Caroline Siegrist, Author at Cool Mom Tech

7 of the best meditation apps to help you calm anxiety. Deep breaths, everyone.

by Caroline Siegrist | Best Apps, Fitness + Health

These days, anxiety feels like a constant a companion at my house and I’ve made good use of these meditation apps ever since Covid began. I’m happy to say that when I actually get a chance to use them, they really make a difference. After all, we’re...

Help for kids with anxiety: 4 excellent mindfulness podcasts to help soothe the scaries of the world

by Caroline Siegrist | Best Apps, Fitness + Health, Kids

If you need help for kids with anxiety, I am so grateful for these terrific mindfulness podcasts for kids. We all know that unfortunately, anxiety is on the rise for lots of children, including my own. Maybe you’re trying to help a child with chronic anxiety, or...

Standing up to book bans, The Brooklyn Public Library is letting all teens access their online catalogue, free

by Caroline Siegrist | Causes and Giving Back, Educational Apps, Tips and Tricks

I’m among millions of parents all over the country concerned about widespread efforts to ban “controversial” books in our public libraries. Especially when the lists include some of our favorite books, and plenty of them are not...

7 of the best multiplayer VR games for kids: Our favorites for all ages

by Caroline Siegrist | Games + Gaming

If your kid likes multiplayer VR games, clear some space in your living room, parents! Because I have 7 multiplayer games to keep them moving and collaborating — or from our perspective, randomly grasping around the room while talking to themselves. VR games...

The best family organization apps for sharing calendars, keeping up with chores, planning meals and more

by Caroline Siegrist | Best Apps, Life and Home

Family organization apps are such a lifesaver, at least once you accept that life admin is part and parcel of modern family life. Still, we all wish there could be a bit more life and a bit less admin sometimes. So I was thrilled to take some time to research some of...

Skip the office visits, parents: Speech therapy is now available online.

by Caroline Siegrist | Fitness + Health, Kids

We know that online mental health therapy access has exploded over the past two years, and increasingly so have other kinds of therapy. As a parent with a child in therapy (and a toddler who naps during the day), I know that just getting to the office every week can...

This new bedtime podcast for kids is a parents’ life saver

by Caroline Siegrist | Best Apps

I’m grateful for any tech that makes bedtime easier, so I was excited to discover Netflix Jr.’s brand new Bedtime Stories podcast — and I figured a whole lot of parents might be too. The podcast features some of my kids’ favorite characters...

10 cool Valentine’s gifts for geeks: From STEM to Star Wars

by Caroline Siegrist | Gift Guides, Tech Toys

Who else is shopping for Valentine’s gifts for geeks this year? My own spouse takes his, ahem, calling as a gamer very seriously, so no red roses for him. Instead I try to get creative and find gifts that incorporates his love of all things gaming, sci-fi, tech,...

How to add a holiday aesthetic to your iPhone: 3 easy ways

by Caroline Siegrist | Uncategorized

Lately I’ve been looking for the best way to add a holiday aesthetic to my iPhone, uh…. like all the teenagers in my life do. Of course you can always customize your own iPhone icons yourself, I don’t have quite as much time to spend on crafting the...

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Tech in 2010 to help make our increasingly digital lives easier, more organized, more meaningful, and more fun, however old your kids may be.

We love that it's grown to become the go-to source for millions of parents who want commonsense info about tech delivered with a smile.

We even have the privilege of sharing our tips + tricks with The TODAY Show, CNN, HLN, GMA, Nightline, newspapers and magazines around the country, and our favorite -- regular parents who stop us at PTA meetings and ask us how old kids need to be to get a smartphone, and whether they really need to panic about Snapchat.

(Answer: It's complicated.)

We're so glad you're here! And we hope we can help you too.