Spots around Los Angeles where families can have fun indoors.
Indoor Fun
Our Guide to Halloween Fun in L.A.
These are scary times, but that doesn’t mean your family can’t have some safe and spooky fun. Here are our picks for the best Halloween happenings in the Southland this year. All in-person events follow public health guidelines, requiring face masks and social distancing. Drive-through events require participants to remain in their vehicles. Pick a […]
8 Things to Learn with Your Kids
You’ve baked muffins, walked the neighborhood, had Zoom parties and play dates, soaked in the kiddie pool, started virtual summer camp and driven around to every outdoor spot where you could keep your social distance. Somehow, there are still hours left in the day – and maybe a few days left until school starts – […]
5 Fun Writing Prompts for Kids
We’re all looking for ways to lure our kids away from their screens for a couple of hours. Why not ignite their imaginations through the wonderful world of stories? No, I don’t mean stories in the form of movies or video games. I’m talking about the old-fashioned written word. These five writing exercises, or “prompts” […]
Kids Can Read Their Favorite Books at Storyline Online Summer Camp
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Storyline Online literacy website streams free storytime videos of actors of all ages reading books for kids. It’s a delightful and literacy-building program, and this summer the foundation is giving kids a chance to get into the act through Storyline Online Summer Camp. To join in, kids just choose their favorite book […]
Reading at Home: Your Pets are All Ears!
You’ve heard that reading to pets is good for kids. That it’s encouraging for them to have a non-judgmental furry, finned or scaled friend as an audience. Maybe you’ve even taken your children to a read-to-a-dog event at your local library. But libraries are closed at the moment, and everyone is learning (and doing everything […]
Family Movie Night – At Home
Family movie time can be anytime while everyone is staying safer at home. Happily, you can find family movies on a wide variety of online platforms. Because it can be confusing when it comes to finding what film is playing where, we’re breaking it down for you (with age recommendations from Common Sense Media). Hulu […]
Why Pets are Great When You’re Stuck at Home
Having a family pet can be wonderful any time, but especially for families stuck at home. Here are some great activities for fun with your furry friends.
Bringing Joy and Finding Rhythm When Kids are Home from School
While kids are home from school, parents have an opportunity to teach their families how to weather adversity with love and civility.
Musical Activities to do with Your Kids during Coronavirus Shutdown
Musical activities have so many benefits for kids and families. Music therapis John Mews suggests 11 great ones to try at home.
#SupportingFamilies: Kid Crafts to Keep You Busy at Home
These great crafts from our friends at Lakeshore learning will help you keep the whole family busy while you are stuck at home.
Relax into Musical ‘MindTravel’
Murray Hidary is on a mission to help you release the worries and daily stresses that get tangled up in your head and trickle down to tense your neck and shoulders. A pianist, composer, visual artist and tech pioneer, Hidary’s antidote is his piano, a musical organ he hopes will help your brain, that overworked […]
Go On Tour with Kids in L.A. Factories
Got a golden ticket? You’d need one to enter Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. But if you want to peek inside some of Southern California’s most interesting factories, usually all you have to do is ask. Local factories – which make everything from fresh marmalade to olive oil and, yes, chocolate – gladly open their doors […]
Birthdays That are So L.A.
Kick your child’s star power up a notch on their special day the L.A. way, with a one-of-a-kind celebration served up with a touch of the delicious, the wild and a side of the fantastic. Why not knock a few things off the bucket list while they’re young, and let the adults come along for […]
Local VR Rooms Transport You to Other Worlds
If you could strap on a headset and be transported to a different time and place, would you? With virtual reality, or VR, you can. In reality, you’re just moving around in a pod (a room about 12 feet square) but the 360-degree multisensory digital experience feels more real than real itself. And the ever-evolving […]
Out, About and Inclusive In L.A.
There was a time when “accessible” meant someone with a disability could get in the front door, and maybe up to the second floor – and after that they were on their own. These days, accessibility goes way beyond that, and many L.A. attractions are making it part of their mission. “Accessibility is more than […]
Giving Kids a Strong Hold on Fitness
If monkeys had a playroom, it would be the Stronghold Climbing Gym in Downtown Los Angeles. Located in the historic building that once housed the California Edison Company’s Los Angeles #3 Steam Power Plant, in the Brewery Arts Complex, this state-of-the-art facility houses hundreds of opportunities to scale walls and find routes to the top, […]
On The Record: Becoming a Butterfly Parent
Rhinoceroses are strong, have endurance and thick skin. A rhino charges toward its goals and never stops until it gets there. As a child, my bedtime stories were not about princesses and unicorns. They were about living life like a rhinoceros and not a cow. When I became a mother and had little rhinos of […]
Mystery Solved! If it weren’t for those meddling kids…
I just experienced the most spectacular date night out with friends unique to all the fun things to do in LA, but unfortunately, I can’t tell you about it. Well, that’s not entirely true. I can tell you a little. Last month, my husband and I planned a “triple” date with friends and headed to […]
With Disney’s Playmation, the Game Jumps Off the Screen
As a child, I would have never imagined play quite like this. As part of the digital generation, I am used to screen-based games that keep players in their seats. But a new gaming system called Playmation, unveiled by Disney Consumer Products in L.A. in early June, aims to get digital kids up and moving. […]
Take A Cinematic Journey To Tomorrowland
There are several Disney films based on amusement park attractions – and several Disneyland attractions based on films. In the park’s Tomorrowland, movie-based rides include Star Tours, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. For the first time, Disney is giving an entire land – Tomorrowland – the cinematic treatment. And this leaves […]
Party-Time Treats
Food can be a fun part of any party, but can be a real headache if you’re the one doing the planning. Keep it simple (and fun for you) with these great recipes from Home & Family’s Tanya Memme. Tanya’s Birthday Party Popcorn! Everyone loves popcorn! Be a hero at your child’s next party with […]
Creation Classes and Workshops For Little ‘Makers’
The “maker” movement, a DIY wave that has swept the country, has plenty to offer kids and families. If your child loves to make art, repurpose used materials into new inventions, design robots, or build giant structures for the sole purpose of knocking them back down, here are some options that are sure to challenge […]
Telling Tales: Secrets For Sharing Your Story So Kids Will Listen
Once upon a time, when my little girl was 5, our family took a trip to Paris. While my husband was out handling the business part of our business vacation, Lauren and I went to visit the Louvre. It was a November weekday and the museum was wonderfully uncrowded – except for a large tour […]
A Local Crop of Kids’ Books
Shop these independent stores for personal recommendations and great family fun If you only shop online, you’re missing out on input from some of our city’s most enthusiastic and knowledgeable kid-lit experts. To find bookstores that felt “just right” for this roundup, I channeled Goldilocks and made tracks for the independents – the magical, privately […]