Being a parent is one of life’s most rewarding, while also demanding, experiences. Luckily, there are now many apps to make parent’s lives a little bit easier, whether you’re on vacation with toddlers desperately looking for a clean public restroom, or parenting college-aged kids searching for free scholarship money. Here is a list of 6 helpful and free parenting apps.
Allrecipes Dinner Spinner
Available at: Amazon Apps; Apple Appstore; Google Play
We’ve all been in this situation many times: It’s 5 pm, dinner time, you’ve got to make a meal for the family but all that comes to mind is the same things you always make. Try Allrecipes Dinner Spinner, the world’s largest and most popular social app for food. Fnd user-generated and reviewed recipes from 30 million other home cooks like yourself. Search by keyword, key ingredients that you want to include or exclude, special dietary needs or cooking time. You can also see which ingredients are on sale in local stores, and watch more than 1000 step-by-step cooking videos with easy-to-follow instructions.
Best of Parenting
Available at: Apple Appstore; Google Play
Even the most experienced parents find themselves in situations where they can’t decide on the best course of action. When that happens, try Best of Parenting. Created by parenting coaches with three kids, this app offers straightforward, step-by-step advice on how to address more than 100 common parenting challenges, with advice based on the latest scientific research with the most effective parenting methods. Also access how-to guides to develop parental strengths and articles on how to raise happy and confident kids.
ChoreMonster
Available at: Amazon Appstore; Apple Appstore; Google Play
Most parents want their kids to do household chores. And rightly so. Research shows that doing chores enhances kids’ self-esteem and sense of family responsibility, which strengthens family bonds. How do you encourage kids to do chores? Try ChoreMonster. Using this app, assign your kids daily chores, approve the tasks when they are done, and offer rewards for a job well done. You can set up separate accounts with different chores for each child. The app allows customized photos of tasks, like how to put toys away, which is especially useful for young ones who haven’t learned to read yet.
Cozi Family Organizer
Available at: Amazon Appstore; Apple Appstore; Google Play
Cozi Family Organizer is a total family organizer. It has a shared calendar to track everyone’s schedules, both individually and as a group, and a shared shopping list where you can see when items are added to the list or purchased by other family members in real-time. You can also use the app to send automated daily or weekly agenda emails to other family members, create specialized to-do lists, such as the need for supplies or vacation packing reminders, and organize receipts in one place that’s accessible to everybody.
Scholly
Available at: Amazon App; Apple Appstore; Google Play
The time may be around the corner or far off into the future but when it does arrive you will likely need money for college. Wouldn’t it be nice if at least some of that money comes from scholarships that you won’t have to pay back? Developed by a former Drexel University student who amassed $1.3 million in scholarship funds, Scholly is a database with more than 20,000 US scholarship opportunities, which is continuously expanded and updated. Look at individual scholarships to learn more about eligibility requirements, the application process, important deadlines, and the amount of money offered.
SitOrSquat
Available at: Apple Appstore; Google Play
When travelling with kids, especially toddlers, there are few things more frustrating than not being able to find a public restroom when you really need one. SitOrSquat is a location-based app that leads you to find bathrooms in your location. The app contains a user-generated list of more than 100,000 public restrooms throughout the U.S. Get the travel time to the nearest bathroom, and search by specific features like changing tables or handicap accessibility, and you are encouraged to post pictures and rate the restrooms as either “Sit” (good) or “Squat” (not good) to help other app users.
