City Hacks

Kidmoto: NYC Airport Car Service With Car Seats, or Even More Than One!

Submitted by Rosalind Muggeridge on Wed, 11/21/2018 - 10:00am

If you’ve ever traveled to an NYC-area airport in a car service with a baby or toddler in tow, you’re likely familiar with your options. Either you lug your own car or booster seat along and install it on the fly, you take your chances and hold your little one on your lap for the ride, or you try out a service that offers car seats.

The problem with the last option is that many of the companies offering car and booster seats often arrive with improperly installed seats, a driver who doesn't know how to install them, or an old or out-of-date model. Or, sometimes, no car seat at all. The last time I tried using our local car service, the driver shrugged his shoulders and popped the trunk revealing an ancient car seat that was clearly the wrong size for my 3 year old. And, if you need more than one car seat? Fuggedaboutit.

Enter Kidmoto: a new service in NYC that is striving to solve this dilemma. Catering to those traveling with small children, the Kidmoto app connects parents to a network of professionally trained drivers who provide secured child car seats for safe airport and cruise ship transportation.

Read on for the lowdown on everything you’ll need to know to make your next airport trip a car seat success story.

When Pediatric Urgent Care Can Save a Visit to the ER

Submitted by Jessica Laird on Wed, 10/17/2018 - 9:00am

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.

Got Library Fines? A New Program Lets Kids Read Them Away

Submitted by Li Starr on Tue, 08/07/2018 - 1:17pm

Any parent who has fished an overdue library book out from underneath the sofa knows the pain of late fees. When library fines add up, they can even take the allure out of reading, which is the last thing any of us wants. So here's the good news: Los Angeles County Library, Santa Monica Public Library, and even LAPL are changing the game with awesome new programs to make late fees vanish.

Angels Flight: An Only-in-LA Moment To Share with Kids (Sometimes)

Submitted by Mike Anderson on Sun, 07/22/2018 - 10:04pm

Angels Flight is one of the more whimsical novelties of downtown Los Angeles. It's objectively adorable, ubiquitously beloved, and for the life of me I can't quite express why. It’s also a fun addition to a Downtown trip with kids. For a two-dollar round-trip, it is a goofy little local history lesson—and a chance to see and even ride on the world's shortest railway.

Got a Library Card? Now You Can Get into 33 Museums and Gardens for Free

Submitted by Jody Mercier on Tue, 07/17/2018 - 7:30am

New York is home to so many great museums, but visiting them all with your family can seriously add up. We're always on the hunt for free times to visit, memberships worth splurging on, and other ways to save on the best family fun in NYC, but if you've got a library card, free museum admission just got a whole lot simpler.

What's New at SoCal Theme Parks This Summer

Submitted by Toby B on Fri, 07/06/2018 - 4:18pm

How is a theme park like your kids? Because just when you think you know everything about them, they up and change on you. And just like with your kid, those changes are (mostly) good. Sure, we may have to say good-bye to a couple of old favorites, but look at all we get in their place. Sit back, buckle up, keep your arms inside the ride at all times, and see what our local theme parks have in store for you this summer.

Do You Know These 10 LA Spots Made Famous in TV and Movies ?

Submitted by Li Starr on Mon, 07/02/2018 - 4:05pm

When you live in the movie-making capital of the world, there can be surprisingly cool things to see around every corner. Looking to entertain bored tweens or visiting relatives—or even compliant, happy-to-go-anywhere little ones? Why not remind them (and yourself) that LA is home to many of the locations they've seen on the big and small screen. All over Los Angeles there are places that look strangely familiar, and it can be fun taking a closer look to figure out why. Check out some of these locations from your favorite movies and television shows.

Secret LA: How To Visit Hollywood's Famous Magic Castle

Submitted by Li Starr on Tue, 06/26/2018 - 2:16pm

You've either seen the imposing Victorian mansion on Franklin Avenue or you've heard about it—Hollywood's Magic Castle, perhaps LA's best insider secret and one of the many places you might want to take your kid in Hollywood. But discovering the Castle is just the beginning. It's invitation-only—so how do you get in?