I remember receiving some electrical socket covers as a baby shower gift - the women around me were so excited, “You are going to need those” I heard several times. Then there was that time I texted a photo of my daughter rolling over and received a text from my mom stating something along the lines of “time to put up the baby gates”.   “I’ve got time”, I thought to myself. 

I realized I ran out of time when I shared some video of my daughter taking her first steps and the Internet responded with “now the fun starts!” Except, it wasn’t fun. All of a sudden my comfortable home became a deathtrap. I was sure that every edge of furniture would lead to my beautiful baby’s demise. Short of wrapping my baby girl in bubble tape, I knew it was time to call in the professionals. From fireplace guards to full blown playroom design, these local Fairfield County companies will ease your mind and provide a safe space for your child to develop and grow. 

Walk into the Arden Theatre, and step right into a unique version of the Enchanted Forest. The stage is set simply: A house, trees, a table, a stool, and a trunk of clothes, but what unfolds over the course of an hour is a bit of interesting, although at times chaotic, magic as this entire adaptation of the classic tale of Snow White is brought to life by just two actors.

There are certain New York City celebrations we love so much, my daughter and I go every year, like the interactive, art-filled Figment on Governors Island, the incredible (and educational) World Maker Faire New York, and Street Games, the Parks Department's tribute to old-school pastimes.

I know I'm not the only mom out there who likes to plan ahead, and since the festival season kicks into high gear this month, we figured it was a great time to round up our top annual festivals for families. Every single pick on our list is either an event my family or one of our writers has been to personally, or an annual favorite endorsed by our friends and readers. In other words, they're really worth your time and money—even better, in many cases they don't cost a penny.

Trampoline parks are all the rage these days, and Union County families are jumping at the chance to try a brand-new option on the Route 22 corridor. Sky Zone Springfield is the newest location in the Sky Zone family, where kids of all ages (and adults) can burn off some serious energy all year round with a variety of fun, indoor attractions. Just don some non-slip grippy Sky Socks, and prepare to defy gravity.

Amid a dimly lit stage, stacks of books float through the air as the imagination of a little boy in search of his missing pet runs wild in The Little Red Fish, a new production from the New York City Children's Theater playing in NYC this April. The theater teamed up with Puppet Kitchen, the same group behind the oversize, colorful puppets in the popular Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, for Little Red Fish. Darting about the stage throughout the 30-minute show, his elusive finned friend elicits gasps from the audience whenever it punctuates the sober set with its burst of vermilion light.

Read on to see why The Little Red Fish is one of our top theater picks for NYC kids this spring.

Picking the perfect kids' party spot is no easy feat, so we're pretty much in birthday-planning heaven when we come across an option that's sure to standout from the crowd. And if you didn't already know you could host a celebration at the completely one-of-a-kind Greenway Carousel at the Tiffany & Co. Foundation Grove on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, you're bound to be as thrilled as we were to realize this city hotspot is totally up for grabs.

If this gem isn't already on your venue-searching radar, we've got a solid list of reasons why the Greenway Carousel is one of the best places to blow out the candles with your kiddo!

No matter if you’re 5 or 85, everybody loves ice cream—especially soft-serve. Los Angeles has a new crop of soft-serve shops combining the familiar with some exciting, new flavors and textures, not to mention some very snazzy looks. We decided to take a soft-serve tour of Los Angeles to compare old classics to what's new and trendy. Check out what a long way soft serve has come since we were kids.

Few things are more universal than cute panda videos. Even people who can resist the internet's most infectious silly cat videos melt in the face of an insanely cute panda bear rolling around hugging himself in a Facebook share. The California Science Center embraces this inescapable truth with a full-on bear hug. This past weekend the museum's IMAX theater debuted the movie Pandas, a nature documentary for the whole family. Imagine the cutest collection of baby panda clips ever made. Now imagine them in 3D on a screen seven stories tall. It's a level of cute few people can handle, but we all should try.