My thirteen-year-old son Eli and nine-year-old daughter Sarah’s birthdays are only a few weeks apart, and my husband and I frequently get them joint presents with relatively mixed success.
Last year was a trampoline that Eli uses all the time, but Sarah has absolutely no interest in, and the year before was a basketball hoop that Sarah uses all the time, and Eli was bored of within the month.
Over the last three weeks, I have read various articles on how parents are being caught unaware when their kids are using their smartphones, tablets or console gaming systems and then are horrified when they get their credit card statements. What parents realize is that they were charged gobs of money while their kids were using their devices unbeknownst to them. (I will admit that this blog post might turn into a bit of a rant…)
A friend of mine emailed me a video about a female engineer, Debbie Sterling, who was raising money for her new company. Frustrated that the engineering industry was so male-dominated, she created a construction toy for little girls with the purpose of exposing them to the world of engineering.
If you were like my family this holiday season, you probably purchased some type of video gaming system - which means now is a great opportunity to start a dialogue on video games.
Parents often wonder “Will my child play too much? Are video games really bad for my kid?” With this is mind, here are my experiences and guidelines on some genres of video games.
My daughter, who is nine, keeps pestering me about a cell phone.
As in, when can she have one. As in, so many of her friends have them (so many equaling three, and they all have divorced parents who want to be able to call them directly).
While they’re often the most coveted gifts, electronics can be tricky to shop for and give so to make your holiday shopping and gifting a breeze, I shared my top five tips below. Happy shopping!
1. Get games and tech gifts charged and ready to go before you wrap them.
Can an app teach our kids important lessons about friendship, morals and the importance of compassion?
Nancy O'Dell believes the answer is yes.
Just in time for the holidays, the Entertainment Tonight co-host has released a fun new educational app called "Little Ashby: Star Reporter - Santa's Big Premiere."
The holiday season has officially begun, and with it, the assault of rapid-fire "I Wants" from my children.
I want a Wii U! I want an iPod! I want a 3DS! I want an iTouch! I want an iPad mini! I want a laptop! I want a cell phone!
Now that my son is in kindergarten at a digital school, my family and I are becoming more exposed to online learning resources.
In times past, parents have pacified unhappy or tired children by giving them a toy or game (or a pacifier).
The concept is alive and well today, but something has changed. With the rise of tablets and smartphones, parents are starting to use them to pacify a restless child.
