Best Apps & Devices to Monitor Teen Drivers

I’ve partnered with insuranceQuotes.com to share the best mobile apps to monitor your teen’s driving

Your teen has finally hit the driving age.

Before you add him to your auto insurance policy, know the effect it will have: Your premium may soar because teens lack experience to make wise decisions behind the wheel and therefore are charged higher insurance rates.

Lauren Fix, a New York-based automotive expert and author of “Lauren Fix’s Guide to Loving Your Car,” says you’ll have an easier time persuading your kids to drive safely if you use devices or smartphone apps that monitor driving behavior.

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These are popular with many auto insurance companies, says Janet Ruiz, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute. Some of these devices come with insurance discounts.

“They help teens to drive better and give parents opportunities to help them learn,” she says.

A good app should be “intuitive,” says Ross Rojek, chief technology officer of GoLocalApps.com in Sacramento, Calif. That means it’s easy to use without a lot of instruction. If you don’t understand how it works, it won’t be useful.

Learn about five products parents can use to monitor driving behavior.

Apps and devices to monitor teen driving

1. Star Driver. Allstate’s Star Driver program encourages parents and teens to agree on limits about how fast, where and when teens should drive. The Drivewise app for iPhone and Android devices can alert parents by text messages when teens arrive at their destinations. The app collects data about driving speed, time of day, hard braking events and driving routes.

2. Teen Driver. General Motors has released technology that enables cars to give teen drivers visual and audible warnings when they exceed speeds preset by parents. If the warnings are ignored, they will surface in “vehicle report cards” that show how far and how fast the teens drove. To gain access, parents enter passwords on the GM MyLink telematics system. The first GM car to have this feature is the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. Reports to parents list any vehicle safety features that were used while teens were driving, such as stability control and anti-lock brakes.

Read more about the apps to help keep your teen driver safe here...

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Sometimes I Pee When I Run #YogaPantChallenge with Depend® Active Fit

So I’m assuming my title intrigued you, and you wanted to know why I possibly would write about something so personal. Bladder control issues & urinary incontinence is more common than you think, but rarely talked about. We women tend to not like admitting we have any sort of embarrassing issues right? But overall, 26% of women ages 18 and older reported experiencing an involuntary loss of urine when coughing, sneezing, laughing or doing physical activity during the last 30 days.*

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Urinary incontinence can be caused by many things – pregnancy, childbirth, stress, weak bladder muscles, etc and it can happen to anyone. . It’s happened to me.

I’ve had three kids and each time I made sure to do my kegel exercises, always cautious about laughing, sneezing, and of course running.  I cannot even begin to tell you the amount of times I had to change my pants the last few months of my pregnancy with my son – but sometimes that isn’t even enough.

Let’s go back to a few months after my son was born – I was determined I wouldn’t ‘keep the baby weight’ like I had with my first born (which I still hadn’t lost) so I purchased a treadmill I could use at home. Each day I pushed myself to do more and more, rotating between power walking and jogging. One day, towards the end of my work out when I was feeling extremely motivated about how good I was doing, I decided to really push my limits and run – like really run – the last 2 minutes of my work out. You know like the run from zombies type of run? You’re whole body is in full speed ahead motion? Well I’m running, concentrating on my breathing when suddenly I felt a warm sensation traveling down my leg. Was I bleeding? Was my leg going numb from me pushing too hard??

Yeah … it was none of the above. It wasn’t just a trickle.. It was like the flood gates opened – literally. I pulled the emergency button on the treadmill and jumped off – seriously, what had just happened?? At first I blamed it on the bottles of water I drank prior to my workout without a bathroom break – a few days later, I pushed that button to up the speed to a run and give it another try -and it happened…again.

Oui Vey.

So obviously I wasn’t going to be running a marathon anytime soon- or heck even a 5k for that matter. But going to work out with a few friends, or run around chasing the kids around the  block as they rode their bikes? I didn’t want to embarrass my kids because of something I can’t control. So I looked for something that would help alleviate that worry, and I found Depend Silhouette Active Fit Briefs for Women at Walmart. 

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The Depend Silhouette ActiveFit is thin enough to be completely comfortable wherever you may go, or whatever you might be wearing (yes even yoga pants!) it’s a cotton-like fabric that comes in 2 colors (beige and black) and it’s completely smooth under clothes – it’s almost impossible for anyone to notice that you are wearing one. In fact, Depends challenged us to the #yogapantschallenge – can you tell which photo I’m wearing the ActiveFit’s in, and which one I am not?

I go to the gym and I do cardio on the treadmill and bikes, I do weights, and I do squats. I was most nervous about running and of course doing the squats (could someone hear it rustling under my clothes?) So I had my very pessimistic sister help me take some photos, and give the Silhouette ActiveFit a challenge – and we were pleased with the results.

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As you can imagine posing in a squat position while my sister is trying to take a photo of my nether regions was quite an amusing afternoon.

Now I know that most people won’t be examining my backside from this close of a proximity. However, I wanted to be as real as possible – could someone really notice? What if I was lifting and someone walked up behind me, or even worse, in the midst of a squat? Talk about awkward right?

Can you tell which picture shows me sporting the ActiveFit and which one isn’t???

Conclusion: Though an up close and personal view shows something is a little different, there is no possible way to know if it’s a Depends undergarment, or just a pad. And who really is going to be paying that much attention to my tooshie when I’m working out anyway? Or even when I’m participating in a 5k, or chasing my kids around the block?

Depend® Silhouette® Active Fit Briefs have a discrete design to make even the most self-conscience woman confident.

Don’t just take my word for it – go pick up some Active Fit briefs at Walmart and take your own #YogaPantChallenge and join the revolution!

Don’t forget to enter below for your chance to win a Walmart Activewear Gift Set!

 

Walmart Activewear Gift Sets

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Save Money and Time: Visit Your Doctor Online

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Amwell.

If you are like me you cringe at the thought of needing to go to the Doctor – not because you despise the Doctor, but because you are thinking of how much it’s going to cost you: money and time.  When you have huge deductibles in your health insurance coverage, you know you will be paying for the Doctor’s visit entirely out of pocket. Not to mention the medicines, and time off work. One need for a Doctor’s visit could easily cost you hundreds of dollars. 

If you could hop on your phone or laptop and speak with a Doctor online to discuss your problems, ailments, or questions for a small fee – at your convenience from the convenience of your own home, (or office) would you?? No more waiting rooms (and exposure to more germs) no traffic, no in-person doctor charges, or time off work. Just a virtual appointment whenever you need it 24/7 from wherever you are; only with Amwell.

When you visit your Amwell Doctor online, it’s just as easy as an in-office visit. You can use health info from your device to send your heart rate info, blood pressure and more to the Doctor for your diagnoses.  Better health is now in the palm of your hands – with Amwell!

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Amwell is the nation’s largest telehealth company, connecting you with board-certified, licensed doctors, dietitians, and psychologists for immediate and live visits online, 24/7 from any of your internet-capable devices.

 

Doctor’s have helped handle ailments such as minor illnesses and injuries, general health and wellness concerns, prescription refills, chronic condition management, and more. They employ primary care and specialist physicians and licensed behavior therapy and registered dietitians to meet patients’ health and wellness needs.

Amwell doctors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are dedicated to keeping you healthy — all from the comfort of your home!

Get your FREE visit using coupon code AMWELLHEALTH

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Amwell.

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Keeping Healthy Eyes in a Digital World

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Essilor.

I’m not quite sure what we did before computers, smartphones and instant access to pretty much everything. . I mean, I grew up in the era where there was one computer for the entire school, and there was one computer in every household (if you were lucky). We played games like Oregon Trail and we waited patiently to connect to the internet to check our AOL or juno email accounts. There wasn’t Facebook, or google, or endless hours of funny kitten videos to watch on YouTube. We watched a few hours of T.V. a week and that was the extent of our screen time. Even then we were warned to not sit too close and avoid watching T.V. in the dark so we wouldn’t damage our eyes.

Now almost every waking moment is spent looking at some screen – our smartphones, our computers at work, our laptops at home, our TV’s, our iPads, tablets and even reading is now mostly digital. It’s no wonder that headaches, eye fatigue, dry eyes, neck pain, sore eyes are more prominent than ever.

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The good thing is, there’s no need to panic or cut out electronics from your life – with Eyezen glasses. They are crafted to screen out harmful blue light from screens and eliminate digital eye strain. It allows the beneficial blue light to pass through – it also reduces glare, improve contrast and contribute to the prevention of premature aging of the eyes. Eyezen lenses are designed for our modern digital device world.

Even if you don’t have a need for prescription glasses, Eyezen glasses are available to everyone to help reduce eye strain and make sure you get the most of your screen time without the negative effects.

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At my daughter’s school they use computers, laptops or tablets in nearly every class. Add that to homework time (research and paper writing online) along with relaxing watching Netflix, watching videos on YouTube, or scrolling through Pinterest, she spends a lot of hours online. Previously she’s complained of headaches, dry eyes (the girl blinked more than anyone I had ever met) and overall eye strain. Since her new Eyezen glasses, the only headaches she’s complained about is her homework assignments!

Essilor is the world’s leading designer of eyeglass lenses, and they are committed to research and development in every Eyezen lens. Eyezen glasses are currently available through your Eyecare Professional (Eye Doctor). Visit www.EyezenUSA.com for more information and find an Eyecare Professional in your area.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Essilor . The opinions and text are all mine.

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It Works – They REALLY Work!

If you haven’t tried It Works products , you are missing out!

Wraps.

Well, this is what the wrap does. The wrap is a quick and easy treatment for cellulite, stretch marks, loose skin or any “trouble zone”! You just apply it, leave on for 45 minutes and throw it away when you’re done.

Stop wishing and hoping for someone to come to your rescue and come to your own rescue. Life is hard, we have struggles and we make mistakes but the good thing is that it’s not too late to do something about it. These people have all had incredible results. One full treatment is 1 box of 4 wraps. Watch the video posted below then I want you to Tag 2 people who you think would be interested in the wrap or ANY of the amazing products It Works offers!

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Fat Fighters!

They are great for those Friday night pizza or burger nights – take 2 pills with your heaviest meal of the day.

Fat Fighter is cactus based and blocks roughly 1/3 of the fat and carbs from that meal and helps balance your blood glucose level to reduce cravings.

I keep these babies in my purse at ALL times!!! Check out this Fat Fighter Demo

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You will be in awe at how awesome it works!!

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