Must-Have Apps for Moms
"Mommy? Remember the time you forgot to come to my preschool concert? I cried and cried. I was so sad you didn't come." Missing my son's preschool concert might be one of the biggest parenting mistakes I've ever made and not just because I missed him squeakily singing "This Little Light of Mine" with hand actions. No, it's because the gaffe convinced him—and all my other kids—that I can't be trusted to remember important things, so now they remind me of this every five minutes. Oh, and did I mention that the missed concert was four years ago? While it's too late for me, you can save yourself from a bad mom-memory (momery?) with a handy new app. In addition to managing your schedule, our favorite parenting apps do everything short of babysitting your kid. Oh wait—there's an app for that, too. Now if only they'd invent one to erase Mom Guilt...
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1. Red Rover "Red rover, red rover, can Clarabell come over?" For a playdate, that is. This new app takes out all the back-and-forth calls and frustration of setting up playdates. It will even give you ideas of what to do and places to go with your new friends.
2. Babyphone Who needs pricey baby monitors when your iPhone will not only work as a monitor, but give you a call (on another phone, natch) when it hears your baby wake up.
3. Awesome Note Although this handy scheduler, to-do list, calendar and note taking app isn't just for parents, it can be lifesaver in helping busy parents juggle their to-do list, grocery list and, ahem, calendar of preschool events without forgetting a thing.
4. Oh Ranger Antsy kiddos demand car breaks, but what if you're running errands or in a town you're not familiar with? Save yourself from having to break-and-enter to get to an elementary school playground (not that I've ever done that, no...) by using this app to look up nearby parks and recreational facilities. A road-tripper's dream!
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5. Baby Daily Log Messy diapers, wet diapers, naps and milestones plus everything related to feeding, how much, when, what time, how long and—my fave—what side, are just a few of the little details that new moms often need to keep track of. This new app will help you track all of your baby's data (and even graph it!) so that the next time your pediatrician asks you how many wet diapers your infant had yesterday, you won't have to just stare blankly as your sleepless brain tries to remember yesterday.
6. Period Tracker Depending on where you are in life, this could be everything from a how-not-to-become-a-mommy app to a become-a-mommy app to a why-is-mommy-enraged app. Knowing when Aunt Flo is coming to visit helps everyone in the household. Just saying.
7. Skype If your kids won't listen to you when you tell them "No we're not going to the vending machines after swim lessons" for the tenth time, maybe they'll listen to Grandma over video chat. Of course, you run the risk of Grandma telling them to go for it, even though she never let you spend all your allowance on candy. Not that you're still bitter.
8. Angry Birds I hesitated putting the ultimate of all time-sucks on this list, but really, what parent hasn't used this one (or Fruit Ninja) in a pinch? Not only is this great for distracting kids in restaurants (so easy a toddler can play!), but we've used it as a reward for our kids doing their chores promptly (better than candy, right?) and to keep them busy during a rain-soaked camp out.
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