We found an animated storybook app that’s a great YouTube alternative
I’m always on the hunt for YouTube alternatives for my son, and I’ve just discovered a good one in Vooks, the app that streams animated children’s books. If you’re wanting your kids to be entertained by something other than toy cars being...
5 simple strategies for making your phone less distracting
We’ve been talking a lot about screen addiction and overuse here over the last few weeks (and well, years), including our Curb Your Screen Addiction series. Well, we recently chatted with author Jake Knapp on our Spawned podcast, who has a well of fantastic...
Emoji: A history book about our kids’ favorite way to communicate. Okay, ours too.
Little history lesson for you: did you know that the emojis designs we use today — and communicate almost exclusively with our tweens in — originated way back in 1999? Like, before we even knew what a smartphone was? Japanese designer Shigetaka Kurita...
Your Google Home can now read your kids bedtime stories. Not that you would ever have it do that.
Our Google Home can do all sorts of helpful things, and now it can read to us. That’s because Google launched audiobooks, which you can use on iOS, Android, the web, and yes, your Google Home. Related: This app lets you borrow library books on your tablet. For...
Let’s hear it for Little Miss Inventor: The newest member of the Little Miss family
Mark your calendars for International Women’s Day next year, because that’s the day when Little Miss Inventor, the newest, coolest Little Miss character from Roger Hargreaves (well, now his son Adam Hargreaves), will be hitting the shelves. Related: 7 cool...
This app lets you check out library books on your tablet. Free. From home. Yes!
I love the feeling of being surrounded by stacks and stacks of actual old-fashioned books at my local library. But, I also love that they’re embracing all the amazing new technology that has huge benefits for busy parents like me, who are still emphatic that our...
7 smart, cool coding books for kids that have us saying, “Go get on your screens!”
After seeing what Kristen’s kids did with Bitsbox, a cool coding subscription box for kids we featured awhile ago (and who was a sponsor over the holidays), my kids are now obsessed with the idea of creating their own apps. In fact, it’s...
Web Coolness: Star Wars umbrella, The Instant Pot, and rogue Twitter accounts galore.
Here are some of our favorite tech links from around the web. We hope you enjoy them too. Oh you know, just a Star Wars light saber umbrella. We hear it slays at the bus stop! You can now address Alexa (Amazon Echo) as “Computer” because Star Trek...
The Snow Fox: A cool, free ebook app with an extra special feature kids will love
I will always be a fan of real books I can turn the pages to read while my kids are in my lap, but there are plenty of times when a sweet, entertaining ebook on my phone is a total lifesaver, like the The Snow Fox, which we discovered this week. It’s a simple,...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!)
“Are you guys okay with Facebook Messenger for your kids to stay in touch with friends?”
Parents have questions, we have answers
Work with us!
