We asked 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…

Holidays: Sturgeons, polar bears, and Grumpuses — Oh My! Mark your calendar for the first Saturday in December and be transported to a world that’s part whoville, part Mardi Gras and steeped in ancient Dutch tradition. Read more…

Bar & Bat Mitzvahs: Stage Fright. Family dynamics. Social pressure. Mazel tov! Moving Traditions, a non-profit organization that works to help kids thrive as “ethically, culturally and Jewishly connected people,” brings you @13, a six-episode podcast for parents and teens as as they approach becoming a bar/bat mitzvah. Read more…

Bar & Bat Mitzvahs: In and around Westchester there is a wide array of venues where you can host your child’s bar or bat mitzvah, ranging from grand hotels to cool nightclub-style spaces. We got the lowdown from four local moms on why they chose their particular venue and found out some handy tips for parents when it comes to choosing where to celebrate your child’s very special day. Read more…

Entertainment: On one special evening this winter, kids take over Broadway! The Broadway League invites young people ages 18 and under to attend a participating Broadway show for free when accompanied by a full-paying adult. Read more…

Hot Topics: If you’re a parent, then by definition you’re busy and also quite possibly overwhelmed. When parenting overwhelms us, it’s time to rethink our approach and seek perspective. Here are five TED Talks to inspire you to uncover happiness in parenting. Read more…

Bar & Bat Mitzvahs: What is the significance of becoming a bar or bat mitzvah? “All Jewish milestones provide us with a meaningful way to make time sacred,” explains Rabbi Eytan Hammerman of the Jewish Community Center of Harrison. Transitions that are linked to a specific age like becoming a bar/bat mitzvah are automatic; the ceremony and celebration represent an added religious layer, which makes it sacred. 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…