apps for parents

We've found that our kids learn best if we give them the opportunity to be curious about things first, and that's what the exploration apps from Tinybop do so well. Whether you kids are interested in the human body , architecture , or bu…

Last year we fell in love with the Anki Drive app-controlled racers, calling it one of our top tech toys of 2014 . Earlier this year at Toy Fair, we got a look (and a very fun if brief test drive) of the brand new Anki OVERDRIVE and as o…

Getting excited at a recent dentist visit to sit and read an actual magazine made me realize how little time I have to myself. (And perhaps that I need to find a hobby). People aside, turns out I found a magazine of sorts that I'll most …

Let's hear it for organizational apps this time of year! What would we ever do without them? After all, back to school also means getting back to routines, which can highlight some of our old systems for staying organized and keeping the…

Think for a minute about how far we've come in games design from the days of Asteroids and Space Invaders. Now, there are some stunningly beautiful mobile games for both iOS and Android that change the way we think about gaming apps. Hey…

Along with the diapers and burp clothes and countless other pieces of baby gear, perhaps the most valuable things that new (and newish) parents can receive are the BTDT words of wisdom from other parents who are boldly and actively doing…

It's been awhile since we first mentioned Common Sense Media on Cool Mom Picks back in 2009. Since I check it so often, like to remind myself whether there are any pikes through the head in Hunger Games , or whether The Bad News Bear s i…

When the director of our ad team, Lisa, tells me to try a new app, I know it's going to be a good one. She has good taste. And this time it's Brain Dots (for iOS and Android ) which happens to be fun, challenging, infuriating, and someti…

Yes, it's an ABC app. But unlike other ABC apps we've covered here, I don't know that the new ABCiné app (as in cinéma) from Spanish design studio Atipo for Meikme is going to help kids with the alphabet as much as it will help adults --…

If a single BOOM from a nearby fireworks display sends your kids running to bury their heads in your lap, you may need kinder, gentler fireworks this Fourth of July. Like the ones found on this cute new fireworks app, Fireworks Lab , whi…

I may be the last person to discover Alto's Adventure which blew away the gaming world when it launched a few months back. Even my eight-year-old is like, Mom! You finally got it? But I admit that when I hear "snowboarding app," I don't …

First, let's get this out of the way: There's an ongoing tomayto-tomahto situation around the correct way to pronounce the popular notebook-maker Moleskine -- is it skin or skine ? The official response according to the company is, your …

I like to think of myself as a pretty relaxed mom so I haven't really considered all those wearable baby monitors on the market right now. Let's just say I have been known to let the baby sleep in her wet diaper all night long or staying…

Over the years, we've found great illustrators who have taken their own baby photos and turned them into fantastic collage drawings. But now we found a sister team out of Barcelona who's attempting to do one better with their new Kicksta…

A few weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night to noise in my garage. I told myself I was just being paranoid, but when I heard it again I got up to look and saw a man standing right outside my bedroom window, trying to get in our …

I was so happy to sit down with Arielle Duhaime-Ross and Ben Popper of The Verge recently (oh, how we love The Verge) to talk what's new in baby tech for their excellent Verge video series, Top Shelf . You get to see a bunch of cool new …

We're huge Spotify fans in my home and on the go (in case you were still wondering whether moms actually know how to use Spotify ), and now with the big New Spotify announcement yesterday, I've suddenly got a few more reasons to love thi…

Watching our kids maneuver their way through all this new tech is a joy. It's just so cool to see how much they're doing and learning on these glowing gadgets. But the other side of that is trying to stay on top of what they're watching,…

As an avowed Roku devotee -- a word that's hardly strong enough considering I've convinced most of my relatives to invest in one -- I was excited to check out the new Roku 3 that just came out this spring. Let's just say, they had me at …

I have a close-knit family. My sisters and I talk a lot any given week. The thing is, we all live in cities spread miles (and countries) apart, so we rely on social media, texting and, when time zones line up nicely, video chats. And wit…

The trend of online doctor visit apps is definitely reaching critical mass as people learn it's a great way to get professional advice and even subscriptions without the hassle of making appointments or schlepping out the door. And now w…

Have you ever wished you could literally bookmark a favorite restaurant in a new town you're visiting? Like, just magically click a button in your brain that lets you put an asterisk next to the name of the place so you'll always remembe…

The selfie stick struggle is real, friends. From major museums, like the MoMA and The Met in NYC to the Palace of Versailles in Paris, to sports stadiums, to musical festivals Coachella and Lollapalooza, the ban on selfie sticks shows no…

See below for a breaking update about the Burnbook app If you haven't yet heard of the Burnbook app , it's the latest anonymous social app that's causing a stir among teens and parents and even law enforcement around the country. Next in…