kids

Apple's privacy-respecting item tracker is like a ping-pong of good news, bad news revelations. Apple has made its AirTags so easy to use that there have been concerns about the security of the Find My network. The small discs are small enough to place anywhere but require a separate accessor to hook into objects unless you take the ill-advised route of drilling a hole. Now Apple is finding itself in a sticky situation where the AirTag's battery is being labeled as a safety hazard for kids, while replacement batteries are required to be the child-unsafe kind.

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Pfizer has published its Q2 2021 financial report, which includes some tidbits about how ongoing efforts are expected to play out in the near future. Among other things, the company brought up its COVID-19 vaccine study involving young children and toddlers, noting that we may only be weeks away from authorization for this age group.

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The animated Star Trek TV series for children that was announced last year, Prodigy, finally has a trailer, giving fans their first look at the animation style and what they can expect. The series comes from Viacom's Nickelodeon for the CBS streaming platform Paramount+. Among other things, the trailer includes a familiar voice that old-school Star Trek fans will immediately recognize.

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Netflix has announced two changes to its Kids platform, both that make it easier for parents to find something for their kids to watch and to monitor what they're streaming. As with Netflix for adults, the Kids side of Netflix is getting a Top Ten banner that reveals the shows other children in the user's country are watching. Joining the new content row is the option to get viewing habit emails.

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Gaming consoles like the Xbox are often considered to be a solitary machine for a solitary gamer, but that hasn't been the case for the past years. Consoles have even become a means by which families spend time together at home or for kids to develop skills often associated with safe gaming. The latter is an important consideration for parents who want to give their kids access to consoles and the games available for them. The Xbox Family Settings app tries to make that task less of a chore, and its newest features promise to save parents money or prevent them from accidentally losing some.

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Apple announced the return of kid-focused education sessions this summer with Apple Camp 2021. After a bit of an extended hiatus, Apple Camp reappeared this week with aims to bring children ages 8 to 12 to Apple Stores "for a safe and fun-filled adventure." The first of these sessions focuses on the Clips app on iPad, where kids will be shown how to "make movie magic with short videos" using the app.

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Amazon has introduced a new Alexa feature it describes as a "learning experience," and it's called Reading Sidekick. The functionality is targeted at kids ages 6 to 9, helping them learn to read independently for enjoyment. The feature works with Echo devices that have the Kids feature enabled, though you'll also need an Amazon Kids+ subscription to use Reading Sidekick.

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Roblox, the online game platform that is popular with kids, is home to another destination full of mini-games and fun: the Starcourt Mall from Netflix series Stranger Things. Startcourt Mall is now part of the Roblox metaverse, according to the company, which says players now have the opportunity to explore the fictional shopping mall in an exclusive experience.

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Vegetables, with all of their beneficial plant chemicals and high levels of fiber, play an important role in health. Despite that, many people don't get enough vegetables in their diet, particularly children who may find the texture or flavor of these plant foods less than appealing. Many methods have been developed in an effort to increase a child's vegetable consumption, but few are as simple as the one reported by Penn State.

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It's almost hard to believe that Tamagotchi is already 25 years old now, but that's exactly what the franchise is celebrating this year. Despite all the advancements in technology, especially in toys, brand owner Bandai still believes in the joys of a simple egg-shaped device that houses a virtual pet. That said, there is always room for improvement and that seems to be what the Tamagotchi Smart is trying to present, putting the same pet-raising experience in a smartwatch form, complete with touch and crude voice input.

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Certain pockets of society have been demonizing video games for decades, accusing them of everything from making kids stupid to increasing rates of violence. Actual research into gameplay among kids tends to turn up the opposite, however, with past studies linking video games to increased motor skills, improved problem-solving skills, and other positive things.

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A common cold virus called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is unusually active in southern regions in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control. This virus, which can cause serious illnesses in some people including young kids, is typically active in the fall and winter seasons. However, due to pandemic-related changes in society, the virus is now appearing later than usual.

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