Mental Health Resource: Teens 4 Teens Help
Teens 4 Teens Help is an online peer-to-peer mental health platform. Teens 4 Teens Help was founded by Kathy and Jeff Long a few years after their own daughter, Kara, was admitted to a Residential Program for eating disorder treatment. Upon her recovery, Kara began speaking about her disorder at a few high schools. During one such visit, a young man told Kara that her words inspired him not to go through with his plan to commit suicide, and to reach out for help instead. There and then, the idea for Teens 4 Teens Help was born. The Long family had seen first-hand...
Making ‘Marvelous Miracles’ for Critically ill Children and Their Families
Miracles for Kids, an organization that provides support to children with life-threatening illnesses, is hosting its 19th annual Night of Miracles Gala on Saturday, Oct. 14. Guest can attend the gala, dubbed "Marvelous Miracles" this year, at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. The mission is to raise money that is used to help provide support for struggling families with children who have life-threatening illnesses and conditions. "Our annual gala is a very important night for the organization, bringing together valued supporters who invest in our mission and ability to affect change for families in crisis," says Autumn...
Best Pumpkin Patches in L.A.
Visit the Pumpkin Village in Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch Oct. 5-16. PHOTO COURTESY PASCAL SHIRLEY Pumpkins have sprouted and are ready to be picked for the fall. With numerous pumpkin patches opening up across L.A. it can be overwhelming choosing which one to visit with the family. To help you with your decision, we rounded up some of the best pumpkin patches to go to in L.A. this fall. Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch Tanaka Farms' annual pumpkin patch will return on Sep. 16 and end Oct. 30. During the weekdays, activities will include wagon rides, a corn maze, pumpkin and...
Best Fall Festivals in L.A.
With the weather cooling down, many fall-themed events and festivals are popping up around the L.A. area. Trying to pick one for a fun day out with the family? We have you covered with a list of the best fall festivals and events happening in L.A. this September and October. Fall Festival: A Night in the Park On Sept. 30 at Johnny Carson Park in Burbank, Fall Festival: A Night in the Park will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tim Burton's"The Nightmare Before Christmas." There will be food trucks, live music and art vendors, and the movie will start at...
Autism Resource Podcast: Gilda Evans’ Call to Action
Since 2021, Gilda Evans has hosted and produced the Autism Resource Podcast while being a single mother of three. Through personal experiences and research, she has become an advocate for parents of children with autism. Now her platform has the opportunity to grow and reach a wider audience. With over 20 years of research, life experiences with her son of special needs, and helping fellow parents, Evans realized she could help on a bigger scale. The "self-taught advocate" took charge to create a platform to help many. Now reaching 100 episodes, Evans has covered an array of topics such as...
FARE and CVS Teal Pumpkin Project Return This Halloween Season
For the second year in a row, FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) and CVS Pharmacy are uniting for Halloween to bring awareness about food allergies through their Teal Pumpkin Project. Now, local CVS stores will carry Teal Pumpkin products to ensure a safe Halloween. In the U.S., 1 in 13 children have a deadly food allergy. To promote inclusivity during the holiday, Teal Pumpkin Project encourages households to use teal pumpkins as a sign that they have food allergy-friendly treats or non-food treats. Through CVS, 7,000 stores, including 802 locations in California, and online, will have Teal Pumpkin certified...
Union Station goes Choo-Choo at Train Festival
Attendees at this year's Los Angeles Union Station Train Festival. PHOTO COURTESY LOS ANGELES UNION STATION Los Angeles Union Station, in partnership with Metro, Amtrak and Metrolink, kicked off "Los Angeles Union Station Train Festival 2023: A Celebration of Past, Present & Future" on Sept. 9 and 10. Railroad train representative attends Los Angeles Union Station Train Festival. Metro COO Conan Cheung, Amtrak Vice President Jeanne Cantu, Metrolink CEO Darren Kettle and California High-Speed Rail Regional Director LaDonna DiCamillo encouraged attendees to enjoy the festivities ranging from vintage rail equipment on the tracks to rare model train displays in the historic Ticket Concourse of Union Station. “Train Festival...
Las Flores Park in LaVerne In Running for Niagara Bottling Grant
Niagara Bottling, a family-run beverage company launched in 1963, in partnership with National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), the nation’s leading advocate for parks and recreation, has announced the nine finalists for the 2023 Perk Your Park Project, and Las Flores Park in LaVerne is among the finalists. Members of the public are invited to select their top three parks to receive a grant. Each recipient will receive a $75,000 grant toward a park refresh. The submission period ends Sept. 18. The Niagara Bottling Perk Your Park Project empowers communities to enhance their local parks, creating vibrant outdoor spaces for...
September/October Issue
Our favorite social media holiday is back-to-school time — when our feeds are flooded with photos of your kids’ first day of preschool, elementary, middle and (if they let you take a photo) high school. We also delight in the images of parents dropping off their new college students, though we do choke up a bit with you as we imagine you driving away.We know the frenzy of a new school year is filled with activities, lunches to pack, homework and projects to get done. But even though our time with our school-age kids is limited, we can squeeze in...
Cooking with The CrunchBros: Kimbap Recipe
Local father-son duo Jeff and Jordan Kim, better known as The CrunchBros on their popular YouTube channel and TikTok and Instagram accounts, share kid-friendly Japanese and Korean-inspired recipes along with family-friendly meals from popular take-out places like Jollibee and WingStop and local restaurants. The charismatic pair wrote their first cookbook, "Cooking with the CrunchBros: Casual and Fun Korean- and Japanese-Inspired Recipes from Our Kitchen to Yours," which is out Oct. 17, featuring fun, easy and kid-approved recipes like shoyu chicken, miso cheese corn and kimbap, a Korean seaweed rice roll. The CrunchBros shares their kimbap recipe, which they call "a...
What’s Up at Disneyland This Fall
Tiana’s Palace opening ceremony. PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN THOMPSON/DISLAND RESORT New seasons bring new reasons to visit Disneyland Park, and this fall the offerings are particularly rich. The theme park is drawing inspiration from the films “Coco” and “The Princess and the Frog,” as well as the traditional holidays of Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Guests will be able to dine on dishes and visit attractions that reflect LatinX and Creole traditions. “What brings family together? Food,” pastry sous chef Gracie Gomez said during a recent interview near the new “Coco”-inspired Plaza de la Familia at Disney California Adventure Park....
We Love It
Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst STEM Kit Ignite curiosity and innovation in your young inventor. Features 50+ components and 10 engaging challenges. $65, ages 8-13, tinkeringlabs.com The Star Jar An interactive, multi-sensory reward jar. Affirm positive behavior or reinforce habits such as chores and nighttime routines. Includes 30 easy reward ideas that cultivate family connection. $35.99, ages 3-12, hellolittlehoney.com Disney Doorables Academy Campus Crew Figure Pack Open the composition book-inspired blind box to reveal the adorable figures — centered around fun school activities. $12.99, ages 5+, JustPlayProducts.com Surprise Powerz Talking STEM Doll – Astro the Astronaut A talking doll who...
Kids and Oral Health
Q&A with Dr. Kami Hoss, CEO and founder of SuperMouth, a 2023 NAPPA Award winner Dr. Kami Hoss with his family. What does “good oral hygiene” mean? Good oral hygiene is a comprehensive approach to oral health that goes beyond the cleanliness of teeth, gums, tongue and mouth. It's about maintaining a harmonious balance within the oral microbiome, with a keen understanding of the billions of microbes residing there. It’s crucial to select age-appropriate oral care products that are customized for your child’s individualized needs. Additionally, adhering to a balanced diet and attending periodic dental check-ups all form the core...
Censorship & Freedom Calls
While California, especially SoCal, is often lauded (and criticized) for its more progressive leanings, the region is not immune to the book-banning fervor and other challenges to free speech. Below are some local examples of censorship — and some ways people of all ages can get involved to address it. Calls to censor Last year, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom received 1,269 demands to censor books in libraries in 2022, the highest number it has documented in 20 years. Most of these books are written by or about authors who are LBTQIA and BIPOC. The most banned...
Spotlight on a Banned Author: Elana K. Arnold
At least 16 of Elana K. Arnold’s books have been banned or challenged. A Long Beach native, Arnold is an award-winning author of YA and middle-grade novels. PHOTOS COURTESY ELANA K. ARNOLD Long Beach native Elana K. Arnold was in middle school when she fell in love with her first fictional character — Anne of Green Gables. The PBS miniseries adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s books premiered in 1985, and Arnold’s seventh-grade teacher assigned her students to watch it for homework. Because she was on punishment at home, Arnold watched the show on a tiny black-and-white portable TV that she...
Book-Banning Battles
As much as we search for a reflection of ourselves in the stories we read, books are also where we go to learn about those who are not like us. Books help eradicate ignorance. They often change previously hardened hearts and minds. They empower the disempowered. As a kid, I used to slip behind my grandmother’s heavy living room curtains to sneak in reading between chores. Each book cradled between my hands was a vehicle transporting me to lands, characters and ideas beyond the confines of my own upbringing and the largely likeminded people who made up my family and...
Inclusive L.A.: Job Placement
For both parents and young adults, the transition from adolescence to adulthood can be quite daunting, especially as young adults start looking for jobs and pursuing their passions. For neurodiverse adults with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, the path can be even more challenging. Fortunately, a number of organizations in California are responding to the need. Regional centers The seven Los Angeles County Regional Centers, under the oversight of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, are a great place to start. Each location is designed to provide community support, resources and access to services for individuals...
Inclusive L.A.: A Roadmap for Success
The moment your child receives an autism diagnosis is life-changing — and often laced with relief. A diagnosis helps predict the issues your child may face throughout their life and opens the door to a variety of academic and support networks. However, while these networks exist, the process of seeking them out can feel overwhelming. L.A. Parent is here to help. Here is a roadmap for success. How to find a school Finding the right school for a child with autism can be a major point of stress for parents, but there are a variety of educational options available through...
Back-to-School Mental Health
Allow your children to help you in choosing a therapist for them. The beginning of school can feel like a sunny day…right before a tornado touches down. But with a bit of storm preparation, this school year can be different — especially when we start with a focus on mental health. Teaching your children to evaluate and prioritize their mental health can lead to positive changes in their relationships with you, their peers and school overall. While a 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report reveals that anxiety and depression in children and teens soared during the early years...
2023 Back to School Guide
It's time to trade our beach totes for backpacks and summer reads for school books. But how do we decide what backpack, books or other supplies to get for our kids as they transition back to school? Our friends at the National Parenting Product Awards have put together their annual guide to help with this transition, featuring NAPPA Award-winning products that have been tested and evaluated. This year's guide includes books and toys that teach social emotional learning, activities that inspire STEM learning and creativity and books and apps for parents. NAPPA Awards is a family-focused brand with a mission...
A Sweet & Healthy Treat for the Lunch Box
When it’s time to fix school lunches, there’s nothing more challenging than striking the right balance between preparing nutritious meals and snacks and packing foods the kids will actually want to bring to school and eat. To explore some recipes that offer the best of both worlds, I reached out to chef Dante Gonzales for his take on healthy, kid-friendly recipes perfect for packing in a lunch box. Chef Dante Gonzales (right) in the kitchen. PHOTOS COURTESY DANTE GONZALES Gonzales is the owner and head chef of Dante Fried Chicken (DFC), which he initially launched in 2001 in Brooklyn as a catering company hosting eclectic dinner...
Abby Ryder Fortson on Acting, Adolescence
Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon, Amari Price as Janie Loomis, Elle Graham as Nancy Wheeler, and Katherine Kupferer as Gretchen Potter in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. PHOTO CREDIT DANA HAWLEY While we’re busy figuring out school supplies each fall, another kind of back-to-school issue is top of mind for our kids: What to wear the first day of school? And if this preoccupation with outerwear seems frivolous to you (how quickly we forget!), kids and teens understand a truism we’d like to pretend is no longer true: People are always judging you by your cover. On the...
Weaving Story Time & Math
PBS SoCal families read together with their children. PHOTO COURTESY PBS SOCAL “Tacos are semicircles,” my 2-year-old announces as we are cuddled on the couch reading “Round Is a Tortilla” by Roseanne Greenfield Thong. The book says tortillas and tacos are round, and the folded crunchy tacos illustrated on the page catch her attention. When my daughter and I read together, it’s common for us to extend beyond the words on the page. We describe the images by their shapes, colors and sometimes even the sounds we think they would make. Along with helping us make connections to our own...
Should You Battle Over Bedtime?
Doctors advise avoiding screens for at least an hour before bedtime. Back-to-school season ushers in earlier alarms, busier schedules, homework, after-school activities and that old familiar battle: bedtime. The question is: Should getting our kids to sleep really be a nightly battle? After all, how much shut-eye do they actually need? We reached out to Brittany N. Middleton, M.D., FAAP, who is medical director of pediatrics at Huntington Hospital, to answer some of our questions. How important is sleep for kids, tweens and teens? Brittany N. Middleton, M.D., FAAPPHOTO COURTESY HUNTINGTON HOSPITAL Sleep is incredibly important for children of all ages (all people, really!)....
Local High School Students Awarded Bank of America Internships
This summer, five local teens were selected for the Bank of America Student Leaders program, an honor bestowed on approximately 300 U.S. high school juniors and seniors annually since 2004. Tyler Chiu of Porter Ranch, Ricardo Cuautle of La Puente, Lizette Gonzalez of Inglewood, Alexis Martin of View Park/Windsor Hills and Troy Miyazato of Torrance served their communities through eight-week-long internships with community nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity of the San Gabriel Valley and the Discovery Cube Los Angeles. Designed to help build a sense of civic-mindedness, these internships also give students the opportunity to gain first-hand job skills. Selected participants...
Editor’s Note: Let’s Learn Together
Sol and I take a mirror selfie after watching the “Barbie” movie. PHOTO BY CASSANDRA LANE My favorite social media holiday is back-to-school time — when our feeds are flooded with photos of your kids’ first day of preschool, elementary, middle and (if they let you take a photo) high school. I also delight in the images of parents dropping off their new college students, though I do choke up a bit with you as I imagine you driving away, leaving a part of your heart behind in some strange land, I mean, on campus. My own kid is just...
AI & Your Kids
Genein M. Letford is founder and CEO of CAFFE Strategies and author of “The Future Classroom of Intercultural Creativity.” PHOTO COURTESY GENEIN M. LETFORD As parents, we guide our children through many of life’s firsts: first steps, first days of school and, now, first contact with artificial intelligence. While AI used to be a futuristic concept explored in sci-fi movies, it is weaving its way into our kids’ learning landscapes. What are the pitfalls and positive potentials of children using AI — and what boundaries should be set around this ever-evolving technology? For this generation of students, having a healthy...
PlayLA’s Visually Impaired & Blind Soccer Clinics Return to L.A. City Parks this Fall
The U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) will present visually impaired and blind soccer clinics as part of the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department’s PlayLA Adaptive Youth Sports Program this fall. From Sept. 16 through Nov. 4, PlayLA’s free clinics will be held at two locations for blind and visually impaired youth ages 5 to 17. Clinics will be held Saturday mornings on the Westside from Sept. 16 through Oct. 7 at Mar Vista Recreation Center, and in Pacoima from Oct. 14 though Nov. 4 at Hubert H. Humphrey Recreation Center. Participants of all skill levels will...
Spotlight: Meet Jennifer Azzarreli, Co-Founder of CAMP Fitness Studio, Mom & Entrepreneur
When you think of a camp, what associations come to mind? For me, I think of children playing in the woods, staying in log cabins, making friendship bracelets, and singing songs by the campfire. However, after my conversation with Jennifer Azzarreli, co-founder of CAMP fitness studio in Santa Monica, I have a new understanding of what camp can be. At CAMP, discipline and hard work are combined with fun and play. Jennifer Azzarreli PHOTOS COURTESY BETHANY WILLETTS Azzarreli and her co-founder Jamie Lanza created CAMP with inclusivity, authenticity, sustainability and community in mind, and CAMP’s fun and supportive environment is...
Why Inclusion Matters Now More than Ever
Steps on how to advocate for your child with needs or differences. By Michelle Massie Kids are back in classrooms, so most parents are busy juggling supplies and schedules. But if your student has special needs or learning differences, the start of the school year can be a terrifying time, especially if your child is very young and just starting out. We are plagued by questions: Will the curriculum be adapted? Will they be able to make friends? Will they be safe? The first step is to help create a school environment where all students can thrive together. That may sound...
Free Your Mind on St. Croix
The Caribbean Dance Company (above) and Hiplet Ballerinas (below) helped tell the freedom stories of Crucians through dance. PHOTOS BY GARRY ANTHONY/OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, USVI “Freedom is doled out, or taken, in slices,” I wrote in “We Are Bridges,” a memoir that explores the impact of lynching on my Southern family and follows my journey to becoming a mother to a Black child in America, this land where liberty and bondage continue to clash. After nearly two decades of writing, researching and revising, my ultimate thesis was that no one is fully free, and that we — country and...
Connected: Parenting Tips to Help Strengthen Your Relationship with Your Child
By Jeanne Huybrechts, Chief Academic Officer at Stratford School “Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, integrity and love, they think of you!”-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.Author Positive relationships between you and your child are built on quality time together. Time when you get to know about each other’s experiences, thoughts, feelings and changing interests. Quality time can happen anytime and anywhere — in the middle of ordinary days and situations. It can be a shared laugh when you’re bathing your toddler or a good conversation in the car with your teenager. These moments give you the chance to...
