A Robot By Any Other Name

What the research on artificial intelligence tells us about why and how we humanize the devices in our lives.

The 9 stages of special needs parenting

Today I went through my monthly ritual of looking for even more Facebook parent groups to join, in the hope that somewhere is the group of people who will understand our exact set of challenges — or better yet, have the right set of solutions. It suddenly struck...

The Final Four-Year-Old

The NCAA’s Final Four may determine who rules the court, but the Final Four-Year-Old determines who rules the playground. Here’s my bracket for the 2016 Sparkle Tots championship.    

Facebook Reactions: Campaign Edition

The advent of Facebook Reactions has brought forth a remarkable range of suggestions for alternative icons; the endless presidential campaign has produced an ever-growing range of tribute memes. But if we’re going to have the reactions we need to survive this...

9 kid-friendly meals for children outside of NYC

The New York Times has posted a roundup of 14 kid-friendly meals that you can prepare in 30 minutes or less….if you have the kind of kid who likes food seasoned with anchovies, cumin or ginger. If, on the other hand, you are raising a child who does not ask to...

Dystopian fiction: What to read when you want to worry

My latest post for JSTOR Daily looks at the value of dystopian fiction to those of us trying to navigate a complicated digital world and an even more confusing future. The post mentions many of my favorite dystopian reads, so I thought I would offer a handy list of...

Wanted: A quantified child app for helping special needs kids

When you’ve got a special needs kid, you’re often trying successive strategies or interventions to help your kid develop new emotional, cognitive or behavioral skills. But if you’re also on the roller coaster of living with a challenging kid, it can...

How to lock your kids out of every device

I wrote my Ph.D. thesis on hacktivism: politically-motivated computer hacking. Interviewing fifty politically engaged computer hackers turned out to be great preparation for running a business that built nonprofit online communities, because I really know how to speak...

How to balance evening work with family life: the 2×2

Blame it on after-hours email, but it seems like the extended workday is here to stay. If your household is anything like ours, you often have work to do in the evening…and if you’re a parent, that means that work often intrudes on family time. To help...