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Is that a glimmer of sun we see peeking through the clouds (finally!)? The summer chase is on! From coastal rain forests to tide pools to sandy beaches, the Washington coast is dotted with delightful destinations. This month’s family travel feature delivers the inside scoop on getting your family to the sand this summer. Closer to home, we know you want to be in the know about the best ice cream, pizza, sports camps, playgrounds, consignment stores, parenting support and classes and swimming lessons around the Sound. Well, you're in luck! We’re thrilled to publish the results of our annual Golden Teddy Awards, which honor reader-voted best businesses for families in the Seattle area. Congratulations to winners and finalists, and thank *you* for voting!
Read the entire issue online, or scroll down for links and cool online-only content. |
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Feature Chasing Summer — Last-Minute Beach Getaways Ages & Stages: |
2012 Golden Teddy Award Winners: Our annual Golden Teddy Awards honor reader-tested favorites for great eats, activities, shopping, camps and classes, and parenting resources. |
About this issue
Get out and play!
Adventure near and far hopefully awaits your family, as the less structured and longer sunshine-filled days of summertime beckon! This abundant issue of ParentMap is chock-full of summer fun ideas, from beach combing, biking and hiking to visiting dozens of destinations recommended by your 6,000+ Golden Teddy Award votes. The best story time, farm fun, eateries and farmers markets were bestowed beloved Golden Teddy Award honors by the true experts — you, our most in-the-know ParentMap readers.
My conclusion is that it’s definitely time for a road trip! Sulkin summer vacations tend to align with visits to extended family, which means we leave Washington State bound for the Midwest and beyond. Instead, this year our family is going to strap in and visit the exotic-sounding Moclips, La Push, and Copalis Beach destinations explored in our July Washington Coast getaways travel feature and make them familiar. (Chasing summer: Last-Minute Beach Getaways)
By committing to more outdoor family time we can combat the now commonly labeled “nature-deficit disorder,” the phenomenon of disconnection from nature that too commonly affects today’s wired generation and their equally screen-addicted parents. (Get Out! Why Nature Nurtures) We should all commit to joining and supporting the “leave no child inside” campaigns that numerous organizations now promote, as advocated by Richard Louv in his bestselling book Last Child in the Woods. You have lived long enough by the time you’re 8 to not require evidentiary proof (though volumes of it exist) that time spent outdoors benefits your peace of mind, creativity and, dare I say on this short summer break, improved school achievement?
Here’s to your great parenting in July. Now get out and play!
—Alayne
