I’m a Luddite—But I’ll Still Let My Daughter Use This E-Learning App

Full disclosure: My family is a bunch of Luddites. We’re late adopters of new technology, non-gamers, and reluctant distance learners. But we do occasionally use educational apps at home, as a distraction in a car ride, or as a way to pass the time at …

Full disclosure: My family is a bunch of Luddites. We're late adopters of new technology, non-gamers, and reluctant distance learners. But we do occasionally use educational apps at home, as a distraction in a car ride, or as a way to pass the time at the dentist's office.

Educational apps are ubiquitous—my nine-year-old daughter uses them in the classroom, and her teachers used them when school pivoted online during the pandemic’s fiercest waves. And even now that school is back in session, her teachers still use Go Noodle, a YouTube-like platform with videos and games focused on wellness, mental health, equanimity, and resilience, and also Epic! Books, a digital reading platform for the 12-and-under set. Fellow Food52 parents also love Khan Academy Kids, an app that teaches core skills like literacy and writing to kids two to six. My personal favorite as a tech-averse parent though is the good old-fashioned library where we can spend hours browsing and reading books before checking out our favorites.

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This Kitchen Gadget Is the Key to Faster Family Dinner

Welcome to Kids & the Kitchen, our new landing pad for parents who love to cook. Head this way for kid-friendly recipes, helpful tips, and heartwarming stories galore—all from real-life parents and their little ones.

Halfway through 2020, that s…

Welcome to Kids & the Kitchen, our new landing pad for parents who love to cook. Head this way for kid-friendly recipes, helpful tips, and heartwarming stories galore—all from real-life parents and their little ones.


Halfway through 2020, that special parental year from hell, I purchased a high-speed blender after a late-night doom-scrolling session. Though I had publicly scoffed at the idea of “status” appliances—“No air fryer or Instant Pot will ever grace my kitchen,” I proclaimed—this pandemic purchase had me eating my words.

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