Beth Whitehouse

Long Island

Parenting and Kids Reporter at Newsday

I cover parenting and kids for Newsday's Explore LI/Family and https://t.co/dOd0XLuomu. Blended family includes son in college and step-daughter in grad school.

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Articles

Long Island parents face childcare challenges and costs

1 week ago | newsday.com | Beth Whitehouse

When Kristen Pulver and Dante Nicolello of Oceanside learned they were pregnant, the first to know was not either of their parents or any of their other family or friends. It was a day care center. Pulver, 43, who works in advertising, and Nicolello, an attorney in his 50s, were just six weeks into the pregnancy when they committed to a spot in an infant room beginning in January 2026. Where the intake form asked for the name, Pulver just wrote Baby Nicolello.
Long Island homeowners embrace palm trees for summer oasis

3 weeks ago | newsday.com | Beth Whitehouse

A colorful truck with the Island Wide Palm Trees logo painted on the side pulls up in front of a ranch home in Deer Park and delivers a dose of the tropics — Paul and Dana Saladino have ordered three palm trees to place next to their inground swimming pool. "It gives you privacy, shade and a tropical feel," Dana, 52, a hairstylist, says as the trees are set at the border of their backyard fence one recent morning. She adds flowers to the area as well.
The decline of Fire Island share houses over decades

1 month ago | newsday.com | Beth Whitehouse

This is a eulogy for the Fire Island share house. A generation ago, enterprising twenty- and thirty-somethings would sign a lease for a beach house for the summer, from at least Memorial Day through Labor Day. Then, through word-of-mouth or advertisements in Manhattan's Village Voice, they’d fill their house with young adults who would buy a "half share" that entitled them to every other weekend, or a "quarter share" that granted a stay every four weeks.
Two Mom Crews hosts playdate for families with two mothers to connect

1 month ago | newsday.com | Beth Whitehouse

Samantha Rose and her wife, Jessica, recently brought their 18-month-old daughter, Mackenzie, to a playdate at My Play Space in Babylon for a metaphorical look in the mirror. All the families at the inaugural Two Mom Crews gathering had two mothers. They came together to make new friends, to bond, and, perhaps most importantly, to see their lives reflected at them.
Fire Island pedicabs receive state license for expanded operations

1 month ago | newsday.com | Beth Whitehouse

Pedicabs will begin running Saturday from Robert Moses State Park to the Fire Island Lighthouse and the border near the Fire Island community of Kismet and continue through Thanksgiving. The state has licensed Fire Island Pedicab owner Justin Galbraith to run six six-seater pedicabs, says George Gorman, Long Island regional director for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Long Island's luxury picnic trend grows

1 month ago | newsday.com | Beth Whitehouse

Monica Lipton and her husband, Michael, took a 25th anniversary trip to Tuscany — in their own Long Beach backyard. The Liptons hired Let’s Picnic Long Island to set up an evening luxury picnic for two dozen people, with a long, low table set with lemons and eucalyptus branches for an Italian villa feel. The decor included linen tablecloth, candles, real china, cloth napkins, flatware and glasses. Guests sat on pillows on the ground. "I was blown away," says Monica, 50, an interior designer.
Outdoor playground coming to Children's Museum of the East End

2 months ago | newsday.com | Beth Whitehouse

A new outdoor playground will open in June at the Children’s Museum of the East End in honor of the Bridgehampton venue’s 20th anniversary. "We had a backyard that was a blank canvas, an open space," says Liz Bard, one of the museum’s co-presidents. The colorful playground will offer slides, swings, sand play and opportunities to climb on steel cables both vertically and horizontally, Bard says. "The whole playground is really focused on climbing and gross motor skills," Bard says.
Splish Splash in Calverton adds exclusive event to 2025 season

2 months ago | newsday.com | Beth Whitehouse

For the first time, Splish Splash water park in Calverton will be open at night. Visitors will walk through lighted-up trees on their way to ride the designated water slides and enjoy a pulsing, colorful LED light show while in the Kahuna Bay wave pool. A DJ will spin tunes under the stars. Neon Nights are scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday evenings from July 11 to Aug. 16 at the venue. "We looked for something new to add to our event lineup.
Day trip: Family fun at American Dream in New Jersey

2 months ago | newsday.com | Beth Whitehouse

The word mall should be jettisoned from the description of American Dream — the venue in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is more like a Disney World-esque entertainment center. Go there only to shop at the more than 250 stores and miss the point entirely. Go to ski or snowboard on a snow-covered indoor mountain, and now we’re talking. Swim in the DreamWorks Water Park with multiple tube slides to choose from. Ride one of the indoor amusement park roller coasters that soar into the rafters’ duct work.
Long Island summer preparations at Jones Beach, Oyster Sloop Priscilla and Adventureland

2 months ago | newsday.com | Beth Whitehouse

As temperatures outdoors hover in the 40s, Melonie Cunningham sits at a sewing machine to attach a white ribbon to the inside of a canvas beach umbrella so that once temperatures hit the 80s families visiting Jones Beach can sit in the shade. That umbrella is one of about 500 that Cunningham, a New York State Parks employee, is helping to repair — the white ribbon ties the canvas to the metal spokes of the umbrella.