With over 22 years as a dedicated nurse, Brandi Voss Franklin has mastered the art of caring. But her passion for nurturing doesn't end at the hospital doors. When she's not tending to patients, she's cultivating rich family moments, guiding young minds in Sunday School, leading with purpose as a girl scout troop leader, and giving back through her volunteer efforts. Yet, it's her role as a parent that has ignited a quest for meaningful connections with her own children. In the following article, Brandi Voss journeys through the ever-evolving landscape of technology, unraveling the ways in which modern parents can harness its power to not just bridge gaps, but to create a symphony of better parenting.
In a tech-savvy society, parenting and technology are often intertwined. From baby-monitoring apps to developmental milestone tracking to learning apps, modern-day parents have incorporated technology into their life in countless ways.
Brandi Voss Franklin explains how smartphones have impacted modern parenting styles and explores some recommended parenting apps.
Brandi Voss Discusses Apps for a Better Understanding of Emotions and Behaviors
For parents, developing a relationship with their child is a novel experience. Babies and young children may have difficulties expressing their feelings with words, and parents are left to interpret these cues based on their own experiences, which may lead to frustration and miscommunication on both sides.
Brandi Voss says that luckily, there are many apps to help bridge the communication barrier. The Human Improvement Project launched The Happy Child – Parenting App, one that uses
psychology, neuroscience, and pediatric research findings to help parents better understand their children. The app works on a lesson base, allowing parents to explore and learn about specific topics that best suit their child’s behaviors and needs.
Helps to Streamline Family Workflow
Parents can also use apps to help develop better workflow processes at home. Chore and responsibilities-based apps offer parents and children a routine management system that is fun and interactive.
OurHome is an app that helps manage tasks and events for families. Children and parents alike can earn points for doing certain chores and can redeem them for various rewards such as money, quality time, or books. This helps motivate children to do chores and allows them to feel valued in the collective effort of housekeeping.
Brandi Voss notes that similarly, Homey motivates children to complete their chores in the app. It allows parents to set responsibilities for each child and room and allocate a certain amount of money towards each completed chore. The app ties the individual’s earnings to an allowance and allows each child to set up a savings goal. This teaches valuable lessons like financial skills, goal setting, and how money is earned.
Keeping Track of Their Development
Online learning becoming increasingly popular amongst all ages, even for the littlest ones. With schools incorporating technology in their teaching methods, parents can help jumpstart their children’s education by bringing learning back to their own homes with the use of developmental and educational apps.
Brandi Voss Franklin notes that Khan Academy has long been in the online learning realm with its launch in 2006. With Khan Academy Kids, children ages two to seven can utilize interactive and engaging lessons. The free app is a favorite amongst parents who want to help their children develop skills in core subjects like writing and literacy.
Kinedu is an app for baby development and playtime guidance. The app gives new parents playtime ideas as well as a
tracker for developmental milestones. In addition, the app offers a community-based support system where parents can seek advice and support from other parents and/or experts.
Supporting New Parents
In a
study on the usage of parenting apps, researchers found that this technology played an important role for new parents due to their accessibility and convenience. For new moms, parenting can be difficult as they navigate their new role while experiencing internal changes in their bodies combined with a lack of sleep. Carol is a free app that offers new moms a community support system readily available for them. New moms can utilize the “Ask Carol” AI Chatbot to ask any questions related to pregnancy, postpartum, and more. This also allows other mothers to share their stories and advice, building a virtual community for new moms in need.
Brandi Voss Franklin notes that additionally, there are apps to help parents document feeding and sleeping times, developmental milestones, and health-related issues. Baby Tracker - Sprout is one that keeps it all organized for parents. With the inputted information, the app can identify patterns and trends and provide tips and recommendations. It can serve as a handy tool to bring to doctor’s appointments, housing all the important trends and milestones of the newborn child.
In Conclusion
Parenting apps have instrumentally changed the lives of new and seasoned parents. The convenience and accessibility allows parents to incorporate it into their daily lives, from documenting important milestones of their babies to helping young children develop long-term goals and responsibilities.
With the technology consistently evolving, the role of parenting apps will only continue to exist as more and more parents lean to them for aid, community, and learning.
