Clever & Useful

Impress Your Kids With These 10 Mom-Friendly Tech Hacks

Move over, Zuckerberg! This Technology Day, we’re stepping up our tech skills.

by Simone R. Johnson
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Crummy Keyboard Fix

Raise your hand if you eat at your computer, and the keyboard is now filled with crumbs. (This is a safe space.) If you're looking for a quick clean, use your sticky notes! Slide the adhesive end through gaps to get rid of weeks' worth of snack debris and dust.

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Quick Recharge

You’re all set to go, but wait! You forgot to charge your iPhone. No worries; quickly juice up your cell by turning on airplane mode before putting it on the charger. By turning on this feature, you shut down any energy-sucking background activity, like GPS roaming or running apps.

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Alexa to the Rescue

Alexa knows a million things — including stories. Keep the kids busy by asking Alexa to “tell a story.” For 10 minutes, she’ll entrance your kids through an adventure filled with sound effects and excitement.

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Hands-Free iPhone Photo

Sometimes you could really use both hands when taking pictures with the kids. Make it a breeze by turning on your voice command feature for a hands-free photo. Go into your "Settings," then "Accessibility," and finally "Voice Control" to set up the iPhone voice command function. To take a photo, ask Siri to open your camera and then turn the volume up or down. This will trigger the shutter and capture the moment!

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Ink Switch-Up

Printer ink can be expensive. So, the next time you run out of black ink, change the font color to #010101 for 99% gray. Your printer will switch to color ink while still basically printing in black, and you’ll save yourself a trip to Staples.

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No Storage, No Problem

When that “Storage Full” notification won’t let you take a photo, have no fear. You can still take pictures by using Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter apps. Pick one and take a pic through its camera feature. Then, instead of posting or tweeting it, exit the app. The picture will automatically save to your camera roll.

Tracking Flights

Sometimes loved ones forget to send us their flight information. If you're trying to locate someone’s flight, Google where they're flying to and from. You’ll get all the information about flights coming in from those locations like arrival time and flight number.

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The iPhone Calculator Solution

Have you ever been in the middle of a long equation on your calculator app and accidentally mistyped a number? Swipe left or right in the app to delete it. The app will still remember all the previous numbers you plugged in, and you can continue your calculations without having to start all over again.

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Battery Magic

Not sure which batteries are dead? Bounce them to see if they still have any juice. The higher the battery bounces, the lower the charge in them. It’s both strange and scientific!

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Kid-Proofing Mom’s Phone

Do you feel a ping of anxiety each time your child has your iPhone? Ease your fears by enabling guided access. This limits your phone's functionality and can even disable the volume control so they can't turn up the sound. Go into your "Settings" and click on "General." Choose "Accessibility" and enable "Guided Access." You can turn it on by pressing your home button three times, which will give you the option to disable whatever functions you want.

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