kids Archives

The secret meanings behind emojis

Emojis are your digital body language, and just like in real life, one wrong move can send the totally wrong message. 😬 The right emoji adds personality, sarcasm or a playful tone. But some of these tiny icons carry hidden meanings you might not realize.

Use the 🍆 emoji to talk about dinner? Yikes. Definitely don’t send 🐱 thinking it’s just cute. Even something as simple as the 😅 emoji might read way more awkward than you intended.

One bad emoji, and you’ve accidentally turned “Thanks!” into “I’m flirting” or worse, “I’m confused and sweating.”

So before you hit send, read this. 👇 It might just save you from an emoji facepalm.

Most misused emojis

😂 Crying laughing: If this is your go-to, you’re a jokester. There’s a reason I use it with my dad jokes. Heads up, Gen Z definitely thinks it’s for old people. Oh well.

💀 Skull: It means “I’m dead,” as in, laughing so hard it just about killed you. Super popular with Gen Z and now millennials. Use it and your kids or grandkids will think you’re groovy.

🔥 Fire: If you’re constantly dropping the fire emoji, you’re all about hype and enthusiasm. It’s the equivalent of saying, “That’s awesome!”

🙃 Upside-down smiley: The king of sarcasm for those of you with a dry sense of humor. It’s the perfect way to say, “Yeah, sure … whatever.”

👍 Thumbs-up: Sorry, but it usually comes across as passive-aggressive. When you respond to a long text with just a thumbs-up, people see it as dismissive. I’ll share what I use instead below.

🙏 Praying hands: Are you using this emoji to say “thank you” or to actually pray? You’re probably a thoughtful and appreciative person. Some people still confuse it for a high five.

👀 Side-eye: Dropping the 👀 emoji in a message? You’re either curious, gossiping or hinting at something juicy.

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Meet your future robot coworker

ID 108325938 © Kittipong Jirasukhanont | Dreamstime.com

Humanoid robots have come a long way. In 2000, Honda’s $2.5 million ASIMO could barely shuffle along at 1 mph. Now, robots are running, flipping and handling customer service. Let’s dive into the robot revolution.

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Ready, set, let’s go

🥳 Amazon’s Big Spring Sale has everything for epic family fun.

Keep little ones busy with a foldable playpen (20% off) that’s easy to store. Grandparents, you need one!
When playtime’s over, toss all the toys in a sturdy toy box (15% off).
Kiddos’ first camera (20% off) reminds me of an old-school Polaroid.
The Amazon Fire Kids tablet (26% off) has built-in controls to keep ’em safe.
Level up your gaming setup with an LG 27-inch monitor (40% off).
This gaming keyboard (42% off) has fun, colorful LED keys.
Hear every detail of the action with a new gaming headset (43% off).
Rock out anywhere with a portable Bluetooth speaker (20% off).
Timber! A block stacking game (15% off) is a summer must.
OK, I kinda want this floating basketball game (15% off) for the pool.

🐶 Fetch and chase: When your pets get the zoomies, toss a glow-in-the-dark bouncy ball (41% off). Your cat would probably prefer a laser (24% off).

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The Kim Komando Show Preview: ChatGPT called him a murderer

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A man searched his name on ChatGPT. It said he killed two of his kids. He didn’t. Plus, Apple’s intelligence troubles, a warning for “Call of Duty” cheaters, and billboards in space are on the way.

Oh, this quote: Remember when Roblox’s CEO basically said, “If you can’t watch your kids, don’t let them play Roblox.” That was a PR disaster. So Roblox now lets parents block specific friends from their kid’s account. Basically the digital version of “I don’t like that kid, he’s a bad influence.”

6 years old

That’s when China plans to start teaching kids about AI, LLMs, algorithms, chatbots and the tech behind them. The goal is to inspire innovation (like DeepSeek) … and train the next generation to win the AI wars of the future. Scary times ahead, folks.

🌙 Need a bedtime story for the kids? It’s tough to get creative at 8 p.m. when your brain’s fried from a long day. No worries, just use a chatbot to tell the tale. I like to include the child’s age, interests and a theme. For example: “Can you make up a bedtime story for a 5-year-old boy about a brave knight?” Voilà, no stress to impress.

Create separate Netflix profiles: Netflix recommends content based on what you watch, so don’t let kids’ cartoons or your partner’s thrillers mess with your rom-com queue. Go to Manage Profiles > Add Profile > Name it > Continue > Save. Bonus: It also makes it easier to keep track of what they’ve been watching.

Alexa+ is here … kinda: The gall! Amazon’s new $20/month (Yikes!) AI assistant is rolling out to newer Alexa devices, but a few hyped-up features are MIA. Right now, you can order an Uber, get cooking advice and upload docs for summaries. Storytelling for kids, recognizing who’s in the room and chore reminders are coming. FYI, smarter Alexa is free if you pay for Prime.

🌲 This is tree-mendous: Nearsightedness in kids is exploding because of screens. Get this. In a study, children were placed in a classroom with tree imagery and a sky-like ceiling. After a year, they showed less vision decline than those in a regular room. Time to go outside, kids!

Dumb and dumber: Police are looking for four kids caught on camera following a bonehead viral TikTok trend. These troublemakers threw themselves against random garage doors to rack up likes and views. Homeowners are stuck paying thousands to fix the damage. Make sure your outside cams are working.

Check your kid’s phone for Zepeto: If you have kids, think Roblox meets Facebook, where people create avatars and explore virtual worlds. A mom says a predator used the private messaging feature to contact her 12-year-old daughter. The sicko pretended to be a teen, asked if she’d had sex and demanded photos. Gross.

Remember Ruby Franke? She’s an evil mommy vlogger who went to prison last year for abusing and starving her kids. New laws are in the works to stop parents from using their kids for clicks. If a parent makes over $150K a year from family content, they must put some money into a trust (paywall link). Once kids hit 18, they can ask for old videos to be taken down. About time.

ChatGPT called him a murderer - March 22nd, Hour 2

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Roblox’s CEO has a few words for you: So many horror stories of grooming and bullying in the game. The CEO’s advice for parents is simple: If you can’t watch your kids, don’t let them play. In other words, it’s not my fault there’s bad stuff happening. Nice.

👶 It’s Octomom, aka Natalie Suleman: Yep, the woman who made headlines years ago for giving birth to eight kids! Well, they’re all 16 now, and momma bear is raising them old-school and strict. No phones, no dating until 18 and zero social media.

📵 Kids glued to their phones? Pick a day or time for the whole family to unplug and spend time together. Download my kids’ tech contract for them to sign and hang it on the fridge as a reminder.

💻 Kids having tech tantrums? You’re not alone. A 12-week study points to three winning strategies: 1.) Tell kids how much screen time they have in minutes, 2.) Involve kids in activities inspired by their favorite shows, and 3.) Let kids decide on the duration of their screen time. Been there, done that. Good luck!

Tech-free zones: A friend of mine started making “screen-free areas” in their house, like the kitchen and dining table. Genius. The kids get a break from screens, their eyes get a rest, and family time actually feels like family time again.

40%

Of parents judge other families based on their screen-time rules. About a third stop their kids from hanging out with friends who have different rules. Why? No one wants to be labeled as the parent of an “iPad kid” or blamed for causing “brain rot.”