We aked Westchester Family readers to vote on their family favorites and the votes have finally been tallied. Look who the big winners are in the 2019 Family Favorites contest. Best Ice Cream? Best Birthday Party Place? Best Dance Studio - learn the answers to that and much more ... Read more…

Contests: Just in time for the hoilday season! Let your child cook up some yummy cookies with the PLAYMOBIL Christmas Bakery. We guarantee they will be delicious, because they will be made with imagination and love. Read more…

Work & Family: The caregiver carried the crying infant from under his armpits in her outstretched arms. She plopped the child to sit in the middle of the room where the surprised mom was in the midst of a phone call with a client. Without a word, the caregiver simply turned and left. The mom braced the phone against her shoulder and raced to comfort her child, all the while maintaining a calm and professional tone so as not to let the client know that a childcare crisis was unfolding during a sales call. It’s a scenario that might resonate with any mom who works and is trying to find a sane, guilt-free balance between raising a family and building a business or career. Read more…

Child Development: As soon as your child is born their health and development become your paramount concern. Scores of family and friends may start asking if your little one is rolling over, crawling, walking or talking. It’s important not to get pulled into comparing your child’s progress with others, but it’s also important to educate yourself on what the childhood developmental milestones are so you can recognize if your child might need early intervention services. Read more…

Contests: Meet Blair Wilson, a young girl who resides on a farm in the Hudson Valley! The perfect local doll for your local child. Enter now! Read more…

Tweens: Braces are something of a rite of passage for most children. An estimated 4.5 million Americans – most of them children and teenagers – wear braces on their teeth, according to the American Association of Orthodontics. Read more…

Hot Topics: This year my biggest parenting regret has been getting a smartphone for my 11-year-old son. The move created a lot of conflict in my house, and while at times it serves as an entertaining “babysitter,” the reality is I’ve learned that cell phone use can easily spiral out of control, especially if parents don’t set firm guidelines. Read more…

Health: Just before she turned 40, Westchester mom, Devina O’Reilly, was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her first routine mammogram they found something that looked suspicious in her right breast. “I figured it would be nothing because that’s the way I think. Unfortunately, it was cancer. It had to be removed pronto,” says O’Reilly who is from the U.K., but lives in Rye with her husband and two daughters. Within a few weeks, only a week before her 40th birthday, she had a mastectomy and her life turned upside down. Read more…

Health: Mammography screening for breast cancer became widespread in the 1980s. Since then information and guidelines about mammograms have continued to change as the technology to screen for cancer has evolved and advanced. Read more…

Hot Topics: Kids’ birthday parties often end up being over-the-top celebrations that are bad for the environment and your budget. If you’d like to set a good example and encourage kids to take action on climate change and reduce our carbon footprint, it’s time for a rethink. Read more…

Health: Textured breast implants made by Allergan, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of breast implants, were recently recalled worldwide. The recall was due to a concern about breast implant-associated […] Read more…

Contests: Enter to win a Loog Mini Guitar, the ideal first guitar for kids. This specially designed guitar makes playing easy, fun and stimulating. Kids will be playing songs right away! Read more…

Health: Today show nutritionist, best-selling author, and Westchester resident Joy Bauer releases a new book this month titled Yummy Yoga: Playful Poses and Tasty Treats (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2019, $14.99). Read more…

Contests: Enter to win Laurie Berkner’s new CD, Waiting for the Elevator. This new collection of songs will delight kids as only Berkner can. Read more…

Tweens: What better way to celebrate the four-legged members of our families than at the American Kennel Club (AKC) Museum of the Dog? Returning to midtown Manhattan after 32 years in St. Louis, Missouri, this unusual museum is all about — yes, dogs! The museum’s new location in the Kalikow Building is an easy two-block walk south from Grand Central Terminal. Read more…

Health: In honor of breast cancer awareness month, we talked to Larchmont resident Mary Olson-Menzel, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. Olson-Menzel is now six-years cancer-free, but at the time of her diagnosis she had to juggle her family, treatments, and her job (she runs her own business). She took us through getting the initial diagnosis, what helped her through her journey, and tips for others going through this experience. Read more…