14 Best Apps For Parents That Will Save Your Life
Since we live in an era of technology, I feel like writing a post with the best apps for parents is a must. With so many apps out there it’s getting difficult to find ones that are actually useful and worth installing.
Therefore in today’s article, I’ll share with you the best apps for parents that in my opinion are worth your time. I’ll cover all the main categories from the organization, to parental control and games. I hope you will find it helpful. Now let’s jump in.
Best Apps for Parents – Safety
I wanted to start with this one because I feel like it’s quite important. We live in a very dangerous world, especially when it comes to the internet. Our kids are not safe online and there are quite a lot of dangers that we probably don’t even think about.
FamiSafe
Looking for parental control apps? I think FamiSafe is a great option for you. Although I think is best for slightly older kids, you can still use some of its features for younger kids as well. Nonetheless, it’s a great app to have on hand in order to ensure your child’s safety, especially online. It’s no secret that nobody is safe online where cyberbullying, pornography and pedophiles are always looking for young victims.
A similar thing happened to me, around 16 years old, I would just go on blind dates with people I “met”online without even realizing the dangers. I feel so thankful that nothing bad has happened to me. I am even more grateful that these apps exist. This way we can make sure that our kids are safe at all times.
Here is everything the app can do:
- create a new safe profile on your child’s device
- enable content blockers that will stop your child to get unwanted information via the internet browser
- will check the gallery for unwanted or suspicious images
- set up notifications when your child arrives home
- block harmful websites on your kid’s device by selecting certain categories such as adult, drug, weapons, adult, etc
- block certain apps according to age groups
- it has YouTube content detection that will scan all your child’s subscriptions, comments, likes and so on.
- set up a screen time limit
- create smart schedules that will enable you to decide when and where to block your child’s device. This is great when doing homework or they are at school
- it even shows the battery percentage on the map
Sounds like something you are interested in?
Click here to download the FamiSafe app and to GET YOUR 3 DAYS FREE TRIAL. Feel free to use my code LENFS20 to get 20% off on the website checkout page.
Best Apps for Parents – Financial
Plum
I have to confess that I am not good at saving money. If you are anything like me, I believe that Plum is a great alternative for you. It is your online chatbot assistant that will help you save some money without even noticing, or thinking about it.
I’ve been using it for about 2 weeks now and I like it. With the help of this app, I learned that there are cheaper gas and electric suppliers out there. And so far the app has saved me around 200 pounds per year. It may not be much, but when you are a parent anything is super helpful.
So how does it work? Plum will analyze your spending and will help set you aside money without even thinking about it.
You only have to accept and the app will do the rest.
RoosterMoney
Another app for older kids that will help you teach them the value off money. It can be used for younger kids as well because you can enable “stars” as compensation rather than money. Just as you would do for reward charts.
This is more fun for the little ones and easier for us, parents. This will transform the way you manage your child’s pocket money.
Here are some of the features and benefits:
- a digital tracker that will let your child keep track of their money or stars for toddlers
- kids can log in to manage their money
- your child can save money towards a goal – eg buying a bike
- help them make good decisions when it comes to purchases with the use of Spend, Save and Give pots
- you are in control of the rewards and you can decide in which category the reward will go
- easily make transfers within the app
- add your partner involved
Best Apps for Parents – Organization & Productivity
Cozi
It is a family organizer app. I discovered it a few weeks back and I like it a lot! You can organize everything into a single app.
Here are some of the key features of the app:
- keeps your family’s schedule into a single place
- add grocery lists, to-dos, and chores
- add & store your favorite recipes
- get meal ideas
- plan your weekly meals
- use as a journal to capture certain memories and share them with other family members or friends
- available in the paid version only: possibility to store contacts and birthdays
Best Apps for Parents – Tools & Lifestyle
Hoop
If you are in the UK and you’re looking for events, activities or playgroups for children, Hoop is your best friend. The equivalent of the US is Yuggler. I don’t know much about the US one, but feel free to check it out.
Key features of Hoop app:
- addressed for kids from newborn to 11 years old
- over 400 types of activities per your location
- you can read parent reviews
- there are no ads
- includes free and paid activities or events
- you can book to events within the app
- you can filter the activities to match your own requirements, this will help you find the best activities for you and your family
- browse through activities by days or dates
Click the below image to find out all the activities listed in the Hoop App
Photomath
It is a math camera calculator. Great for students, parents or teachers. At first, I was a bit skeptical about this app. You want your child to learn math, not let some app do the work for them. But we all know how difficult solving math problems can be especially when you, as a parent, don’t really have math skills.
This makes it great for parents to assist your child in solving a problem. It not only solves the problem for them, but it will give step-by-step explanations on how to solve it. Which makes it a great tool for learning. Honestly, I wish I had this app growing up, math wasn’t my forte.. 🙂
Here are some of the key features of the app:
- will help you interpret problems with comprehensive math content (arithmetic, calculus)
- instant problem solutions
- good for both handwritten and printed text
- will drive learning and understanding of math concepts
- step-by-step explanations and solutions about how to solve the problem
- learn as you go
- it comes with animated instructions which makes it more relatable for the kids
- help and support with a wide range of math problems
Free Prints, Photobooks, and Photo Tiles
Photos can easily be lost when stored digitally. That’s why I like to backup my images and keep a copy on at least 2 different places. I store them on my PC and on an external hard drive.
But our photos get even more love when printed. Ever since my son was born (in 2017) I gathered thousands of images. Of course, not all are perfect, but it’s always good to have them on hand to show them to friends and family when they come for a visit.
Prints can get very expensive, therefore these free prints apps are just the best thing ever. Free Prints is mainly for the UK, but I am sure you can find other alternatives for the US. Just by doing a quick search I found Snapfish
Free Prints also has Free Photobooks and Free Photo Tiles
Key features of the app:
- only pay for postage
- up to 45 free 6×4 prints per month
- no subscription required
- no commitments
- every once in a while you get free bonuses – free personalized cushion, free canvas, free mug, etc
- you only pay for extra images, other print sizes, and delivery
Use my link to get 45 prints per month AND an extra of 5 prints every month – this makes it a total of 50 FREE PRINTS PER MONTH!
Lifecake
Share your baby pictures easily with family and close friends using Lifecake. It’s super helpful especially if you live far away from your relatives. You don’t have to send images individually anymore, all you have to do is upload your images to this app and they’ll get a notification whenever you added a new image.
I used it back in the day, right after my son was born, but for some reason, I stopped using it. I even changed my phone and I guess I kind of forgot about it.
Key features of the app:
- share all the images with your loved ones in a single place
- say goodbye to individual image sharing in Messenger or Whatsapp
- only invited members see your uploads
- build your child’s timeline from bump to present
- each image will show the exact age of your child – it will use the date the image was taken, not the upload date
- create photo books of your uploaded images
- easily track milestones
- pregnancy tracker
- you can choose your favorites
- filter per child, if you have multiple children
Download on App Store
Download on Android
Art Kive
Do you want a place to store your child’s artwork? Art Kive is perfect for you. I started using it for my son’s little projects and I love it. After you collect a bunch of them, you can have them printed in a photobook.
Key features:
- upload your child’s artwork
- share them with friends and family
- add multiple children
- create books, mosaics or artkive boxes
Download on Android
Best Apps for Parents – Games & Educational Apps
YouTube Kids
If you want your toddler to be safe while browsing the internet, you must use the YouTube Kids app. It’s specially created for kids where they can watch their favorite videos ad-free.
Moreover, you have control over the content your child watches online and much safer if you’re using this app.
Features of the app:
- safe for any child
- disable/enable the search function
- ad-free
- fun sounds and animations within the app
- you can set up your own approved collection
- use a timer to control how much your child is on the app
- display content by age groups
- you can block certain videos or an entire channel
- it covers different topics from arts, crafts, toys, play to shows and cartoons
Check out some of my toddler’s favorite channels:
- Blippi
- Dave & Ava
- All Things Animal TV
- Brain Candy TV
- Little Baby Bum
- Bounce Patrol
- Disney Junior
- Machines for Kids
- Free School
Homer Apps
Homer Stories & Homer Reading are two products that are great learning tools for any child from 2 to 8 years old.
All the activities are designed as a path, so with every video, your child watches it unlocks another one. What it is even better is that your child gets points or rewards towards the end of each clip.
Key features of the apps:
- an effective product that will show you results
- personalized per your child’s passions and interests
- learn while playing
- your child can either listen or read by himself
- interactive stories and plans
LingoKids
It is an amazing app that will teach your child the English language. It’s also available for Spanish or Portuguese speakers too. Designed for kids from 2 to 8, this app makes learning fun and interesting for the littles.
Key features of the app:
- learn while playing by using the game-based approach and interactive tutorials
- it’s full of videos, worksheets, audiobooks, games, and songs which adapt to your child’s difficulty level and pace
- parents can also check weekly progress reports
- it comes in both free and paid plan
- lots of topics that can help your child learn English – colors, numbers, ABC, planet names, time, flags, tool, etc
Final Note
These are some of the best apps for parents I use and recommend in 2020! Please feel free to share your favorite app in the comments. I am constantly looking for new and amazing apps that will make my parenting life better and easier.
