games for kids Archives | Cool Mom Tech

Detective Agency: The new Carmen Sandiego-style game from Osmo

We’re huge fans of Osmo around my house. The kids love to play their innovative games, and I love that they seamlessly marry tangible, hands-on play with screen time. So when I saw their new game just announced today, Detective Agency, is a Carmen Sandiego-style...

Are the video games your kids love safe for them? We can help.

by Cool Mom Staff | Games + Gaming, Internet Safety

If you thought your kids tech-savvy as toddlers, it’s amazing to see how quickly they pick up video games when they get a little older. They know what’s hot and what’s not faster than Mario with a super star power-up. Turns out there are tons of...

Where to play all your favorite classic video games from childhood, for free!

by Kate Etue | Websites Worth a Bookmark

Warning: you’re about to seriously waste some time reliving your childhood. We’ve found the motherlode of retro computer games thanks to Classic Reload. They’ve collected and preserved more than 5,000 classic video games for future generations to...

Carmen Sandiego meets Cooking Mama, in this cool cooking game for kids

by Kate Etue | Fun Apps for Kids

News flash: our kids love video games. But they also love to help cook in the kitchen. So when we saw that the new Issa’s Edible Adventures app teaches them to cook virtually and IRL, we knew we had to try it out. It’s part Carmen Sandiego, traveling the...

A first look at the new, rad cardboard accessories for the Nintendo Switch.

by Kristen Chase | Games + Gaming

We’ve been pretty happy with our Nintendo Switch investment over the holidays, and now, it’s about to get even cooler with the launch of Nintendo Labo, a series of fun cardboard accessories that can take game play to a whole new level. Launching in April...

The new Hot Wheels game for Osmo. Now for boys and girls. Well, officially, that is.

by Kate Etue | Tech Toys and Random Fun

Hot Wheels is getting a big tech upgrade, thanks to their newest partnership with a longtime Cool Mom Tech favorite, Osmo. You’ll be able to recapture your living room floors from miles of winding plastic track, but still let your kids have the fun of their race...

Stack app: The mesmerizing, beautiful free app game we can’t put down

by Kate Etue | Fun Apps

I like to keep at least one totally mindless, just-for-fun app on my iPad for some winding-down entertainment at the end of the day. Of course, Candy Crush and 1010 have dominated recently, but I’ve just discovered the Stack app (iOS and Android). And now...

How to get started on Minecraft PE: One newbie parent’s intro into the square world

by Nicole Blades | Games + Gaming

Of course I’ve heard about Minecraft. How could I not? The crazy best-selling, square-loving video game is practically everywhere and has been for years now. I also knew the super skinny basics on Minecraft: It’s all about virtual, 3-D worlds engineered by...

Our 11 coolest new tech toys of 2015: Editors best of the year

by Cool Mom Staff | Editors' Picks of the Year, Tech Toys and Random Fun

Okay, so this is the post in our editors’ top picks of the year series we know a lot of our readers have been waiting for: The coolest tech toys of 2015. There are so many amazing trends we’re seeing here: Coding is becoming more accessible to even...

$5 great STEM toys for kids with a math focus. Because despite what you may remember, math is now fun.$

5 great STEM toys for kids with a math focus. Because despite what you may remember, math is now fun.

by Christina Refford | Tech Toys and Random Fun

As we approach the final week of Christmas shopping, I plan spend a few minutes to make sure that I’m buying toys and games that will feed my kids’ brains as much as their need for play. And while “math toys” has never appeared on any of my...

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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.