Star-spangled snacks
Independence Day celebrations wouldn’t be complete without scrumptious treats to enjoy.

Don’t let summer brain drain leave your kids behind
It happens every year: Just when your child finally gets into the swing of things at school, along comes summer.

The pros of procrastination
I hate being indecisive. When faced with major decisions—like whether to move up to a bigger house or return to work

Backyard basics for a summer of fun

Trolley offers more than street-level view of Chicago
Ready to see what Chicago has to offer, but hate the idea of downtown traffic and expensive parking garages? Try a trolley tour!

Get wet and wild
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Jump into budget-friendly family fun at Raging Waves, the Aussie-themed water wonderland billed as the newest

A stroll through Bucktown
The popular Chicago neighborhood of Bucktown has been transformed from hip to hipster baby almost overnight.

Day camping family-style
If your family is ready to explore Chicago, but you need a little help getting started, sign up for a Family Day Camp.

All twisted up
For an afternoon of summer fun with a doughy twist, consider hosting your own backyard Kim & Scott’s Gourmet Pretzel Twist

Mama Kellie
Far from the city lights, the crowded streets and the political banter on television, children’s laughter and song fill the air

Banking on hope
Researchers believe that stem cells, extracted from umbilical cords at birth, may hold the promise of a cure

Advocating for change
In the middle of the night, Mary Schneider sat straight up in bed.

Circle of life complete
When Rebecca Luedtke gave birth to her first child, Simon, she told the doctor to extract Simon’s umbilical cord blood

What's in your neighborhood
South suburban resource guide

Fun and (shhh) learning
Whether we soak up the sun and chlorine at the local pool or sit inside with the A/C and TV running, our kids are at risk.

The sacred mundane
This is it. Watching SpongeBob SquarePants and he cuddles into me, soft and warm as a new towel out of the dryer.

Perfect family adventures
Parents shared their ideas of a perfect family adventure at ChicagoParent.com. See how your own ideas compare:

Puppet spreads Earth love
If you find Mr. Furry Fur Fur, a 4-year-old raccoon, digging through your trash

Remembering Joey: A lifetime of memories
Our 5-year-old son, Joey, provided us with a lifetime of memories that will make us smile, cry, laugh

Release the little girl in you–-and shock your kids silly
Slip ‘n Slides are one of summer’s key accessories

Powering off
Technology has a way of taking over family time. It starts innocently enough.

When a skunk strikes
Summer is prime skunk season, so you’ll want to remember this great pet de-skunking tip from Francine Barnes

Drowning is a preventable tragedy
The other day I was watching a TV show where one of the characters was drowning.

Thoughts about food: A nutrition conference
Many interventions need to come together—like sandbags in a levee—to help turn the tide against our nation’s obesity

When divorce hits home
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Divorce certainly isn’t something we expect when we marry. But when things don’t turn out as we planned

FABmama
Pucker up and love your lips with Cosmoholic Liquid Lipstick. You can skip the lipstick/lip gloss routine for this addictive

Books to fuel summer learning
Children today have known about space exploration for all of their lives.

Fresh music for all ears
The growing season is in full swing. New releases are literally sprouting up throughout the children’s music field.

Great summer reads
Thirteen-year-old Ernie Banks lives in the Lakeside Home for boys and is always getting into trouble.

Take your babies to Sweet Baby Ray's
July means barbecue—ribs, chicken, baked beans and cornbread. Why not let Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue restaurant

Chicago's Riverwalk's winding skyline views make for a great tour
Chicago’s Riverwalk reminds us how important water is to our great city.

Take me out to the ballgame
Baseball fans can head south this month for the largest interactive baseball fest around.

New children's museum opens
When it’s time to beat the heat, head to Frankfort’s trolley barn to visit Will County’s first children’s museum.

Nature abounds
Spend an afternoon nestled in a tree house perched between giant oaks at the new Hidden Oaks Nature Center

Authors read aloud
Authors and illustrators of some of the best-known children’s books will offer mini-workshops,

Progress in autism research
Most moms-to-be know there are benefits to consuming folic acid during pregnancy.

Color your kids' world
See color in a whole new light at Kohl Children’s Museum’s Color Play exhibit,

Friendships between young and old can be grand
Author Helene Block Fields urges you to help your children mine for gold in your neighborhood

Putting baby to sleep safely

Probably one of the only times parents leave babies and toddlers unattended is when they put their child in the crib

Nothing to whoop about
Chicago, like the rest of the nation, has seen an increase in cases of meningitis and pertussis (whooping cough)

Judging meds by their covers
It’s no wonder parents may be confused about whether to give young children over-the-counter cough and cold medicine.

Research shows drug used to treat autism doesn’t help
A new study shows that citalopram (celexa), a commonly prescribed drug used to reduce repetitive behaviors

July 2, 2009
Get out and play. Let the rockets’ red glare light up your family’s July 4 weekend. We’ve rounded up fireworks displays around the city and suburbs this weekend in our calendar.

July 9, 2009
Get out there and play. It’s a bird, it’s a plane! It’s the 10th annual South Shore Air Show. From noon-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, watch one of the nation’s largest over-water air shows from the shores of Lake Michigan in Gary, Ind. Expect to see the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team, a Sea Harrier F/A2, L-39, a F-18 Super Hornet, a F-16, The Lima Lima Flight Team, plus plenty of aerobatic demonstrations.

July 16, 2009
Get out there and play. If you have a horse lover in your family, take them to a majestic show that celebrates the bond between humans and horses. Cavalia, a multimedia experience designed by one of the co-founders of Cirque du Soleil, is a mesmerizing show full of edge-of-your-seat acrobatic stunts and a beautiful demonstration of equine ability. A few of the acts involve a show of unbridled horses demonstrating dressage techniques—think ballet for horses—with their handlers. This show is beautiful.

July 23, 2009
Get out there and play. Watch the sky over Lake Michigan light up at the 52nd Annual Venetian Night, Saturday, with this year’s theme, “Hollywood on the Lake.”

July 30, 2009
Get out there and play. Line up your four-legged, finned, feathered and scaled family members and march over to Oak Park this Saturday for the Downtown Oak Park Pet Parade. All animals—including the stuffed variety—can march along the parade route with their human family members.

July 30, 2009
Get out there and play. Line up your four-legged, finned, feathered and scaled family members

Video | Exploring the North Shore Sculpture Park
As part of our ongoing video series, "10 Free things to do with your kids this summer," Chicago Parent headed out to the North Shore Sculpture Park in Skokie. More than 60 large-scale sculptures site on two square miles of parkland, and are a perfect -- and free! -- way to spend a summer day.

Video | Exploring the Living Sea Aquarium
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As part of our ongoing video series, "10 Free things to do with your kids this summer," Chicago Parent headed out to the Living Sea Aquarium in Park Ridge, Ill. We got up close and personal with critters -- and we recommend you do too!

Video | Exploring Emily Oaks Nature Center
As part of our ongoing video series, "10 Free things to do with your kids this summer," Chicago Parent headed out to the Emily Oaks Nature Center in Skokie.