Best Apps Archives | Cool Mom Tech

Our favorite self-care apps to help you develop a self-care plan. Because winter is coming.

by Caroline Siegrist | Fitness + Health, Lifestyle Apps

Let’s talk about self-care apps! While I took a no-holds-bar approach at the very beginning of quarantine (It’s the end of the world! Why not scroll all day?), I’m realizing that might not be the most sustainable solution for a pandemic that shows no...

The new Duolingo ABC app is a totally free way to help kids with reading and writing

by Cool Mom Staff | Best Apps, Educational Apps For Kids

This is a sponsored message from Duolingo ABC You probably already know Duolingo as the most popular language-learning app around the world. But you may not have tried the brand new Duolingo ABC, which was designed to help all kids learn to read and write in English....

The best tutorials to help you customize your iOS 14 home screen

by Caroline Siegrist | Fun Apps, Tips and Tricks

If you haven’t heard by now, the customization features on the new iOS home screen are alllll kinds of extra (i.e. you can turn your home screen into a Harry Potter tribute, Microsoft Paint throw-back, or neon color study). It’s pretty insane. And intense....

Is the new Spotify Kids app worth the extra money?

by Caroline Siegrist | Lifestyle Apps

When I first heard about the new Spotify Kids app, I was pretty excited. Would this be the app that would wean my son from the Moana soundtrack and expand his musical horizons? Is this the app for kids who are ready for their own music, but not everything that the...

The Together app helps families and friends stay connected during quarantine, and beyond | Sponsored Message

by Cool Mom Staff | Fun Apps

This is a sponsored message for Together app As so many families and friends are struggling to stay connected during this Coronavirus quarantine, they’ve turned to technology to help them stay in touch. But with the Together app, your kids can video chat, while...

Zoom alternatives for schools: 7 video conferencing options until Zoom fixes…some stuff

by Liz Gumbinner | Best Apps, Internet Safety, Kids

With the news last week that Zoom had some big security concerns to patch up, educators of all kinds started seeking out Zoom alternatives for schools and other kinds of remote learning. Especially after the NYC DOE took the big step of forbidding NYC public schools...

7 meditation apps to help you calm quarantine anxiety. Deep breaths, everyone.

by Caroline Siegrist | Lifestyle Apps

These days anxiety feels like a constant a companion as my house, and some of my usual coping mechanisms aren’t accessible. I miss you, YMCA treadmill! So right now I’m making do with these helpful meditation apps. And I’m happy to say that when I...

5 of the best audiobook apps to listen to while you scrub the counters. Again.

by Caroline Siegrist | Fun Apps

Anyone else need the escape of audiobooks while we hunker down and wait out the Coronavirus quarantines, school closures, and social distancing? These audiobook apps have proved to be the perfect literary lifeline for me while I’m stuck at home with my young...

Dear Reader is the addictive wordplay game for fans of Jane Austen and Edgar Allen Poe. Yes, really.

by Liz Gumbinner | Fun, Fun Apps

When you think “voracious reader of the classics” you don’t generally think at the same time “..and big game, toor!” And yet, that’s how I feel every time I open up Dear Reader. Free with Apple Arcade, this fun, quippy, clever, and...

Instagram trick: How to find all those cool Instagram Story filters everyone else seems to have.

by Liz Gumbinner | Photo Apps, Social Media

We used to say “photos or it didn’t happen,” but it feels like 2020 is all about “filters or it isn’t Instagram.” You may have noticed folks you follow using wacky filters — or oddly flattering filters that bathe them in a...

How to take better holiday photos: 6 fantastic online photo tutorials to make your holidays merrier and brighter. (But not too bright – just the right white balance.)

by Kate Etue | Holiday Picks, Photo Apps, Photography, Tips and Tricks

Every parent wants to know how to take better pictures, especially around Christmas. A few years ago I received the completely awesome gift of a DSLR camera, but I admit I haven’t entirely learned how to use it properly. I’ve taken thousands of pictures...

The new parental controls on the latest iOS 13.3 update are what you might have been waiting for.

by Liz Gumbinner | Family Safety Apps, Internet Safety

If you’ve got a kid on an iPhone or an iPad, this week’s iOS 13.3 update (as well as iPad OS 13.3)has some serious parental controls that we think you’ll be happy to know about. Introducing Communication Limits Starting his week, there’s a new...

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.