Long Island Parent Talk

Actress and mother of two Sarah Michelle Gellar is joining March of Dimes and the Sounds of Pertussis campaign to help raise awareness about pertussis, also known as whooping cough, and the importance of vaccinating the entire family.

Gellar recently opened up to CelebrityBabyScoop.com about family life with husband Freddie Prinze, Jr. and their two kids — daughter Charlotte, 3, and 8-month-old...

In the world of school-age kids, it's that time of year again when parents judge their children's academic success. High school seniors have gotten into a good college -- or not. Honors and advanced placement assignments have been made for the coming year. Some elementary school students have been accepted into gifted and talented programs.

Based on these academic measures, we parents judge...

If you're looking to get away for the weekend but don't want to travel far, why not head to Manhattan and check out the new Conrad New York hotel?

Located in lower Manhattan, the luxurious hotel recently launched a summer "Family Fun" package, perfect for a weekend getaway.

The package includes:

* Suite accommodations with a pullout Sleeper Sofa

* Daily complimentary...

Reading books at bedtime has been part of my 2-year-old daughter's nightly routine since she was an infant. It's something we look forward to doing together, especially after working all day.

Each night she chooses the books, and even though she picks the same ones each night, I love watching her get excited about the characters as she eagerly awaits to lift the flaps or get to her favorite...

Summer is the perfect season to read about fish, and The Kohl’s Cares fundraising program makes it easy with its newest featured author: Deborah Diesen, whose books include “The Pout-Pout-Fish” and “The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark.”

Each book is $5, and the department store is also offering plush characters from the story for $5 each as well. A matching tote bag is also $5. The proceeds...

The illustrated, 26-page “Learn to Tie a Tie with the Rabbit & the Fox” ($14.95) is a little young for my son. At 9, he is already reading the “Harry Potter” 700-pagers. But one good thing came out of this little self-published book — my son’s learned to tie a tie, a helpful skill for an upcoming special event where his father won’t be there to help.

Author Sybrina Durant employs the story...

There's no better way to celebrate the first day of summer than with a refreshing smoothie -- and when it's free, that's just icing on the cake.

Today, Tropical Smoothie Cafe will be giving away free, 24-ounce Jetty Punch Smoothies from 2-7 p.m. to any customer wearing flip-flops in honor of National Flip-Flop Day.

The cafes will be collecting donations for the brand's national charity...

Looking for things to do with the kids this weekend? From Long Island Ducks games to a magic show, circus performance and more, there's much to do on Long Island. Here are my top five picks for fun family-friendly activities this weekend:

1. Long Island Ducks vs. Sugar Land Skeeters at Bethpage Ballpark (3 Court House Dr., Central Islip). Cheer on the home team and enjoy a baseball game on...

Boys and girls into science will likely gravitate to the following new books, as my 9-year-old did:

“The Big, Bad Book of Beasts: The World's Most Curious Creatures” (HarperCollins, $18.99) by Michael Largo is an encyclopedia of creatures, real, extinct or imagined. In the real category, illustrated text informs readers of interesting facts such as this: On average, a woodpecker bangs its...

"Will & Grace" actress Debra Messing was honored at this year's Outstanding Mother of the Year awards in Manhattan last month.

After eight seasons playing the role of Grace Adler on the hit television show, Messing went on to star in USA's miniseries "The Starter Wife" and NBC's "Smash." She also appeared on the big screen in "Along Came Polly" and...