May 2015 Table of Contents

By NYMetroParents Table of Contents April 30, 2015

The May 2015 issue of NYMetroParents features our family health guide, with advice and resources for keeping your family in tip top shape. Plus, you'll find tips on planning the best family cruise ever, a special needs school planner, seasonal activities, a where-to guide for catching minor league baseball games, and much more!

May 2015 cover NYMetroParents
by PhotoOp NYC

May 2015

Health Issue

FEATURE ARTICLES

	Plan the Best Family Cruise Cruises are known to be the ultimate in family vacations, for good reason. The variety of activities, food, and entertainment ensures that everyone in your clan, from the baby to grandpa, is sure to enjoy the trip. But there’s plenty to know before you go, especially if this is your first cruise. Get planning with our savvy tips.
	Mother-Daughter Bonding Through Books When one mother started a mother-daughter book club with five other mothers, she just wanted to make reading cool for the tweens. Little did she know the book club would help her bond with her tween daughters and open the lines of communication. Plus, find tips for starting your own mother-daughter book club.
	Special Needs School Planner When you're the parent of a child with a learning disability or other special needs, it can seem like just when you think you've got your bearings, you must get used to another new idea, situation, challenge—and once your child is in elementary school, things can become even more confusing. Find advice on choosing the best school for your child, learning common academic lingo, helping to ease the transition from preschool to kindergarten, and encouraging older kids to be their own advocate—and download this emergency preparedness form to help keep your kids safe!
	The Health Benefits of Kids Having a Pet Bringing a pet into your family is a big decision, and one that requires your whole brood to be on board. Caring for an animal isn’t easy work all the time, but it can be truly rewarding. Here, experts weigh in on the numerous health benefits of pets for kids that go far beyond having a four-legged friend to play fetch with.

FAMILY HEALTH GUIDE

Health Advice and Resource Guide

Check out our comprehensive guide to the best pediatricians, family doctors, dentists, hospitals, medical centers, specialists, therapists, gyms, and sports programs in the New York metro area, including New York City, Long Island, and the NYC suburbs, including Fairfield County, CT.

FUN & ACTIVITIES

Family Activities Calendar

Search our calendar to find fun and low-cost things to do across the NYC area. In May, you'll find the circus coming to town, a plethora of Mother's Day and Memorial Day celebrations, the World Science Festival, and so much more!

Also see: Top 100 Things to Do this Spring in the NYC Area

Family Outing: Hallockville Museum Farm

The Hallockville Museum Farm in Riverhead is a great place to visit with kids. Learn about Long Island's agricultural history at this historic site, where you can visit farm animals, try your hand at old-fashioned crafts, and attend annual events like the Fleece and Fiber Fair in spring and Craft Show in fall.

Where-To: Catch a Minor League Baseball Game

The Minor League Baseball season in the New York metro area runs through September and many of these venues have special offers for families, making one of these games a perfect family outing when the kids are off from school. Check out the minor league baseball teams that play in New York and NYC, Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

ADVICE & CONNECTIONS

	The Best of the Rest of the Web From the May 2015 issues of NYMetroParents comes a selection of funny and thoughtful quotes about the things kids say—about Mother Nature, being terrible at their chores, and telling poop jokes at camp.
	NYMP Q&A: How to Stop the Sibling Rivalry and Foster Strong Bonds Do your kids compete over everything as if they were rival sports teams? Parenting coach Dr. Laura Markham’s new book, Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings: How to Stop the Fighting and Raise Friends for Life (Perigree), shows us the reasons behind sibling rivalry. Here's how to stop it, and build better sibling relationships and foster a stronger bond.
$boy doing homework$	Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? A Parent's Tale To answer simply: nope, says this Brooklyn mom. This is how her son’s math homework became a family problem to be solved (or not).
	Bye-Bye Training Wheels: A Childhood Milestone, in Photos One of the many important milestones we celebrate with our children is when they learn to ride a bike without training wheels. This photo essay follows a 5-year-old as the training wheels are taken off his bike and learns to ride a two-wheeler.