Shari, Author at Cool Mom Tech

Learning to count (and laugh) with the Lonely Beast 123 app.

Lucky kids. In the olden days, we learned numbers from boring flashcards, but our fortunate progeny have a sweet monster floating in a bathtub wearing a shower cap as their instructor right from an iPad. Just as we loved The Lonely Beast ABCs for alphabet learning,...

MiiPC review: Keep a virtual eye on your kids’ computer activity

by Shari | Computers

We were excited to have a chance to put together a MiiPC review, considering there’s pretty much nothing that causes a modern parent more angst than monitoring your kids’ online life. Keeping them safe, limiting their screen time, making sure they...

Easy photo book gifts for all! Mosaic goes Android

by Shari | Photo Gifts

I wrote last year about where to print Instagram photos, considering my penchant for taking adorable photos of my kids on my phone and then…doing absolutely nothing with them. Has anything changed for me in a year? Of course not. That’s why I’m happy...

A gorgeous Advent Calendar app takes Christmas anticipation high-tech

by Shari | Holiday Picks

I’m not kidding you when I say that every year, I plan to do one of those cool advent calendars with little toys or candies in every counting-down window, and every year, I don’t follow through. (Sad face.) That’s why this adorable advent calendar...

The new SquareHub app for Android. So now more families can create their own smart, safe social networks.

by Shari | Lifestyle Apps

We love companies that consistently try to improve their already-pretty-fab products, so we’re enthusiastic to tell you that SquareHub, a social networking app made just for families that we love, is branching out to Android families now too with some other...

5 of the best storytelling apps for kids. Only the kids do the storytelling.

by Shari | Educational Apps For Kids

This mom is a writer, so obviously it makes my heart soar when I see my children reading a good, old-fashioned book (you know, one with pages) or writing their own. But since we live in a time when there are more often tablets in their hands than a pencil, I’m...

Draw (and dance) with Mo Willems in “Mo on the Go!”

by Shari | Fun Apps for Kids

There’s nothing more delicious for a parent than when we appreciate an app as much as our kids do–even if it’s not quite for the same reasons. We really loved Mo Willems’ first app and his new one has even more of the spirit of the quirky...

Tell a beautiful story with your iPhone photos. Disney will help.

by Shari | Photo Apps

To write this post, I just checked my cell phone’s Photo Gallery to see how many pictures I’ve collected. 318. Three hundred and eighteen photos and videos. And I’m sure for some, that number would be on the low side. So what do we do with all those...

Say it with speakers: a customizable Jambox makes an awesome gift

by Shari | Travel Essentials

Not to feed into any stereotypes or anything, but in general, guys like tech. Oh sure, maybe your fella would be pumped to get a t-shirt inscribed with “World’s Greatest Dad” for Father’s Day, but let’s just say, for argument’s...

Piquing our Geek: Ordering pizza from your Xbox console

by Shari | Games + Gaming

Yes, it’s come to the world’s laziest pizza ordering ever. And boy, are we geekily excited. Come on, admit it, who hasn’t wished during a maxed-out gaming session that they would have food magically appear without having to cook it? Evidently,...

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.