Who doesn’t love pizza? It’s tasty, easily accessible and comes in varieties that’ll satisfy the pickiest palates. Pizza night at your favorite pizzeria makes for a fun and inexpensive family outing. With tomato sauce and perhaps a veggie topping, you can even count it as somewhat nutritious (I do). The following are family-friendly pizza joints in Central New Jersey. Aside from yummy pies, these places offer child-friendly options like kid portions, quick service or gimmicky fun, without noise being a factor. Grab a slice and enjoy!

Back in December, we posted about the best pediatric ERs in Manhattan since the holidays are an accident-prone period. But as we noted at the time, you really never know when a medical crisis may strike—after all, by definition, an emergency is unexpected. So whether it's a sledding mishap in winter or falling out of a tree in summer, it's important to know where to find a pediatric ER near you year-round.

While there are eight of these special just-for-children emergency rooms in Manhattan, there are even more in the outer boroughs—so many in fact, we can't list every single one of them here. Instead, we picked the ones with excellent reputations or notable specialties. Of course our hope is that you will never need the information in this post. However, if your child does have an accident and a Band-Aid and icepack won't cut it, here are the best pediatric ERs in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island.

Summer is a great time to catch up on reading, and not just because many local libraries gives out prizes. Whether your kids are nose-in-book types or the sort that require a little literary nudge, summer has plenty of room for playing your way through some great kids' books. Check out my time-tested list of vintage classics, modern classics, and recent best sellers that inspire fun activities beyond their pages—and at very little cost.  

Looking for more low-cost ideas for a summer of play? Mommy Poppins' 100 Summer Play Activities List is a great place to start.

The Fourth is over and we are deep into the middle of summer. Don’t let the doldrums take over. Los Angeles has culture and nature and many things that kids and grown-ups can enjoy together. Be sure to get to the Hollywood Bowl at least once; the Summer Sounds program designed for kids starts this week and runs through August 1. As temperatures rise, a little water play at the beach, in a pool or in the back yard with a hose will refresh and replenish. And in between all that splashing and dashing, make time for one or two of our picks for this wonderful week of summer.

Like all moms, I spend most of my time doing fun stuff with my kids. But when I get the chance to have a night out with the girls, I jump at it. I recently had the pleasure of hosting a Mom’s Night Out for a few Mommy Poppins Long Island readers at Noodles & Company in Garden City. I had such a wonderful time meeting these women and hearing about how much they love the site—not to mention enjoying the delicious food and wine!

What's the worst thing you can do before a three-day summer weekend? Write a really long blog post. So I'm going to keep this brief since I know we're all ready to start our holiday. NYC is filled with patriotic fun in honor of July 4th from Macy's iconic fireworks to sparklers in Coney Island to a kid-friendly Independence Day parade in Harlem. If your weekend is already booked, all of our sites published July Go Lists this week so you can find out about the best things to do with kids throughout the month in NYC, Westchester, Long Island, New Jersey and beyond. Many of our tri-state area family event picks are worth traveling for, like this weekend's Hudson Valley Balloon Festival in upstate New York, the New Jersey State Ice Cream Festival on July 19 and the Ice Cream, Blueberries and Bluegrass Bash on July 20 at Connecticut's Fort Hill Farms, which is also a great place to pick your own blueberries.

If you're looking for summer vacation destinations, check out our Travel site. This week we shared brand-new posts about the best attractions for families in Yosemite, California; Richmond, Virginia's top-notch children's museums and historic Maymont mansion; and a roundup of summer family travel deals all over the country.

And no matter where you spend this July 4th weekend, be sure to share your family's playful pics on social media for a chance to win great prizes in our SUMMER OF PLAY CHALLENGE, our season-long initiative encouraging families to spend quality time playing together.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week: