Alina Adams

Alina Adams - NYC Writer

Alina was born in the former Soviet Union, spent her teen years in San Francisco, and came to New York City to work for ABC Daytime and ABC Sports. She spent her pre-marriage/pre-kid years as a figure-skating researcher and producer for the U.S. and World Championships, the 1998 Olympics in Nagano and various professional shows.

After learning that international travel and resentful toddlers don’t mix, she switched to PGP Productions and its soap operas As the World Turns and Guiding Light, where she wrote New York Times best-selling tie-in books and developed interactive properties like AnotherWorldToday.com.

The birth of her third child (and the process of enrolling her two older kids into NYC schools—a full-time job in itself!) convinced Alina that she was not, in fact, Superwoman, and prompted her to leave TV and turn to writing books, including romance novels (Counterpoint: An Interactive Family Saga, When a Man Loves a Woman), figure-skating mysteries (Murder on Ice, On Thin Ice) and nonfiction (Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama’s Greatest Moments).

In addition to contributing to Mommy Poppins, Alina blogs for Jewish parenting site Kveller.com and is in the process of turning her previously published backlist into enhanced e-books with multimedia features like audio, video and more. Follow her exhaustive and exhausting efforts to become a Mommy Media Mogul (is that a thing? If it isn’t, it really should be) at AlinaAdams.com and on Google+

Latest posts by Alina

What Latch on NYC Could Mean to You

Submitted by Alina Adams on Thu, 08/02/2012 - 10:00am

Beginning September 3, 2012, 40 New York City private and public hospitals will join Mayor Bloomberg's Latch on NYC, an initiative that encourages new mothers to breastfeed their babies.

As part of this program, many hospitals will cease giving out promotional materials and free samples from formula manufacturers, and stop supplementing breastfeeding infants unless medically indicated. In fact, formula will be distributed exclusively by nurses in the hospital, just like any prescription medication, and any mother asking for a bottle will be informed about the benefits of breastfeeding before getting one.

Whooping Cough Cases Up in NYC

Submitted by Alina Adams on Wed, 08/01/2012 - 10:00am

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is on the rise all over the U.S., even in New York City. (Guess that explains why NY1 has seemingly played that whooping cough PSA on a loop for the last month.) Incidents in NYC have gone up 300 percent and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that this may be the worst season for it in half a century.

Archery for NYC Kids: Where to Make Like Katniss or Brave's Merida

Submitted by Alina Adams on Tue, 07/31/2012 - 10:00am

My 13-year-old raced through The Hunger Games books, my almost nine-year-old is working his way through C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia and my five-year-old is obsessed with Pixar's summer blockbuster Brave. What do all three of these things have in common? Archery!

Archery is the hot sport of this summer (it's in the Olympics, too!). So if your kids have a yen to pick up a bow and arrow and make like Katniss, Susan or Merida, we know exactly where they should turn.

NYC Children's Choirs: How to Join a Kids' Chorus in New York City

Submitted by Alina Adams on Mon, 07/30/2012 - 3:44pm

Got a little songbird who's always singing around the house? Maybe it's time to get them out of the shower and into the spotlight. For kids who love to croon, New York City is a Mecca of children's choruses, ranging from casual to competitive to pre-professional, with plenty of performing opportunities for all. Plus members do a lot more than just sing, they also learn how to read music and how to sight-sing, and really expand their repertoire so you don't have to hear that same tune over and over and over again (like you do now).

We've rounded up seven sensational children's choruses in New York City. Best of all, a few are even free to join (although an audition is required).

New Law Makes NYC Kindergarten Mandatory Starting September 2013

Submitted by Alina Adams on Wed, 07/25/2012 - 10:00am

There's been an update to this law. We've got the info here.

Kindergarten used to be optional for NYC students. Parents who wanted to keep their kids home or delay school until first grade were allowed to do so. Not anymore. Governor Cuomo recently signed legislation that makes kindergarten mandatory for all New York City five-year-olds. There are certainly benefits to this change, but some big questions, too.

Sign Up for Free Kids' Art Classes at Upstairs on the Lower East Side

Submitted by Alina Adams on Thu, 07/19/2012 - 9:00am

Worried about cuts to your children's public school art programs? Upstairs—a recently formed group of young artists and educators—is too. That's why the organization is launching a pilot program of FREE art classes on the Lower East Side this August for children ages 7 to 12.

Table Tennis in NYC: Where to Play Ping-Pong with Kids

Submitted by Alina Adams on Sun, 07/15/2012 - 10:00am

When kids say they want to play something with their parents, they usually mean they want to beat them at something. But when it comes to sports, there are few activities where a parent can honestly be bested by a person half their size and strength without resorting to throwing the game.

The exception: table tennis, better known as Ping-Pong. Forget size and strength; Ping-Pong is all about focus, aim and perseverance—qualities your kids have probably mastered in front of the Wii or Xbox. Here are our favorite kid-friendly New York City Ping-Pong spots where your little ones can whip you fair and square using a tiny paddle and ball.

What "Obamacare" Could Mean For You and Your Family

Submitted by Alina Adams on Thu, 07/05/2012 - 10:00am

Anyone conscious the day the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Healthcare Act couldn't help but hear lots of opinions about what it all meant. Surprisingly, the cheers and jeers on both sides did little to help clarify how "Obamacare" is going to affect us as individuals.