Rose Sala

Rose Gordon Sala is a mom to three but also a longtime editor and journalist. She's covered all the capital 'P' subjects, including pets, politics, PR, and parenting. She's written for MSNBC.com, TODAY.com, the New York Post, and Mom.com.

Latest posts by Rose

Quick No-Fly Getaways for Burned-Out Parents in the NYC Area

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Sun, 10/23/2016 - 1:55pm

There comes a time in every parent’s life...when you’re afraid you’re going to lose your mind if you don’t get a break.

At first, the idea of leaving your newborn baby might seem impossibly out of the question. But as parenthood rolls on year after year, getting away becomes essential. A lengthy overseas vacation of your pre-kids years might be out of reach, but a quick overnight? Yesssss!

So when your mini-me is driving you up the wall, you feel the need for quiet to collect a thought or two, or you just want to reconnect with your partner, check out these seven destinations for those in the greater New York City metro area. No need to hop on a plane. These trips are all within a 2½-hour drive of Midtown Manhattan, and several are reachable by public transportation. Many offer R&R perks, including in-house spas.

Find more weekend getaways, including those of the family variety, in our travel section, including Hudson Valley resorts for families.

Brooklyn Children’s Museum Debuts Kid Play Space in Dumbo

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Thu, 10/13/2016 - 12:00pm

The Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s new kids' play space is set to open Saturday, October 15 on the ground floor of the One John Street luxury condo building on Dumbo’s waterfront. The 1,850-square-foot one-room annex, dubbed Spark, will offer open play hours, classes, birthday parties, and special events for local families—all with the gorgeous backdrop of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Woof! PAW Patrol Live Coming to a Stage Near You

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Tue, 09/06/2016 - 11:00am

Pups! PAW Patrol is headed to the stage for a live national tour hitting 90 U.S. cities, including NYC, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, the Los Angeles area, and Texas. The hit Nickelodeon animated show featuring a pack of curious and adventure-loving dogs opens in October, but tickets are already on sale for many locations.

PAW Patrol Live! Race to the Rescue, a Nickelodeon and VStar Entertainment Group (the same folks behind Sesame Street Live) co-production, will rely on live actors in costumes, although producers tell us that it will also incorporate the popular Bunraku puppet styling. The “pups” will sing and dance on all four legs.

Read on for more details on this new brand-new children’s theater production.

South Mountain Reservation for Kids: Swings, Zoo, Fairy Trail

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Fri, 08/12/2016 - 11:30am

For an easy day hike with the kids, New Jersey’s local “reservations,” essentially mini state forests and parks, are my family’s go-to. The 2,110-acre South Mountain Reservation in Essex County is one of our favorites. The recreation complex includes hiking trails, but also a zoo, fairy trail, paddle boats, mini golf, and a fantastic playground.

Read on for our best family bets for this Jersey green space, or check out some of our other favorite NJ reservations like nearby Watchung, or day trip ideas.

Need a Last-Minute Babysitter in NYC? Hello Sitter App Will Find One

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Thu, 08/11/2016 - 10:30am

NYC parents have gained a new option for scoring that elusive date-night and last-minute backup sitter. Hello Sitter, an app founded by a local mom, launched this summer with more than 200 sitters serving Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, including the neighborhoods from Park Slope to Williamsburg.

Finding child care always presents a challenge to parents. Finding it on short notice? As they say, fuggedaboutit. But that’s exactly the challenge that Lauren Mansell, founder and CEO of Hello Sitter, wanted to address when she set about creating the new service. Not only that, as a mom to a preschooler she knows it can be stressful to trust your kids with a stranger, so every sitter on the app is fully vetted.

Reading Time! Summer Book Suggestions for Toddlers to Teens

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Sun, 07/10/2016 - 2:00pm

Finding the perfect beach read is something of an annual hunt for book nerds and casual readers alike. And passing that literary tradition down to your kids can be a great way to stave off those endless "I'm bored" moments, not to mention keep their brain cells firing over summer vacation.

Luckily, the New York Public Library recently issued its annual Summer Reading Challenge and Contest, urging kids to read at least 20 minutes a day. Along with that came a trove of book recommendations for kids, from baby board books to early readers to teen thrillers and everything in between. There’s even a book list for grown-ups, because, hey, kids learn by watching too, right?

So whether your kids need a little prodding to pick up a book this summer, or if they’re complaining they don’t have anything new to read, check out this sampling of great book suggestions from the one of the country's largest library systems.

Check Out the 57-Foot Mega Slide and More at Governors Island

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Tue, 05/17/2016 - 5:00pm

If we were giving out rewards to “most improved” NYC park, surely Governors Island would blow the competition away. The trust that operates 150-acres of the island under the direction of the city continues to open new parklands, add more kid-friendly features and expand hours, making it a must-do on every New Yorker’s summer bucket list.

Summer 2016 will see the addition of an entire hill of slides, including one that will reportedly be the longest in the city at 57-feet-long, a brand-new treehouse and the debut of the city’s only “adventure playground,” a free-for-all, kids-only build and destroy space. Oh, and it is all FREE, our favorite kind of summer fun.

Governors Island opens for the season on Saturday, May 28, Memorial Day weekend and hosts its annual Family Fun Day that Sunday. Not all the features will be ready for opening day, but some will.

Here’s a breakdown on what’s new and when it will be available for family fun on this car-less isle.

‘Hatched’ Brings a Theatrical Petting Zoo to the Stage

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Tue, 05/03/2016 - 10:25am

If you’ve been searching for the right show to introduce your tot to theater, you can’t go wrong with Hatched. This sweet interactive children’s puppet show from Treehouse Shakers has just returned its dancing baby-animal barnyard to the NYC stage.

Playing this week at BAM in Brooklyn and next week at Alvin Ailey in Manhattan, Hatched follows a day in the life of a “just-hatched” chick, from its literal hatching forth from the egg onstage to the sun setting over the farm at day’s end.

We’ve recommended this show for first-time theatergoers in the past. But after catching it May 1 at BAM’s Fisher Hillman Studio, we wanted to share this full review with our readers.