free or close to it

I know I don't have to tell any new parent about the importance of sleep, but with Sleep Awareness Week beginning tomorrow, it's only appropriate I feature a sweet new lullaby to mark the occasion. And this lovely little song comes off a…

As a Brooklyn resident who falls squarely within the lucky Brooklyn-Manhattan delivery area for the new Amazon Prime Now app ( iOS and Android ) I downloaded it stat. It is a genius premise, functioning essentially like a Fresh Direct ki…

I cannot tell you how excited I am about the new YouTube Kids app that just launched today. Over the years, we're continually asked how to find great videos for kids on YouTube by parents, and while we've shared various safer YouTube app…

As another blizzard rages outside my suburban Boston window, Caspar Babypants' wishful song, I Wanna Be A Snowman , will be running through my head as I shovel this afternoon. But since my kids still love the fluffy white stuff, and this…

My kids love to give and receive Valentine's Day cards from their friends and classmates, but they'd prefer to skip the mushy-gushy sentimental cards and stick with printable Minecraft Valentines cards, or others that reflect their love …

We dress up every other part of our smart phones, from gorgeous cases to pretty wallpaper. So why shouldn't your keyboard get a little makeover too? We found 3 fun keyboard apps to perk up your phone and make it look cooler than ever. 1.…

We've already declared that 2015 is the Year of Better Sleep , so here we are with even more helpful techie ways for all of us to get those good Z's. I tried two more of the latest sleep tracking apps to see whether they'd be a good fit …

There's a new obsession in my house: trivia apps. We're battling for bragging rights over questions like, What was the real name of novelist George Orwell? Or, W hat color is young Anna's nightgown in Frozen? Frankly, I think it's perfec…

New year, new you. Of course, we've all heard (and probably said) this catchy line each time January 1 rolls around. But instead of promising to completely overhaul our lives with major changes, we're starting small and smart with this r…

While regular people are dreaming of walking on Mars' red surface, you can be dreaming about strolling on Kepler-186f's red grass or pretending you're Luke Skywalker on the real-life version of Tatooine with one of three printable vintag…

I'm patting myself on the back for finally sitting down this weekend and sending out the thank you notes for holiday gifts that, yeah, I probably should have sent a bit earlier. But then, it was the holidays! I'm a busy working parent! I…

Everyone likes singing karaoke. Well, everyone except maybe my husband, who prefers to do a Leonard Cohen-style speak-singing thing when it's his turn up at the mic. Still, even he would get a kick out of Hook'd , a fun social music app …

When it comes to fun educational apps for kids, the folks behind Cool Mom Tech faves Endless Alphabet and Endless Reader just won't quit. (Guess that's where the whole endless thing comes into play, huh?) The creative development team at…

Let me guess: If you add one more item to your to-do list, it's going to burst into flames and take you with it, right? I know. I'm right there with you. That's why I'm loving the MyTime app and website. MyTime takes a help me help you a…

It's no secret that not getting enough sleep can seriously affect our health and overall well-being, so it's at the top of my list of resolutions for 2015 to get better sleep. And hopefully, more of it. If you're on the same mission, che…

Well wasn't I delighted when I went to update all my out-of-date apps (another resolution), and clicked on Aviary in the App store (also in Google Play for Android ) which is one of my very favorite free photo editing apps. It was then t…

Elf on the Shelf does nothing for my kids at all, but top the little fellow with this free printable Minecraft head , and now we're talking. I assume that a Minecraft Santa Elf on the Shelf would monitor their screentime and would make s…

Holiday music has been playing in my home for the past two weeks. and if I was ever worried that the magic of Christmas would fade as my kids got older, turns out my three tweens are even more excited about the holidays now than when the…

Let's face it: Our kids and these tiny screens are going to be together for the long haul. Might as well teach the ins and outs of all things digital from early on, right? I'm talking about coding for kids: teaching children how to speak…

This is a sponsored message from Entertainment One Family Preschoolers can't seem to get enough of Peppa Pig , one of the coolest new cartoons to hit the tube in the last ten years. Probably because Peppa Pig likes a lot of the same thin…

With all the adults around them pondering such things as " greens beans or brussel sprouts " or " what type of stuffing ", it must seem to kids at this time of the year that we've all lost our minds as we ponder what to serve for Thanksg…

This is a sponsored message from BluePromoCode. The truth is, shopping just feels better when you find a great bargain. And that winner feeling is definitely doubled when you're able to whip out a glorious coupon to save money on a purch…

Happy Birthday to Sesame Street which is turning 45 this week! And while our kids have grown up with this iconic show just like we did, they may not have heard the original cast recordings of some of our favorite songs. Sesame Street 1, …

Just last week, I sat next to a young woman on an airplane. She was on a mad scroll on her iPhone, just thumbs moving across the slick screen super fast. She was on Tinder, and I was low-key amazed at her swiping skills. It was something…