Earlier this summer, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced that they will add over $240 million in funding at the school level for next year. Despite the bump, roughly one in 10 schools will likely still see cuts in the budget. With a $9.4 billion proposal for the 2024 fiscal year and an estimated pupil-peer spending increase of $1,000, parents have questions about how the money is being allocated, and why some schools are still seeing budget cuts.

Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos is a perfect, easy weekend getaway for families from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. With a brand-new 40,000-square-foot water park expansion and tons of interactive all-ages fun, it's sure to draw tri-state area families for years to come.

We recently revisited this longtime family retreat, and we were reminded why Great Wolf Lodge Poconos is one of our top Poconos resorts for families. If you're headed there, find more fun nearby on our list of 70 things to do in the Poconos and our Poconos Family Travel Guide.

Looking for the best toddler gifts for 2- and 3-year-olds? Check out our ultimate toddler gift guide for our favorite toddler gift ideas.

At ages 2 and 3, children are expanding their minds every day and learning mainly through play. The best toddler gifts are those that promote and allow for open-ended play, creativity, and imagination. But toddlers can be difficult to shop for because while they crave more independent play, they're also not old enough to play with toys that have small parts, sharp edges, or other safety concerns. Toddlers are also still developing fine and gross motor skills.

If all of those considerations sound daunting, you're in the right place, as we've checked in with our experienced panel of parents (our writers and editors!) to round up the very best toddler gifts for 2- and 3-year-olds, including toys, books, and experience gifts. These are all toys we have put to the test, have lasted, and have passed down to younger siblings and friends.

If you've got a range of ages to shop for, check out the Mommy Poppins Gift Guide for Birthdays and Holidays, which has suggestions for the best first birthday gifts for 1-year-olds, and so much more.

Maybe best known for furniture assembly and moving help, for-hire task-tackling service Taskrabbit is also able to take on tons of back-to-school projects you may not have even considered outsourcing–freeing up your time or even just maintaining your sanity. From organizing and storing last year’s artwork, to family meal planning, to thoughtfully decorating a dorm room, experienced Taskers can seriously cut down your to-do list and help you get those argument-inducing, potentially-marriage-ending jobs done.

Taskrabbit has been so helpful in managing my seemingly never ending list of errands and projects, but I do find it easy to forget just how many ways the service can lend a hand. That’s why I’ve compiled a list of things you probably didn’t know you could hire a Tasker to do this back-to-school season–to remind myself, and all of us, of all the ways we can use Taskrabbit to lighten our loads.

The start of a new school year often comes with excitement, but it can also mean uncertainty, nerves, and tough conversations… To help with some of the challenges families may face this fall, we’ve partnered with Connecticut Children’s to share guidance from their free 2023 Back to School Kit. As always, this year’s toolkit provides straight-forward, age-appropriate, expert advice about the issues that could have a big impact on your child’s health and happiness in the upcoming academic year.

Here are five common challenges and tough talks you may be taking on this school year, plus advice on how to navigate:

Sending a college care package to your college student is a rite of passage for both of you. Whether your college kid is at StateU or has traveled across the country, being on the receiving end of one of these college care packages is sure to make them feel special, especially during high-stress times!

So, whether you're sending a college care package to your first college kid, or you’re a recent empty nester who has already sent your fair share of college care packages, we’ve got 100 college care package ideas to inspire your next trip to the post office. Find more back-to-school tips for kids from pre-school to post-grad in our Back-to-School Guide for Kids.

NYC pizza is like nothing else. As a small-town kid, I had three options for pizza growing up: Pizza Hut, Little Caesars Pizza, and Domino's Pizza. While I enjoyed stuffed crust and bigfoot pies in my day, I'll never forget my first NYC pizza slice. It had that perfect not-too-chewy, not-too-crispy crust, the right amount of sauce, gooey, greasy cheese running over the edges, and it came just as it should: on two paper plates that felt like they were going to disintegrate in my hands, all for the whopping price tag of two bucks.

Needless to say, I was in NYC pizza heaven. Now that I have two kiddos, I get to share a little slice of that NYC pizza heaven with them, too.

Whether you're a local, or visiting NYC for a family vacation, know this: NYC pizza lives up to the hype if, you know where to find it. Whether you're looking for a pizza slice at an iconic, only-in-NYC restaurant or an off-the-beaten-path neighborhood NYC pizza joint, we've laid out our favorite pizza spots below. Bookmark our NYC Kid-Friendly Restaurant Guide for all our top picks of where to eat with kids.