Christina Refford, Author at Cool Mom Tech

A parent’s guide to Among Us: What you need to know before you let your kids play the “it” game of quarantine

While there has been a lot of gaming going on in our house since the start of the pandemic, no game has quite gripped my family like Among Us. This easy and free-to-download game, which launched in 2018, has became HUGE during this pandemic as more and more people...

Over 10 terrific reading apps for upper elementary and middle school kids

by Christina Refford | Back to School Tech, Educational Apps For Kids

Back to School certainly feels different this year, with so much uncertainty and change to our normal school schedule. But one thing that will be certain is that our older kids will need to shake their brains out of summer mode and hit the books, be it with masked...

$10 of the smartest and most interesting math apps for upper elementary and middle school kids$

10 of the smartest and most interesting math apps for upper elementary and middle school kids

by Christina Refford | Back to School Tech, Educational Apps For Kids

Whether your upper elementary or middle school student will be attending school full-time in person or will be in 100% virtual classes at home (or a mix of the two), I know that many of us are dreading one specific moment: that first time they ask for help with their...

How to practice safe socializing using tech during the Coronavirus outbreak

by Christina Refford | Tips and Tricks

It’s ironic that I chose the word “connect” as my 2020 word, just to find myself practicing “social distancing” three months into the year. Suddenly, instead of looking forward to coffee shop meetups, long chummy walks, and dinners with...

Binge watch free television during Roku’s first Stream-a-thon starting December 26

by Christina Refford | Entertainment

If there’s ever a time when we deserve some extra hours parked in front of a screen, it’s the week after Christmas when we are all coming down from the excitement of the holidays. And if you are a Roku customer, make sure you check out Roku’s first...

FamousBrick LEGO minifigures bring their favorite famous people down to size

by Christina Refford | Tech Toys and Random Fun

Whether you have a LEGO fanatic that is nine or 49, FamousBrick’s LEGO minifigures lets you put anyone from Bill Gates to Luna Lovegood into their Christmas stocking. Though can we leave Elon Musk in there? (Just kidding! Sort of.) Made from real LEGO bricks,...

KonMari App: Our cool free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Productivity Apps

With three kids, one dog, and enough stuff to fill a suburban house, I quickly became a convert to the KonMari method of organization, or “tidying” as founder Marie Kondo puts it. Her simple and direct way of weeding through all the stuff we have...

Tinycards app: Our cool free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Best Apps

Before my family headed out of the country on vacation, I spent weeks learning Italian using the free and very popular Duolingo app. And now Duolingo lets you practice not only your foreign language skills, but your knowledge in any area you’d like, with their...

Prisma app: Our cool free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Photo Apps

Beyond cropping out background noise or scrolling through a few Instagram filters, I don’t usually spend a ton of time messing around with my photos. But after downloading the new and free Prisma app for iOS this week, I’ve discovered how fun and easy it...

Rome2rio travel app: Our cool free app of the week

by Christina Refford | Travel Apps

We just returned from a family vacation to Italy, and boy do I wish I had discovered the Rome2rio app before our trip. It could have saved us countless moments trying to decide the best way to get around the various sites with three kids, with the least amount of...

NEW: The podcast that helps you be a savvier digital parent in under 15 minutes a week

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.