tweens + big kids

Recently, I wrote about how totally in love I am with the Dot and Dash Robots from Wonder Workshop . So it makes me extra happy that they have joined us as as our newest Cool Mom Tech sponsor because, well, we all adore them! (Also, so d…

Oh c'mon, I know that emoji are already all over your phone. Is there anyone that can still resist the siren call? I think not! That's why I going all-in with one of these emoji smart phone cases. The question is, which one should I get?…

With a bunch of Minecraft fans in my house, and a couple of them with gadgets of their own, I'm pretty sure these new Minecraft cases from Think Geek would be a huge hit. You won't find these Minecraft cases anywhere other than Think Gee…

Should I be embarrassed that I, a 30-something mother of four, saw this Fujifilm Instax Mini Hello Kitty camera and let out a tween-level squeal? Possibly. But heck, who cares? This is freaking awesome. I've had a long standing luv-affai…

For years, my kids have collected LEGO Minifigures which they love to play with while building with their LEGO bricks. So, it was with great excitement when they learned that LEGO has come out with a brand new game that puts their belove…

Seeing as how we live in an age where everything from Nutella to x has its own national day, I should not be surprised that today is National Moon Day. At least it celebrates something totally real and inspirational, and if it's marketin…

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 You…

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 …

This a sponsored message on behalf of Gameband + Minecraft If you've been waiting to get your hands on the uber popular Gameband + Minecraft for a Minecraft lover in your life, now's the time. Because when you purchase it at Target, you'…

Walking through the crowded, cacophonic aisles of International CES 2015 earlier this year, we were instantly drawn to one booth featuring adorable little robots gliding around the rug, and beeping and booping at our feet. It turned out …

Just in time for Mother's Day, I was absolutely thrilled to discover Zazzy , a new platform that allows you to design 3D jewelry , only they take out all the time-consuming stuff...like downloading sometimes complicated software, figurin…

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 l…

See below for a breaking update about the Burnbook app If you haven't yet heard of the Burnbook app , it's the latest anonymous social app that's causing a stir among teens and parents and even law enforcement around the country. Next in…

As a homeschooling parent of three, my older kids and I are big fans of the Crash Course educational video series on YouTube which has helped my teens learn more about complex subjects like molecules and the French Revolution. But I've f…

Finding cool geeky jewelry used to be such a rarity for me, but these days, there are so many fun, affordable options (whoo!), like these few I discovered while perusing one of my favorite online shops, ModCloth. Plus they're all under $…

As you can see just from browsing our site, Minecraft and STEM toys rank high on our list of the coolest stuff for kids that's both fun and educational. So when we heard about Piper , which brings together coding, engineering, and Minecr…

I'm not alone in wanting my kids to learn the basics of coding and am thankful there are so many ways to get them interested in the subject. We've covered cool clubs and camps, lots of fun games , as well as apps and websites like Scratc…

Remember when we had to buy magazines like Tiger Beat to get the scoop on our teen crushes? These days, tweens can get up-to-the-minute details on their favorite Instagram and Vine stars, right on their smartphones. ( Niall, Harry, Liam,…

This is a sponsored message from Gameband + Minecraft Your little Minecraft lovers are going to be able to take their favorite game with them wherever they go thanks to the new Gameband + Minecraft , the first ever wearable for Minecraft…

Looking into headphones for kids can be intimidating at first. I mean I know how crappy so many sets made for adults are, so I am always skeptical of dedicated kids' headphones that I can confidently give my daughter for solo listening. …

When emojis first started popping up in random social media spots, I thought, "Eh, they won't last." But then I starting using the funny little graphics myself in iMessages and on Instagram comments, and suddenly emojis sort of became my…

One of the scariest things I may see this Halloween is my 13-year-old disappearing down the street with her big group of friends to go on her first trick-or-treating trek without me. And while it's hard to believe the years of us trick-o…

If your kids are like ours and asking questions about 9/11 , you're looking for appropriate sources to help you explain it to them rather that some network keeps replaying plane crash video footage over and over again. That's why year af…

Junior high was the only time I used my school-appointed locker and half the time I could never even remember my padlock combination to get to my Trapper Keeper and magnetic mirror. Oh right, and my textbooks. If I only I had a digital p…