Parenting Apps That Help Us Get Through Our Days

By 2021, I would have thought robots would be placing coffee into my hand, dressing the children and getting breakfast on the table before I even make it down the stairs.

Alas…

Although technology presents some challenges, there are many tools that can help make life easier. Especially as parents. Here are a few apps and tech tools that have helped my family manage our days.

Cozi (family calendar tool) — Think color coded whiteboard calendar, but make it virtual. Chris and I have used Cozi for close to four years now. We put everything in this calendar. Kids’ daycare/school schedules, work travel, big meetings that help the other person know they are on point for drop off, and social events. Cozi and many of the other platforms also have to-do lists (that you can task someone with — I could write a whole separate blog on this topic), shared grocery lists, and more. Cozi also became a central tool when Chris and I were rebuilding our own social lives post babies. It allowed us to see our schedules and drop “Lauren Dinner with Friends” or “Chris Basketball” in without consulting the other person. Our agreement has been “if the time is free in Cozi, then go have fun with your friends.” Gone was the guilt of “oh you didn’t remember I was having dinner with Jenna tonight?” or “Yes, the soccer game is at 8:15 today” — because it was on the calendar. This app is a fave.

OfferUp, FB Marketplace & Buy Nothing Groups — Having moved several times in the last few years, I have become a huge fan of shopping and selling items locally. I love how easy this is to do. I have been able to offload furniture that did not fit into our new space and at the same time purchase second hand items for great prices. Between Offer Up, Facebook Marketplace and the Buy Nothing groups, I have found so many amazing deals to put together home classrooms and offices very cost-effectively. This is also a great place to share baby furniture or items once your child is finished using them. The local Buy Nothing groups on Facebook have also been an incredible community where people offer out of generosity and gratitude for what we have. It is refreshing to see.

Think Dirty Shop Clean — We have made many swaps on our home toward non toxic living from cleaning supplies to secondhand shopping, but sometimes the choices are not always clear. Apps like Think Dirty Shop Clean can be really helpful when you are looking for new options for you and your family. Think Dirty allows you to search beauty and wellness products and learn about unknown toxins in the products with a rating system. You can even scan a barcode label in the store and the app will pull up information. A tool like this is really helpful because often I don’t remember to do the research until I am down to the last pump of the lotion and need to find a replacement. Environmental Working Group (EWG) also has a Healthy Living app that you can use for similar research. And they are adding to their list of products all the time.

We hope these help you as we move into 2021. We would love to hear about your go-to apps for parenting!

xx

Lauren Gregor is the founder and CEO of Rent-a-Romper, a rental clothing company for babies and toddlers that’s helping moms get through the early years. Because parenting is hard enough. Learn more and join Lauren’s community of parents here.