17 of the riskiest social apps for kids right now that parents should know about | Guide to Digital Parenting
While parents are still freaking out about Snapchat and the Momo challenge, the truth is there are some risky apps for kids that can fly right under our radar. Some of them seem completely innocuous — while some are clearly bad news waiting to happen. To be...
What are the best services and tools to monitor my kids screen time? 5 top picks | Guide to Digital Parenting
As part of our Ultimate Guide to Digital Parenting, answering parents’ top questions about family technology, we’re sharing the best services and tools to help you monitor your kids on their gadgets. While most routers, phones, tablets and computers have...
What are the best screen time management strategies that work for parents? 5 that work. | Guide to Digital Parenting
Next up in our Ultimate Guide to Digital Parenting, we tackle one of the biggest challenges parents face each day: screen time management. We know full well how hard it can be to decide how much is the right amount of time for our kids, especially as they get older....
Here’s what I learned after letting my tween daughter use TikTok (formerly Musical.ly)
Feeling inspired by Jordan Shapiro’s interview on NPR with our former Spawned guest Anya Kamanetz, and reading his book for our upcoming interview with him on Spawned, I decided to let my tween daughter give TikTok (formerly Musical.ly) a try. I’ve decided...
The Grammarly keyboard app is a fast typer’s BFF
One of the many reasons I love my smart phone is that it allows me to untether myself from a desk or home office, so I actually end up spending more time with my family. That means I’m sending emails on the fly, and doing a whole lot of texting versus long...
Got snow? The Snohub app can help you get rid of it.
With lots of snow falling around the country this week and temperatures at a ridiculous record-breaking low (and a bunch of snow days in our future), many of us will be finding ourselves outside shoveling and freezing our butts off in the process. That’s why I...
Our Alexa organization series: The best Alexa calendar skills
Next up in our Alexa Organization Series, we’re sharing some of our favorite Alexa calendar skills to help you keep your family organized. Whether you want to add events to a joint calendar, keep up with a shared to-do list, or just make sure you do not miss the next...
Our Alexa organization series: The best Alexa fitness skills
We’re getting organized in the new year, and I’ve found that using my Amazon Echo — which is strategically placed in our kitchen, the hub of our house — can be a huge help, including fitness. Yes, we’re not kidding. In this post, some of...
Our Alexa organization series: The best Alexa finance skills
Next up in our Alexa Organization Series, we’re sharing some of our favorite Alexa finance skills to help you keep your family budget it check. Whether you want to track your investments or keep up with your spending, even pay you bills, here are 4 finance...
Our Alexa organization series: The best Alexa meal planning skills
With the new year starting up, if you’re like me, you’ve got organization on your mind. I’ve found that using my Amazon Echo — which is strategically placed in our kitchen, the hub of our house — can be a huge help. So, we’re...
How to use the Siri Shortcuts app to make your life a whole lot easier
I’m always discovering new tricks on my iPhone, but figuring out the Siri Shortcuts app has been a total game changer. This feature lets you set up voice commands to automate the tasks you perform over and over again, like navigating to your kid’s school...NEW: The podcast that helps you be a savvier digital parent in under 15 minutes a week
Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz
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.
The Spawned Podcast. (It’s won awards and everything!)
At-Home Learning Help
* 14 very cool virtual summer camps for kids
* 8 of our favorite online educational resources
* 10 awesome online STEM camps for kids this summer
* Homeschooling 101: Tips for newbies
* 8 ideas for homeschool schedules that may work for you
* Creative ways to socialize online
* 5 audiobook apps keep us entertained and learning
* The best ways to clean and disinfect your phones and gadgets
* 15 awesome podcasts to keep kids engaged
“Are you guys okay with Facebook Messenger for your kids to stay in touch with friends?”
Parents have questions, we have answers
So they want to get a smartphone…
Work with us!
