While it might be nice to board a plane to a sunny island, it’s not always possible or cost-effective. Luckily, you can enjoy some summertime fun year-round at the many indoor water parks near Philly. Go dig out your bathing suit from behind your coats and mittens, and get ready to take the plunge at one of these exciting parks and family-friendly resorts.

If you're looking for more indoor fun, check out our Indoor Activities Guide or start planning some faraway quality time using our Family Travel Guide.

Having a list of fun indoor play spaces in Houston is a must practically all year. After all, we're often navigating either hot and humid summer days or wet winter storms, which necessitates having an arsenal of great indoor options. Fortunately, there's plenty of indoor activities in Houston perfect for kids looking to burn off some of that endless energy. Heck, we even have the largest indoor playground in Texas nearby!

Read on for our favorite indoor playgrounds for any day of the year, and if you still need more indoor fun, check out our Guide to Indoor Fun in Houston for Kids.

Outdoor dining on Long Island is still viable in the dead of winter, with family-friendly local eateries offering options like igloos, mini-greenhouses, and heaters. 

While these outdoor dining options come with perks like fairy lights, Bluetooth speakers, plush seating, and more, they also often come at a hefty price tag, and they might be best saved for a special occasion. Reservations are generally required and the spaces often sell out, so plan in advance.

Find more family-friendly eateries in our Family-Friendly Long Island Restaurant Guide, plus plenty of seasonal fun in our Winter Fun Guide.

Books are getting banned at an alarming rate, especially children's books. When you think banned, you think there's got to be something controversial, mature, or upsetting in the books. But many of these books are classics that are beloved by generations of kids.

While kids might want to ban bedtime, bathtime, or broccoli, we're guessing that books like Charlotte's Web and Captain Underpants are things kids would rather celebrate than ban. We've compiled a list of frequently banned children's books that kids of all ages adore. So go ahead, be a rebel. Read a banned book. Books are magic, and knowledge is power.

For more of our favorite books that expand minds, thoughts, and hearts, check out our Best Kids' Books Guide to Great Reads, which includes incredible Kids' Books About Racism, Best LGBTQ Books for Kids, and more great book recommendations.

Looking for indoor playgrounds in Chicago? Here are our favorite indoor play spaces near Chicago.

When the weather's too cold, too hot, or too rainy to play outdoors, you can head to one of our favorite indoor play spaces for kids in Chicago. There’s a climate-controlled play zone for every age, every interest, and every kind of kid. Many indoor play spaces in Chicago even offer coffee and wi-fi for grateful parents, so you can catch up on email (and caffeine) while your little ones get their sillies out.

Here are our favorite places to play indoors in and around Chicago when the weather won't cooperate. Looking for something else fun to do indoors with kids in Chicago? Check out our list of the best FREE indoor play spaces in and around Chicago. For more fun when it's too hot or cold to play outside, check out our Winter Activities Guide for Chicago Kids.

Every week we here at Mommy Poppins ask our readers a question—things like, "What is your favorite donut place in your city?" or "Which would you rather have, a maid or a chef?" We typically get lots of great responses—some funny, some sweet, and some super insightful.

But rarely do we receive as much feedback as when we posed this question: "What are you convinced people are pretending to enjoy?" So many of you came to your keyboards for this one! We received hundreds of responses, with kale being mentioned the most.

Since this was such a hot topic, we decided to compile the best answers into one big list of 45 things we pretend to enjoy—and believe other people pretend to enjoy, too. Save this for the next time you're hanging out with other parents—it's sure to make for a lively discussion. Then check out our Parenting Guide for more parent talk, from funny animal memes to parenting tips from dads.

Rent-out-the-whole-museum and hire-a-marching-band kid birthday parties have their fans, but when it comes to a memorable day, we think it's nice to find a few birthday freebies. Of course, there are plenty of at-home, DIY ways to celebrate your child's birthday for FREE, from leaving cute notes on the mirror to playing hooky. But it's also the one time each year you can take advantage of all those corporate birthday clubs that promise to make your kid's big day even more special with fun birthday freebies like complimentary gifts, food, and other deals.

We've rounded up a mix of local spots, with a lot of national chain restaurants and popular kids' stores thrown in, which all offer FREE birthday goodies. Some are specific to kids, though adults can snag a few birthday freebies, too. Most require an email list or loyalty card sign up.

Find more fun for your little one's big day (maybe even a marching band) in our NYC Kids' Guide to Birthday Parties.