preschoolers and little kids

Like most kids, my preschooler likes action. Especially when it comes to apps. Surprisingly, she now counts a mellow octopus among her favorite digital friends, and goes back to his animated storybook time and time again. Less a narrativ…

As parents, I know so many of us keep some kind of record of our funny kid-isms (they do say the darndest things, right?), but a new service called Limetree will now let you record all of them in one place. Limetree is both a website and…

Watching my daughter have to think hard while she is playing with an educational app makes me smile big. And being able to finally take advantage of the booming educational app market is a joy when presented with some of the amazing opti…

It's the home stretch for us Christmas revelers, and if you're anything like me, 'Twas the night before Christmas" is a holiday tradition. And if you're like me, you still have a check list of "to do's" that rivals Santa's tonight. That'…

Calendars, charts, smiley faces, gold stars--every parent has been there, trying just about anything to get our kids to be responsible for their bad behavior. This time of year more than ever, we want our kids to shine as the little ange…

So many of you have been asking us which of the many tablets on the market right now is the best tablet for kids. I get it. With two young kids who get more tech-savvy by the day, I'm always on the lookout for really high-quality devices…

The more parents are realizing that tablets can be an awesome educational resource for our kids, the more companies are jumping on board to make their device more appealing to parents than others. Starting today, Kindle becomes an even b…

Now that my kids have a bit more autonomy on my iPad, I have a greater awareness about what things they're tapping on. While they're still too young to know how to explore the Internet and poke around (thank goodness!), their curious han…

"Once upon a time" gets a modern reboot in the latest digital toy from our favorite Swedish app developer, Toca Boca . It's one of those apps that our kids could hardly wait for, once they caught wind of the previews, and for good reason…

We're often asked, how old should a child be to get her first cell phone? Well in this case, we'd say newborn. What? It's not your iPhone 5. This wooden iPhone 5 baby toy from 3 Princesses Store on Etsy is the perfect holiday gift for th…

Let's face it, most of our children think carrots grow in a refrigerated display case in a grocery store, so any chance to teach them about seeds, soil, sun and watering is a plus. My family and I are urban folk through and through, whic…

When I think of safe cell phones for kids, I think of two things. The first is safety from strangers or other people; the second is safety from cell phone radiation . And now there's a cell phone in the works that's going to solve both i…

Who picks "trick" instead of "treat?" I'm going to go with no one. Which is why I want to share with you four of my favorite iOS apps for Halloween that will keep the kids busy while I sneak another fun-sized snack from their Halloween s…

Impalas deep sea diving, vultures with beehive hairdos, sneezing squirrels--they're all part of a new crazy clever alphabet app with illustrations so quirky and modern that I want to hang them on my kiddo's wall. But even better, this ap…

You haven't lived until you've seen a video of your head superimposed on the body of an elf, dancing in a winter wonderland. Such is the magic of Elf Yourself by the hilarious company JibJab , a.k.a. the Spiridelli brothers. Now that the…

I love sharing old storybooks I've saved from my childhood, though brittle bindings and fragile pages mean it's definitely a "look but don't touch" type of story time. But in the case of this charming one-hundred year old, new-to-me stor…

It's hard to know when kids are old enough for an email account. As soon as my tween opened her own, my youngest son has been begging for one and I've been stalling about it ever since. But now we've found a brand new and very cool iPad …

Kapu Tickle Toy Camera is a new app that is so fun that you just want to laugh out loud. I'm serious. It's weird but watching someone get tickled is funny. Funnier still is when your child has the ability to turn the animated kooky chara…

I understand the appeal of websites and apps that bring a child's favorite character to life, whether it's Seuss or Dora or Yo Gabba Gabba. But sometimes it's nice to find a world in which your kid can ascribe her own attributes and stor…

We're upgrading to the new iPad and thinking about passing along our second-generation iPad to our kids. Do you have any suggestions for kid-friendly cases? -Krissy Hi Krissy, lucky you for getting a new iPad ! Your kids are probably alr…

Back in the day, kids used to keep themselves busy with old-fashioned things like wooden abacuses, blocks and felt boards. Now, they basically own our tablets (you know it's true), and can do everything from smash pigs to trace the entir…

It's no secret that I'm completely obsessed with the Instagram app , but now my kids can get in the action with this amazing new wooden toy I discovered. Anagram is an Instagram-inspired kids' play camera made from sustainable wood and c…

It's back to school time as you may have heard (ha) so over the next couple of weeks, we'll be serving up a few mini-guides to help get you ready, keep you organized, and get your kids excited. Today's picks: educational apps for the you…

Oh Appy Day! gives you the scoop on the coolest apps from some of the coolest people anywhere. This week, we're happy to welcome Kristin Davis who's sharing a favorite. My daughter isn't old enough for screen time and I haven't started l…