apps for parents Archives

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...

How to get a nice discount on a Lyft ride to the polls this Election Day

by Liz Gumbinner | Best Apps, Causes and Giving Back

Well what a nice alert to appear in my inbox: This Tuesday, November 8 is Election Day, and to assist voters, Lyft is offering 50% off rides when you preload the code VOTE22 and book a ride through the Lyft app. Alternately, just open the Lyft app, select the...

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...

Is email overwhelming you? SaneBox to the rescue.

by Cool Mom Staff | Best Apps, Tips and Tricks

This is a sponsored message from SaneBox Whether that little red email badge is showing you 20 unread messages or 20,000, it can be overwhelming to feel like you’ll never get to the bottom of it. Enter SaneBox. Trusted by TechCrunch, The New York Times, Forbes...

This baby monitor has features that make you go, “whoa…how do they do that?”

by Cool Mom Staff | Babies, Gear + Hardware, Kids

This is a sponsored message from the pixsee Baby Monitor If you have been looking for the high-tech baby monitor that “does it all” — and more — you’ll be amazed by the pixsee baby monitor. It’s not just an incredible (and adorable)...

Tech tip: How to open your Shazam in Apple Music instead of Spotify.

by Liz Gumbinner | Best Apps, Tips and Tricks

Recently, as you may have heard (ahem) a bunch of influential musical artists have been leaving Spotify, podcasters are rethinking the platform, and plenty of listeners are canceling their Spotify Premium subscriptions. (Which is evidently not all that easy to do, but...

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...

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...

This app lets you check out library books on your phone. Free. From home. Yes!

by Kate Etue | Best Apps

Lately, a lot of readers have been asking us about apps that let you check out free library books. Or, free e-books to be technical. So here’s the info on a favorite of ours, the hoopla digital app. While I love the feeling of being surrounded by stacks and...

Tackle these 10 simple tech to-dos to start the year safer, cleaner, and more organized

by Liz Gumbinner | Life and Home, Social Media, Tips and Tricks

For so many of us, the new year is about fresh starts. That’s why around here, so many of us use January as time to cross off what we can from all of those never-ending tech to-do lists. These are the kinds of tech to-dos we often put off, not necessarily...

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.