kid tech

Last week I was spending some time with my friend and her baby and went crazy with "capturing the moment" — it was photos and videos galore! After uploading all my cutesy wootsey images, I couldn't help but wonder what options there are for parents who want to create an online space dedicated to their bundle of joy, but yet don't want their kids faces plastered all over sites like Flickr or YouTube.

And with that I bring you TotSpot, a secure and safe user-friendly site that allows parents to create a private page about their kids. With this page you can post videos, photos, and journal entries to share "privately" with family and friends. How great is that?!

To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more

Got kids? Nieces? Nephews? I'm sure you can relate to my pain when I mention the words computer, kids, and curiosity. There's nothing more fulfilling than watching a toddler learn their way around a computer, but what if they are still in the smash and bash stages of early development? That's when you need Baby Smash! Baby Smash is totally free and will "baby proof" your computer/laptop when your kiddies fingers decide to play the piano on your keyboard. But what's great about it is the fact that colored shapes, letters, and numbers will appear on the screen instead of harming your computer!

This download locks out the Windows Key, as well as Ctrl-Esc and Alt-Tab so your baby can't get out of the application. And by pressing ALT-F4 you can exit the application and Shift-Ctrl-Alt-O will bring you up the options dialog. Neat, right?!

Oh, the evolving humor of today's youth: Youngsters have apparently taken to freaking out their friends and classmates by pretending to be online predators! Nine cases in Cornwall were investigated where police suspected that pedophiles on social networking sites like Bebo and MSN were actually fellow classmates of kids who weren't getting along — all around age 10.

This is really par for the course in a time when we're seeing and questioning online bullying — though these cases weren't taken as far as the Megan Meier case or the Kristin Helms case, can we really be surprised that these young kids see new possibilities to tease and torture each other with the Internet?

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For my geek mommies out there, it's gotta be hard to reconcile your love for tech without inviting unwanted information into your kids' eyes and ears. Everything scandalous is a click away on the Internet, and your TV has always posed a big too-much-information-for-little-eyes threat. Thankfully, the blessed TiVo, amazing as always has a solution: KidZone.

To see how to use KidZone, just read more

'Cause every eleven year old needs to learn the fundamentals of computer programming, there's now a board game called C-Jump that will teach them the basics of C, C++ and Java in a "cool way." With two to four players, kids will have the chance to familiarize themselves with programming languages by skiing and snowboarding all the way to the finish line.
Here's how the C-Jump creators break it down: "The child calculates number of steps in the move, including addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication of small numbers. The game helps to develop understanding of a complete computer program, formed by logical sequences of commands." Forget reading, writing and arithmetics, because for only $25 little Bobby can fast-track his way to a Computer Science degree!

I may not quite yet be in the baby-makin' part of my life, but I absolutely melt for geeky baby onesies! On a blustery afternoon in San Francisco, I hit up adorable stationery store Lola in the neighborhood of North Beach to find these ridiculously cute onesies perfect for the baby geek — or baby of geeks — in your life. I've seen a variation on the I Poo'd onesie before, but come on, that doesn't get old. I especially love the Goo Goo outfit (and look at the search bar for "ga ga"!) and "My dad's a geek" is great, but what about "My mom's a geek"?

Anyway, if you can't get to San Francisco, find Lola's baby gifts online, where most of the same styles I drooled over can be found.

Most kids love cameras, but few parents want to pass off their pricey devices to a 4-year-old, who is more likely to take pictures of ants than family members or a sunset. That being said, photography is a marvelous art form for kids to test out and the earlier they hone in on their eye for photo-worthy moments, the better photographer they will become.

While Disney has the market cornered on licensed character cameras, there are plenty of fun, novelty cameras that look slightly more authentic and professional than those with The Cheetah Girls or High School Musical labels. The Lomography Fisheye Camera, $38, is not only inexpensive and durable, but it's a collectible, limited-edition Lomography camera has a 170-degree view that compacts everything into a distorted circular image. It turns regular pictures (like those taken by experimental tots) into introspective pieces of art.

I may not be a mommy just yet, but with the recent launch of lilsugar and adorable Katie Sugar at the office, I am officially kid obsessed! And what better way to kick off the 2007 holiday gift guides then with some of the greatest gadget gear for parents-to-be.

I've compiled some of my favorite gadgets for new parents below, including things like digital baby monitors and iPod speakers for your stroller to bigger-ticket items like the Flip Ultraseries Camcorder for capturing all those memorable firsts.

Definitely great gifts to give this Christmas for those who are expecting. Check out the rest below!

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I know I've talked about other great downloads for baby-proofing your computers, but I have to say this one definitely stands out from the rest. Baby Shield is a Mac application that protects your laptop, programs and files while it is running and while your curious and inquisitive baby decides to use your keyboard as a drum set.

And not only does Baby Shield safeguard important documents, but it displays images and music whenever the keyboard is pressed by your baby - love that!

To learn how to post your favorite sites to the Download of the Day group, read more