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The Best Tech Gifts for Dad

He may protest that he doesn't want a gift, but everyone knows dads secretly love Father's Day. This year, swap the old Hallmark card and tie for one of these cool new gadgets. The handy new Game Golf software ($250) attaches to golf clubs and lets players track relevant stats, including where and how far they hit [Read More]

June 11th, 2014|Categories: Fam|

I’m Teaching My Mom A Computer Class And I’m Learning More Than She Is!

To help my Mom combat her electronic anxieties, I volunteered to teach her computer classes. I knew when I raised the idea it would be a big commitment because in order to truly succeed in this pursuit, I would be forced to challenge some of my core Gen Y character traits (or flaws, depending on which generation you’re from). [Read More]

June 4th, 2014|Categories: Fam|Tags: |

Teaching Kids Finance Through Tech

Getting kids interested in finance is kind of like forcing them to eat their vegetables. It’s important, it’s productive, it’s healthy, but it’s boring.  After your short, well-thought-out lecture about interest rates, they’ll run to their iPad and go back to playing games. So it’s time to bring finance to games. Preschool finances I know [Read More]

May 23rd, 2014|Categories: Fam|

Tips for Starting a Family Budget

Getting your family’s finances to fit within a set monthly budget is no easy task, but using personal finance tools like Mint.com is one of the easiest ways to get started. Instead of writing down and accounting for each transaction manually, the software automatically categorizes your transactions, sends you alerts, makes suggestions based on your [Read More]

May 9th, 2014|Categories: Fam|

Making Sure Internet Explorer Doesn’t Replace Actual Exploring

Honey, you’ve had enough time on the iPad for now. Why don’t you go play for a little while? I recommended to my five year-old daughter. But there’s nothing to do! She responded/complained predictably. And you’re on your phone, she added. Ouch. She was right. For all of the times I am telling her that she could [Read More]

April 23rd, 2014|Categories: Fam|Tags: |

“Go To The Library?” The New Face Of Research

My second grader had to do a report for school, her first substantive project she has had to do in the Age of Digital. Her work effort was to take the form of hand-drawn artwork on a poster board and, thanks to technology, a one minute video presentation. She selected Babe Didrikson Zaharias, universally accepted as one [Read More]

April 2nd, 2014|Categories: Fam|Tags: |

Are Parents Really Threatening Their Children’s Futures By Posting Bath Time Photos?

There has been so much put out in the world lately about how the future will look for our children, now growing up in the age of Instagram, Snapchat, YikYak, and Tinder. These are all considered to be potentially dangerous apps, with concern weighing heavily on both safety and the repercussions of what having photos taken or [Read More]

April 1st, 2014|Categories: Fam|Tags: |

Dad, I Broke The Wii…

A crash came ringing down from the play room, one that clearly didn’t sound good. “What was that?” I shout up to my son. “I broke the Wii, Dad” was his response. You broke the Wii? I hop upstairs only to find a fresh, menacing spider web crack on the 47 inch flat screen TV. “Um, no son” I [Read More]

March 11th, 2014|Categories: Fam|