Our mobile phones are becoming increasingly integral to our day-to-day lives and also (scarily) part of our parenting. How often do you look something up on your phone? Dr Google is definitely an acquaintance of mine...How many times has your little one reached for your phone or tablet? How often do you pass your phone with an app that you know will keep your little one quiet and entertained for a couple of minutes at least? Maybe you don't do this. Certainly before I was a parent I ruled out tablet use for my unborn child. But I have changed my mind in these past few months and I see how happy A is to play on a phone and experience the colours and sounds (right before she tries to put it in her mouth). So I've given in and think that a bit of supervised use on child friendly apps is probably the way to go ( I may, however, be writing another post soon about the destruction of my phone by a nine-month old... watch this space).
There are a whole host of mobile apps out there aimed at parents and children and in these past nine months I've been surprised at how many I have used. I wanted to share with you my six top apps that we have found both useful and entertaining. I hope you find it helpful :)
1.
Safe Dreams
I confess we downloaded this the first night we brought A home. We'd read somewhere that newborns feel comforted by white noise because its a familiar sound after hearing mum's heartbeat for the last few months.
Safe Dreams is a free app that plays white noise sounds like jet cabin and womb sounds. You can set the time on it too so that it plays long enough to help soothe your baby. Ideal for those first few weeks.
2.
Baby Centre
Often when you are looking on-line for information about babies,
Baby Centre ranks quite high in the search results. The
Baby Centre app is really useful as it provides daily updates about your baby and what's happening to them at different stages. There's a chat forum which can be helpful if you are looking to connect with other parents with babies of the same age and you can use the app as a picture diary of your baby too.
3.
The Wonder Weeks
The Wonder Weeks app has been created to support
The Wonder Weeks book. It breaks the book down into short, summarised chunks that are easy to read when you have a spare five minutes. The book is based on 35 years of research about the development of babies in their first couple of years and the milestones that they reach. I personally find all this very interesting and it has been a great resource to use when trying to understand A's behaviour and development. It has also helped to explain a few cranky phases!
4.
Go Baby
Go Baby is a great app for London parents. From your location it can pinpoint the closest child-friendly venues and it details if they have baby change, high-chairs and lift access. This is a fairly new app so listings are being added all the time but its particularly well set up for central London travel.
5.
Koi Pond
OK, so this is my new favourite app. So simple and is perfect for babies as they learn about cause and effect. The app is simply an interactive Koi Carp pond. The pond is full of fish and creatures and every time you touch the screen you interact with the pond i.e. scaring the fish away, splashing the water, creating ripples etc. It works really well on a tablet and I think I may be enjoying it just as much as my daughter!
6.
Rhymes
Nursery Rhymes have been brought to life and into the twenty-first century with a dose of animation and bright colours in a mobile app. The old favourites have been animated into interactive videos for your little one's amusement. In Old Macdonald, the cows parachute, the pigs play the trumpet and the farmer dances (who knew!?!).
Rhymes is an essential mobile app to keep handy when you need a break from singing!
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