Dead events where NYC kids and families can celebrate the holiday.

You can find more fall activities in our Fall Fun Guide and check out the Halloween Guide for all the other spooky, kid-friendly happenings in NYC this month.

In those final sleepless nights before your baby is born, you might lie awake thinking about what to put in your hospital bag, who will watch the dog...or, heck, whether you really love the name you picked. But the arrival of that baby brings on a whole new onslaught of questions.

Is he getting enough milk? Why won’t she sleep more than 45 minutes at a time? He cries so much….is it an allergy? When will I get this under control? Where can I find a mellow mommy and me class? WTF is that stabbing pain in my pelvis? And once the wave of eager visitors subsides, and you and/or your partner heads back to work, the questions tend to stack up. Who to ask? Where to find help?

Lucky for you, we NYC Mommy Poppins moms have a few babies between the lot of us (we’re not going to say just how many). We've compiled a list of resources that have been helpful to us over the years, from postpartum therapy and lactation consultants to parent support groups. And don’t forget to peruse our Baby and Pregnancy Guide for more NYC resources. Hang in there: It does get easier. Especially if you know where to get a little help.

This fall, you and the kids can check out an 800-pound pumpkin, trick or treat in Philly’s best Halloween neighborhoods, get lost in a corn maze…and see a giant sea monster! Set right in the heart of Philadephia’s Navy Yard, a super cool and unique art installation is happening now, but you’ve gotta be quick! It will be gone in just a few weeks. Want to check this art installation out for yourself? Read on for details.

Orange County is home to plenty of family-friendly attractions (including the country's biggest theme park haunt) so it should come as no surprise that California's third biggest county is also one of the hottest spots for trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Tons of planned communities with homes a short stroll from one other give kids ample opportunity to satisfy a sweet tooth, in a climate that doesn't require covering up cool costumes with coats. The OC is also one of the wealthiest counties in the country, which translates into bigger candy bars, more elaborate decorations, and no-holds-barred block parties.

We scoured the county to come up with a list of the top OC spots to take your ghouls and goblins trick-or-treating this Halloween. If you're visiting one of these generous neighborhoods, please show your appreciation by being extra considerate about candy wrappers and other litter on the ground. And wherever you head on Halloween night, carry lights and watch out for traffic.

Torn between a nanny, daycare, or staying home with your kids? Choosing childcare can be a difficult—and deeply personal—decision for any family, and of course involves a number of factors, from costs to the length of your commute. A new study out of France suggests that daycare might offer some significant advantages in terms of our kids' development.

Researchers at Sorbonne Université in Paris followed nearly 1,500 kids from the womb to age 8 as they either attended a center-based daycare or were cared for by a nanny or family member. The daycare kids, particularly those who attended at least a year before the age of three, were less likely to have problems with peers and other emotional and behavioral issues, according to the researchers.

Do you live in a part of Fairfield County where the roads are windy and you don't have any sidewalks or streetlights? There is a simpler and safer alternative to trick-or-treating called Trunk-or-Treat. Haven't heard of it? It's like a Halloween tailgate, where families gather in a church or community parking lot and children trick-or-treat from car to decorated car. These popular events confine the confections to a safe, central spot and many of them aim to keep the mayhem to a minimum. Trunk-or-Treats tend to start early, so you don't have to deal with any spooky meltdowns in the dark. Better yet, these events usually add more fun to the mix with food, activities, games, and even campfires. In our round up, we've included Trunk-or-Treat events as well as similarly structured events that provide a centralized trick-or-treating experience.