We all know being an up-to-date parent is like being hired for a new full time job that you need to stick with for the rest of your life except that instead of a paycheck, you get the happiness, kindness and genuineness your children share. Nonetheless as any regular job there are times when it can be wearing and frustrating.
Well, you can avoid some of those frustrations if you have some of these helpful, parent-friendly apps on your smartphone. Some of them might not actually help directly, but at least they can make your life as a parent a bit more entertaining.
Top 7 Apps New Parents (and those with more experience) Can’t Do Without
Toytoy
Are you among those who suffer from the typical chronic disease that infects almost every parent during Christmas? This app is intended to end with your sleepless nights thinking about your child’s next gift.
It is an endlessly curated toy catalog that lets you create shareable wishlists, check your friends’ lists and buy toys directly if you want to. It is a must have for this year’s Christmas!
Available on iOS and Android
Feed Baby
Currently available in over 80 different countries, Feed Baby offers parents a new way to track their newborn’s breastfeeding sessions, diaper changes, pumping and sleeps. It offers an iWatch app allowing moms to live stress free from babies daily routines.
Available for iOS and Android
Pumpic
Parents of older children should look into Pumpic ($5 per month and up), a parental control app that lets you monitor your children’s apps, photos, text messages, call history, contacts, emails, and more. Parents of preteens will appreciate the features that let you track your child’s location and remotely lock devices, while those with older kids will appreciate being able to monitor messaging apps like Kik, WhatsApp, and Snapchat.
Available for iOs and Android
Scholarly
Currently available in limited markets, Scholarly (free) should be on the radar of parents of school-aged children. Like Uber for tutors, the app, started by two computer science students at the University of California, Riverside, lets you search for and hire reputable tutors for kids of all ages in real time. Tutors are available at a range of prices and with various subjects of expertise.
Available for iOs and Android
Size Me Up
Sick of comparing your unborn child’s size to various fruits and veggies on those ubiquitous baby sites and apps? Size Me Up (free) tracks the growth of your baby week to week in more humorous terms, comparing your babe’s size to a pigeon, wine bottle, Thanksgiving turkey, and more.
Available for iOs
Helpr
Think of Helpr (free) as the Uber of babysitting. While currently available only in limited California cities, the app aims to grow nationally, offering parents a way to book a screened babysitter with as little as three hours notice. Every sitter comes with a background check, references, and CPR certification.
Available for iOs
Privet
There’s perhaps nothing more valuable to a new parent than the great advice of other parents, but judgment and general meanness can run rampant through the messaging groups of many baby sites. That’s where Privet (free) comes in. The app lets you anonymously post questions about parenting (Should my baby be sleeping through the night? Is my toddler’s language development normal?) to get real-time advice. The best part? Any bullies on the app quickly get booted.
Available for iOs and Android
Even though it may be tough sometimes, being a parent is the best thing that can happen to any human being. Therefore, make sure you spend the most time you can with your little ones otherwise you will regret sooner or later. Use this list of apps as a way to leverage that time and not as a substitute. I hope that these are apps new parents, and not so new ones, will find useful.
Author Bio
Joao Duarte is a growth hacker at Build Up Labs, a startup studio. Joao is also an avid reader of Seeme and Liz. He is a dad who is used to dealing with several digital tools in an ultra fast paced world. Being a dad has made him improve his screening on apps and is what led him to write this article for the readers of Seeme and Liz.