Internet Safety

We couldn't create an Ultimate Guide to Digital Parenting without including tips about how to keep your kids safe on social media. After all, for our tweens and teens, the Internet is social media, and they could sooner give up the games…

While parents are still freaking out about Snapchat and the Momo challenge, the truth is there are some risky apps for kids that can fly right under our radar. Some of them seem completely innocuous -- while some are clearly bad news wai…

As part of our Ultimate Guide to Digital Parenting , answering parents' top questions about family technology, we're sharing the best services and tools to help you monitor your kids on their gadgets. While most routers, phones, tablets …

As part of our Ultimate Guide to Digital Parenting , we know that a top question from parents is the best way to set screen time rules when we're at home. And we've got so many helpful approaches for you! Because bringing gadgets into yo…

We can't tell you how much debate we've seen over the simple question, "when is my kid ready for a smartphone?" It brings out nearly as much stress, passion and well, sanctimony, as questions about breastfeeding or sleep training. Well, …

If you've been on Facebook over the last few days, you've probably been bombarded with no shortage of articles about the Momo Challenge. Admittedly, it looks pretty disconcerting on first glance, and after the 15th, you kind of want to t…

In what seems to be a never ending issue with Facebook and privacy, the latest news is that Facebook has been receiving data from apps from users who do not even have a Facebook account. And one of the 11 apps that has been discovered so…

Keeping our kids safe and healthy is our number one job as parents. And with so many of them using smartphones and other electronic devices, their online safety has become a huge part of that. At Cool Mom Tech, we have always provided pa…

As parents, we try to keep an eye on what our kids are doing online to help keep them safe, but we can't be over their shoulders all the time. Nor should we be! That's why we're always grateful for online parental controls of all kinds, …

If you thought your kids tech-savvy as toddlers, it's amazing to see how quickly they pick up video games when they get a little older. They know what's hot and what's not faster than Mario with a super star power-up. Turns out there are…

The good news: most teens know that sexting is a crime. The bad news: older teens are less likely to think sexting will have negative consequences. All this from a new study about teens and sexting, conducted by researchers at Boston Uni…

As Twitter has just informed all 330,000,000 of its users in an apologetic but so far underreported post, you should really change your Twitter password right now, this very second. Not to be alarmist -- but out of an abundance of precau…

It's not surprising that as of late, there's been a magnifying glass on privacy issues when it comes to technology, particularly as it relates to kids. Remember those WIFI-connected stuffed animals ? Yikes. Well, in a recent study, resea…

With all the recent data breaches and Facebook privacy issues , we're getting lots of questions about private browsing, also known as "incognito mode." Should you be using it? If you already do, is your information safe? Here's what you …

After this recent Facebook data-mining scandal, we know that many users are feeling conflicted about staying on the platform. And we're seeing various articles and reports, from whether you should leave altogether to why you should stay …

Raising digital kids, we parents all want to raise them to be good digital citizens, make wise choices, never bully, never be bullied, use their platforms for good, and be the change we want to see in the world. Not much to ask for, righ…

By now, everyone knows about Snapchat and kids right? It's like Snapchat has come to epitomize the "watch out for kids and their apps." But the truth is, there are so so many apps that can get kids into trouble, and it's hard to keep up …

We're all learning about new technology right along with our kids, which can put us at a bit of a disadvantage. Darn those growing brains. And if you've ever gotten a new cell phone and seen how much more your kid knows about it than you…

When we were Apple newbies, my kids racked up quite a collection of paid apps before I realized what was happening. And I wasn't the only one. Apple ended up refunding lots of parents money for apps their kids bought . Then they set up t…

My internet at home has been so slow lately, so I recently upgraded to the top-of-the-line WiFi option our cable company offers. Even still, our service can get spotty when 6 people all arrive home, and want to get online at the same tim…

When Snapchat (or just Snap , as it's being called these days) rolled out it's Snap Map feature earlier this summer, there was a lot of buzz about the safety risks it could present, especially with so many younger users. Basically, the S…

A recent survey of more than 1600 U.K. kids revealed some fascinating results when it comes to kids' online behavior , leading the UK’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) to make some pretty strong recomme…

We all issued a collective gasp around here this week, reading about the online game called Blue Whale , A.K.A. The Suicide Game. And of course right away I was hoping it was a big hoax. When I checked out the details, I was kind of hopi…

Just when we parents were worried about all those scary parody videos on YouTube , an eight-year-old boy watched a regular old driving how-to video and decided to hit the road with his sister for a McDonald's stop. Nope, we're not kiddin…