tips and tricks Archives

Student discounts on these meditation apps can help college students find zen for a lot less.

by Christina Refford | Back to School Tech, Best Apps, Tips and Tricks

For those of us with college students (already!), we know how stressful it can be for our kids to get adjusted to a totally new schedule and, often, a new living situation. We even included meditation apps among our recommendations of apps for college freshmen to...

A complete guide to the best apps for college students leaving home, to help them navigate life (sniff) on their own.

by Lisa Barnes | Back to School Tech, Best Apps, Kids, Tips and Tricks

We thought it would be a smart idea to put together the best apps for college students, and especially college freshmen. After all, when parents send our kids off to college — whether close to home or across the country — you really want them equipped with...

5 important back-to-school tech conversations to have with your tweens and teens

by Kristen Chase | Tips and Tricks

With back-to-school around the corner for us (and here for many of you), I always like to take some time to have tech conversations before things get super hectic. Whether your kids have their own phones or not, these tech conversations still apply (in many cases),...

Is email overwhelming you? SaneBox to the rescue.

by Cool Mom Staff | Best Apps, Tips and Tricks

This is a sponsored message from SaneBox Whether that little red email badge is showing you 20 unread messages or 20,000, it can be overwhelming to feel like you’ll never get to the bottom of it. Enter SaneBox. Trusted by TechCrunch, The New York Times, Forbes...

Will Meta’s new parental controls keep teens safer on Instagram and Quest? We have thoughts.

by Christina Refford | Games + Gaming, Internet Safety, Social Media, Tips and Tricks

Recently, Meta announced it would be launching new parental safety controls for teens in the form of tools and resources for both the Instagram social media app and their Meta Quest VR gaming headsets. The goal is to help parents better manage what our teens are...

10 photo tips for fireworks: How to keep from coming home with 127 blurry blips in the sky

by Liz Gumbinner | Photography, Tips and Tricks

Fireworks are at the top of nearly everybody’s list of favorite Fourth of July memories, but capturing the magic in fireworks photos can be extremely tricky. So we scoured our favorite photography and tech resources for great photo tips for fireworks, so that...

Not into audiobooks? Here’s the one thing that finally changed my mind.

by Liz Gumbinner | Best Apps, Entertainment, Tips and Tricks

It took me longer than most people to get into audiobooks. Even while friends raved about flying through so many books on their commutes or while sitting in carpool lines, I had tried a few novels on Audible — good ones! — and just couldn’t get...

Cell phone etiquette for kids: 10 things they need to know

by Kristen Chase | Tips and Tricks

After a little texting debacle between my 11-year old and her friends, I realized that maybe I wasn’t the only parent dealing with cell phone etiquette issues. And, after asking our Out Tech Your Kids group about the annoying cell phone habits their kids have,...

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.