Do you know you can send text, image, and video for FREE with iMessage?  iMessage is a free service from Apple.  Communications between iMessage users are free via WiFi.  You can have iMessage on iPhone, iPod, iPAD, and your MAC computer with OS X Mountain Lion. How to set up iMessage?   On iPhone, go to “Setting”, then “Message”.  You will see a screen like below.   Usually, iPhone automatically turns on iMessage during activation.  If not, turn it “On”… Read more

Even if you don’t like games or never played Angry Birds, you probably have seen those red birds somewhere – toy store, candy store, …  I have heard two completely different opinions about Angry Birds from parents.  Some think it is a great educational game.  Some believe kids are wasting time playing Angry Birds.  As you can guess, I am in the first camp.  I think Angry Birds is a great physics game.  If you are interested, here is an… Read more

I had the App “Find my friend” on my phone for a long time, but I did not use it until recently.  All incidences were quite interesting.   I thought I should share with everyone. First incidence: found family members at a busy outdoor event It was a busy event.  My husband and I went to different directions.  He called me on my cell, of course.  However, it was hard to tell where each of us was, relative to each other. … Read more

After I posted “How to Child-proof iPAD”, I got a lot questions about child-proof iPAD cases.  I did some research and found 3 cases that are good for babies and toddlers.  For iPAD cases for older kids, please visit HERE. What to consider when choosing iPAD cases for babies and toddlers: First of all, it is the drop protection.  You want a case that can absorb the shock.  Next, you want to have a screen protector that is liquid proof.  In addition, you… Read more

Do you turn off your apps every time after you used them?  If you are like me, chances are, you did not.  I believed that if you minimize the app, the app stops working, means it is off.  — WRONG!  If you just minimize the app, it is actually still running in the background and is still consuming the power.  I didn’t know about this till a friend showed me how to REALLY turn off an app. Step 1. Double-press the… Read more

I had seen many comments from our readers about kids or someone else accidentally deleted an app from the iPhone or iPAD.  Do you know you still have the app as long as you have downloaded once, even if it is not on your device?   How to get the app back to your device?  It is actually quite simple, once you know it. 1. Go to App Store on your device. 2. Tap on “Purchased” at the bottom of the… Read more

While looking at the App store Top Grossing list, I was quite surprised to see Dragon Vale was at the top as #1.  I was surprised because Dragon Vale is a free app.  In fact the top 5 grossing apps are all free apps.  How can they make money?  Obviously, these free apps get money through In-App Purchase.  This sends a strong message to all app buyers, especially all the parents: free apps are NOT free, be aware of the In-App… Read more

Summer is approaching, what are some good apps for summer? iGameMom has some suggestions on cool summer apps for kids – fun and educational. Kids will be away from school for 2-3 months in the summer. On one hand, you do want them to relax and enjoy some down time; on the other hand, you don’t want them forget study completely. School can take breaks, but learning should never stop. Based on this believe, we picked apps that are educational, and… Read more

No matter your kids are getting a new iPad, or an old one from you, you have to child-proof the iPad before handing it to them. Most of these features are easy to set up, and they will make your life a lot easier! Below is a step-by-step guide with screen shots. Hope this is helpful. How to Child-Proof iPad 1. Get the latest update from Apple: current iOS settings have a lot valuable kid proof features. 2. Backup your… Read more

With children using the iPad, it is unavoidable to have a dirty screen every now and then, and sometimes even got food on it. How to clean the screen safely? What to do before cleaning: 1. Unplug all cables 2. Turn off iPad by pressing and holding the Sleep/Wake button, and then sliding the onscreen slider. 3. Take the iPad cover off if necessary. 4. Blow away any solid particles on the screen. Otherwise, you may get scratches on the… Read more

I created a math problem for my son when we played Tiny Tower together.   Hope you can use it for your child as well. The problem: It takes 25 seconds for the elevator to move from first floor to the 5th floor.  How long will it take it to move from first floor to the 9th floor? The correct answer is – 50 seconds.   Did you get it right?  Make sure you get it right before asking your child.  If… Read more

After playing Flight Tycoon for a while, my son is in the mood to build a city. I found Tiny Tower for him. It is not about building a city, instead it is a simulation game building a tower, creating and managing businesses in the tower. You can have apartments, tea shop, photo studio, comedy club, laundromat, … You make money from apartment rents, and from selling the products. When you make enough money, you can build more floors. One… Read more

I came across HowePrincipal’s blog about book apps. As a school principal, his evaluation is professional. I learned from his blog: 1. Book Apps is different from Apps based on books. 2. When kids are learning to read, we don’t want the animations to distract the young readers from the text. Instead, we want to have an app that help them focus on the text and better yet, remember the text. The link to his article is here… Read more

I have been partnering with my son on a game called “Flight tycoon”.  It is a game he found in the App Store, and since it is free, we downloaded for him.  At first, I didn’t pay much attention to the game.  One day, when he showed me what the game was about, I found it very interesting and educational. It is an airport simulation game.  To play the game, you have to build an airport and buy airplanes.  To keep you airport… Read more