Best kids’ tablet in terms of security, function, parental controls, and value| Reader Q+A

by Jeana | Uncategorized

Hi Cool Mom Picks, I’m looking to purchase the best kids’ tablet for a 3-year-old, and maybe one for an 8-year-old. What do you suggest? – Reader, via Facebook.   Oh, to be a kid on Christmas morning opening up a brand new tablet to play with!...

Circle with Disney screen time management system: Is it worth it for parents?

by Jeana | Internet Safety

A lot of our readers have been asking us about Circle with Disney, a new device on that market designed to connect to your WiFi specifically to help parents monitor their kids’ internet usage and manage screen time. We were really curious about how it works and...

First cell phones for kids: 12 features and considerations to help you find the perfect one.

by Liz Gumbinner | Internet Safety, Tips and Tricks

We’re continuing our series about kids and cell phones on behalf of our sponsor, the premium authorized Verizon retailer, Cellular Sales, because wow, do parents need help with this! And by parents, we mean, ourselves too! Because we know first-hand that once...

Piquing our geek: Can SmartFeed make our kids’ media more mindful, not mindless?

by Christina Refford | Internet Safety

Trying to manage my three kids’ time spent and content viewed on all of the various devices we have in this house is one of the most thankless, naggy job out there. They don’t fully understand why I say “no” to the newest app, or why YouTube...

Setting up email for kids: 11 essential things to teach them first — that you probably haven’t thought about.

by Liz Gumbinner | Tips and Tricks

When I finally broke down and got my daughter an email account (all my friends have one! actually does work sometimes) we had the long, requisite discussions about safety, etiquette, and responsibility. But wow, it turns out there’s so much more than that....

Location Services on smartphones: Why does every app seem to want access to it, and when should you turn it off?

by Nicole Blades | Tips and Tricks

I’m always a bit leery of apps the moment they ask to have access to my location. Sure, it makes sense with Google Maps, weather apps and certain social apps that help me locate a specific store or get a restaurant review. Those kinds of apps are more useful and...

KidsLink app: A smart alternative to social media oversharenting

by Nicole Blades | Best Apps

I didn’t even know there was a term for it, but of course there is. Oversharenting. It’s that thing that so many of us parents do on social media — especially on Facebook — where we share, or overshare, info about our kids that ranges from cute...

Apps parents should know: Meerkat and Periscope now let your teens live stream. Just let that sink in for a second.

by Kristen Chase | Best Apps

I’m not even kidding that when I heard the the word Meerkat being tossed around for the past couple of weeks, I thought to myself, Is that Meerkat Manor show back on TV again? But then, when the Periscope live streaming app for Twitter launched this past week, I...

Scrapbook by Facebook: What parents need to know about this new feature from Facebook for tagging kids.

by Kate Etue | Social Media

When I post a picture of my kids to Facebook, I tend to tag my husband, my parents and in-laws, maybe even aunts and uncles. If I want them to see the picture, I tag them. Because until yesterday, there hasn’t been a way to officially tag a photo of a child on...

Sponsored Message: Webroot keeps you and your family safe online, wherever you are.

by Cool Mom Team | Internet Safety

This is a sponsored message for Webroot   No matter how much you or your family is online, the last thing you want to worry about is malware, viruses, and data and identity theft. That’s where the award-winning Webroot security software comes in, to help...