The Fujifilm Instax Mini Hello Kitty camera. One word: Want.

by Kristen Chase | Photography

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-affair (yes, luv) with Hello...

The new LEGO Minifigures Online game, where everything is (mostly) awesome

by Christina Refford | Games + Gaming

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 beloved Minifigures into the online...

4 cool apps and websites to help your kids learn more about the moon on National Moon Day

by Liz Gumbinner | Best Apps, Educational Apps

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 marketing anything, it’s...

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....

Sponsored Message: The making of the Gameband + Minecraft. And a special Target deal, too.

by Cool Mom Team | Games + Gaming

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’ll also...

Dot and Dash robots: The best of what coding toys for kids can be

by Liz Gumbinner | Tech Toys

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 to be the Dash Robot from...

Designing and printing your own custom 3D jewelry. Without buying a 3D printer.

by Liz Gumbinner | Fashion + Accessories

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, figuring out how to use it,...

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...

Apps parents should know: The Burnbook app, bringing Mean Girls to a school near you. UPDATED.

by Julie | Internet Safety

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 our series of...