5 simple things you can do right now to organize your phone, with a little extra help for iOS18 users

by Cool Mom Team | Tips and Tricks

For busy parents, our smartphones have become our lifelines, whether it’s the calendar that helps keep families on track to the emails, social media, and various apps that keep us connected personally and professionally. That’s why it’s so important...

How to check your voter registration status and why it’s extremely important this year

by Liz Gumbinner | Causes and Giving Back, Tips and Tricks

If you want to know how to check your voter registration, we’re glad you asked! Because you might have heard there’s a pretty big election coming up, not just for President, but for 33 US Senate seats, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, and...

The best cameras for summer camp to keep kids offline and in the moment

by Liz Gumbinner | Kids, Photography

I am extremely familiar with the current trend of summer camps requiring campers to have cameras that don’t rely on phones, tablets, or internet connection. And I absolutely support the idea of giving kids a break from screens when they head off to sleepaway...

5 expert tips for watching the total solar eclipse with kids, from Mark Bender

by Cool Mom Team | Tips and Tricks

In April 2024, the total solar eclipse will hit our sky, and let’s just say we’re all pretty excited. If you’ve got the date marked on your calendar (or wondering if you should), check out these tips for watching the solar eclipse from our guest Mark...

Yes, someone “from Kentucky” is trying to get into your LinkedIn. Here’s what to do.

by Liz Gumbinner | Tips and Tricks, Internet Safety

This past week, I received several emails “from LinkedIn” indicating that someone from Bardstown, Kentucky requested a “reset password” link in the wee hours of the morning. I shared this information on Threads and in our Out Tech Your Kids...

If you do one thing in the New Year, please please make it this

by Liz Gumbinner | Internet Safety, Tips and Tricks

I know we’re all still in New Year’s resolutions mode, whether you’re purging and recycling old tech, embarking on a family tech detox, or committing to more books and audiobooks and less mindless doomscrolling. But if there’s one thing the you...

Tackle these 11 simple tech to-dos and start your year safer, more organized, and more relaxed

by Liz Gumbinner | Tips and Tricks

For so many of us, the new year is about organization and fresh starts. That’s why we tend to use January as an opportunity to cross off a few tech resolutions off our lists — or at least get a head start on some of those to-do list items we always bump...

Inbox Zero Trick: Our popular hack for cleaning out your inbox and starting fresh!

by Liz Gumbinner | Tips and Tricks

It’s not an exaggeration to say that email management is overwhelming to me. As someone with anywhere upwards of 10,000 emails in my inbox — many of them unread, to the dismay of my minimalist friends — I am always looking for tips and tricks to help...

The best ways to clean and disinfect your phone during cold and flu season: From gentle cleaning to killing bacteria and microbes

by Liz Gumbinner | Tips and Tricks

It’s always a good time to talk about how to best clean your phone and gadgets. But especially this time of year. With cold and flu season now meeting Covid-is-back season (again, sigh) it’s important to know how to safely clean your phone, or disinfect it...

The widespread teenage boy sextortion scam: What to do if your child is a victim

by Liz Gumbinner | Internet Safety, Tips and Tricks

This week’s Washington Post article about the teenage boy sextortion scam by Chris Moody is all I’ve been thinking about. In part because I know a kid who was targeted in this way, and it was a terrible situation. But to learn that this is a problem...