Tag archive: Kids

Though they've been around for a good portion of 2011, only today did I finally check out a video for Cubelets. These are block-shaped robots that, much like Legos or Knex, can snap together and form new creations. The only difference is that when you build something with Cubelets, it will actually move when you're done.  The blocks snap together with magnets and each perform a different function (15 in all). Action Blocks do things… Read More

Guest contributor Berna Erol is the founder of iKid Apps , which reviews the best iPhone, iPad, and Android kids apps, and offers a wealth of tips for parents. Follow her at @bernae on Twitter. Smartphones and tablets, combined with great apps and sensible screen time, can do wonders for entertaining and educating our children. Nevertheless, the interaction with these devices is still limited to a few gestures, so they do little help with… Read More

Christmas morning is right around the corner, and you know every kid in your life is counting down the seconds to moment when they can finally, mercifully rip open their colorfully wrapped packages of joy. So it's important to make sure you get it right, or face the wrath of an unhappy child. So, what to get? Well, high-tech toys, of course! Check out some of the best tech toys of 2011. iPod touch 8GB:$199 A recent study shows that Apple… Read More

As detailed on the official Netflix blog this morning, Netflix has revised the Netflix application on the Nintendo Wii to include a section for younger television viewers. The “Just for Kids” section was previously limited to only South American Netflix subscribers, but has expanded to include the United States as of today. The section highlights kid-friendly content such as animated television shows and movies. According to Netflix… Read More

The downward momentum of tablet prices is great for consumers. Today, Motorola announced a new version of its Xoom tablet.  The Xoom Family Edition is essentially the same tablet as the original Xoom, but it has a new shell, built-in kids apps, parental locking features, and a lower price tag of $380. Oh, and it's only available at Best Buy.  Motorola isn't showing the rear of the tablet, but the side has a shinier, more rounded… Read More

Adults may make up the majority of game players, but video games are more popular than ever among kids, new research shows. According to NPD, 91 percent of U.S. children ages 2-17 play video games (64 million). More interesting, these numbers are up nearly 13 percent from a 2009 study. The number of kids in the U.S. has increased by 1.54 percent in that time, but not nearly enough to make up for the massive increase in game playing. Gaming… Read More

More details are coming out about the last days of Steve Jobs. Reuters reports that a few weeks before his death, the author of his tell-all biography (which hits shelves Oct. 24), Walter Isaacson, met with Jobs to perform one final interview with the Apple founder. As it turns out, part of the reason he agreed to the book is so that his kids can better understand him and know why he wasn't always there for them.  “I wasn't… Read More

Now your children don’t have to suffer because you decided to cancel your cable. Netflix is testing out a new kid friendly interface to help kids find the shows they want to watch. The images show a drastically more fun and visual interface. To access the page you would select the just for kids tab at the top of the page and you will be able to see all of the watch instantly options. Of course you won’t find Mad Men in this area of the website,… Read More

While the number of screens and touchscreens invading our homes may seem jarring and frightening to us adults, a new study suggests that children are quite capable of adapting to our high tech lifestyle. Researchers at the University of Brostol and Loughborough University (via ScienceDaily) have been examining the effect multiple electronic viewing devices has on children and how they interact with multiple devices at a time. The results are… Read More

Besides serving as a personal organizer, calendar, bank, camera, store and just about everything under the sun for adults, the iPhone can also function as classroom, motivational tool and a toy for kids – with the right apps. Whether they’re getting antsy in the back seat and just need a distraction, or bored at home and ready to learn, give the little ones something to do with our favorite iPhone apps for kids.

In a recent survey of 2,000 parents by LAPTOP Magazine, fifty-five percent of parents admitted to using Facebook for digital snooping into the lives of their children. Another five percent would use Facebook if someone taught them how to utilize it. The most common tactic for the digital snooping is checking out the most recent status updates. Other methods of spying on their children included reading  posts on the wall as well as checking out… Read More

Teenagers are quite at ease with photos and media becoming digital, online entities rather than physical objects. In fact, virtual objects may be more important to them than some physical artifacts, according to a new study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University. Nine girls and 12 boys ages 12-17, from middle and upper-middle-class families who have access to the Internet and a good amount of technology, were questioned about their… Read More

Some of the best amateur photographers are parents. They delve into the hobby because they have a new addition to the family, and soon realize that their digital point-and-click cameras are just not good enough. Not only are these cameras too slow to capture a child’s fleeting expressions, they can’t quite capture the subtle mood of, say, a toddler asleep in a pool of sunlight on the floor. Instead, flashes reflect off this and that, shadows… Read More

Guest contributor Berna Erol is the founder of iKidApps.com, which hosts fun iPhone and iPad kids apps, as well as a wealth of tips for parents. Follow her at http://twitter.com/bernae. Since its inception, the iPhone (along with the iPad and iPod Touch) has received rave reviews from adults and children alike. A portable computer-like device that does everything but your laundry – what’s not to love? Even though we all love our iPhones, iPads,… Read More

I may not be able to find an iPad 2 yet, but a bunch of Kindergarteners will soon have them. After a unanimous approval by the Auburn school board last week, this Fall, the Maine school district will be the first in the country to equip nearly 300 Kindergarteners with iPad 2s. All children will learn basics like ABCs, 1-2-3s, drawing, and music using Apple's new tablet. Maine was the first state to equip its students with computers. In… Read More