tweens + big kids

My tweens know that I have a pretty strict policy about social media in our house. We won't even have the conversation about setting up accounts for them on Facebook or Instagram until they're the minimum age required by the app. And eve…

Our favorite little droid R2-D2 faithfully served Padmé, Anakin, Luke, and Leia, and now, you can add your own little Jedi to the list, thanks to this new Droid Inventor Kit from CMP favorite littleBits . The Droid Inventor Kit, which is…

Since more and more upper and middle schools are requiring laptops or iPads in the classroom, we wanted to take a look at the best laptop bags for kids. Our requirements: They have to offer good support for our kids backs with all that h…

It's back to school time, which also means, back to school shopping time. That's why we launched the first installment of our annual Cool Mom Picks Back to School guide , full of the coolest space accessories for kids. Yay geeks! From sc…

We have to admit that we're getting pretty excited about the total solar eclipse on August 21. Depending on where you live (or where you're traveling to), you could experience up to 3 minutes of complete darkness during day. Along with m…

When I was a drop-out Brownie some 30-ahem years ago, my troop worked on badges like Basketry and Arts & Crafts. But now I'm kind of wishing I could go back and do it all over again because this fall, the Girl Scout organization has anno…

If you're like me, then you do your best to manage screen time using myriad methods. In our house, I've done The Marble Jar to read for screens, and pretty much everything in between. And still, there are tantrums and arguments when it's…

Forget Snapchat, Facebook, or even Instagram. Teens these days are often connecting with friends online by gaming together on their Xboxes and I find the key to good communication for them is a great gaming headset for teens. So my almos…

These camps are so cool that you’ll want to be a kid again! Well maybe temporarily.

I'm grateful to my daughter who (much to the chagrin of tweens and teens everywhere, I'm sure) tipped me off to a trick I wasn't aware of: Kids can easily download new apps to their devices without your knowledge, if you have Apple Famil…

We've probably all had photos we've shared on social media that we would very happily forget, like say my lovely "before" shot I took when I was starting a workout regimen a few months after having a baby that now pops up every single ti…

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…

For those of you with teens applying to college, if you're wondering whether college admissions officers check student social media accounts, the definitive answer is "yes." This is clearly evidenced by this week's incident in which Harv…

In a recent survey of 1500 young people aged 14-24, researchers discovered that Instagram was cited as the most damaging to a young person , followed closely by Snapchat, and then Facebook. In fact, YouTube was the only of the 5 networks…

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…

If you think spying and snooping on your kids' social media behavior will help keep them safer, a new study in the Journal of Adolescence actually suggests otherwise, this recent post on Well Family discusses. In a survey of 455 adolesce…

If you've got Pokémon loving tweens and teens in your house, you better pop in some ear plugs before you show them the new line of Pokémon make-up from Korean brand TONYMOLY . They've got everything from nail polish to face masks, all co…

If you're a regular Cool Mom Tech reader, then you know we love STEM-oriented toys for children , especially if they're so fun and challenging that kids don't notice they're educational, like the new Electric Motors Catalyst box. Unlike …

This is a sponsored message from KidGuard Even the most vigilant parents can have a hard time keeping track of their child's online activity, which is why so many are looking to KidGuard for help to ensure they're safe and making good di…

Yay! We're so happy to be back with our annual Cool Mom Tech Holiday Tech Gift Guide , all fresh and new for 2016. And to kick it off, we've got the coolest educational tech toys for kids of all ages. Whether you're shopping for a curiou…

We love finding tech gifts for kids that they can play with all on their own, no tools or engineering degree required for assembly. And of course, they have to be the kinds of gifts that don't end up in the back of a closet after one use…

Now that my son has a phone, as do all his friends, it's a whole new world of parenting. For now, he is content texting his friends yo, bruh, what's up and watching sports clips, but there will soon be a time when social networks come mo…

I was more than willing to give the quip electric toothbrush a try. After all, I have a bit of a toothbrush obsession -- something that's greatly exacerbated by the all-time biggest candy-eating holiday of the year. I'd like to blame it …

I've seen a whole lot of portable battery chargers , but this rainbow poop emoji one from WattzUp is definitely a first. I can already hear my tween daughter squealing. These hilarious emoji portable battery chargers work with most smart…