The Best Smartwatch Apps for Parents
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Do you use smartwatch apps for parents? A few examples are Cloud Baby Monitor (iTunes), Feed Baby (iTunes and Google Play), and Baby Tracker (iTunes). We’ve previously discussed meal-planning app for working moms and apps that help working moms stay connected to school or daycare — but not specifically smartwatch apps for parents.
A couple of years ago, The New York Times’ KJ Dell’Antonia asked (at the NYT’s now-defunct Motherlode), “Is Your Child Your Excuse to Buy an Apple Watch?”
She wrote:
We can count on Apple, and app developers, to find ways to make the Apple Watch indispensable for parents that go beyond staying constantly connected. For now, there are some fun (pregnancy monitoring apps) and some convenience (you can monitor volume and other settings from the watch while your toddler watches the Nick Jr. app on your iPhone). For parents of teenagers driving some models of post-2014 Volkswagens, there are serious monitoring possibilities: The watch can alert you if the car leaves a designated area or exceeds a preset speed limit. The future holds watch-enabled baby monitors and, surely, virtual toddler leashes. Already, a parent and a teenager could use Apple Watches to stay more closely connected — if, that is, you’re willing to spring for a second watch.
For parents, the option to use apps like these isn’t the only benefit of a smartwatch. A mom who recently wrote a piece for Parents called 6 Ways the Apple Watch Elevates My Parenting Game noted that she can use it as a remote for taking photos of herself with her kids (how many of us have tons of pictures of our children without us?), for example, and it helps her find her phone when she can’t remember where she put it. Another mom wrote a piece for Baby Rabies called 10 Ways My Apple Watch Makes Life As a Parent Easier — for example, her watch alerts her to calendar reminders with a small buzz, and she can make or receive calls on her watch while one of her kids is playing a game or watching a video on her phone. (How cool is that?)
What are your favorite smartwatch features that make parenting easier? What do you think are some of the best smartwatch apps for parents in 2017?
Picture via Stencil.
I don’t want to be a negative nancy, but I can’t help but think “you can just get all these apps on your smartphone”. There’s no real need for or anything really special about the smartwatch itself.
I recently got a “hybrid” smart watch, aka a watch that does not look like a smart watch (no digital screen) but has some smartwatch features. I just don’t like the look of traditional smart watches.
My hybrid watch will buzz when I get a call or text and the hands move to a number on the face (each contact has a designated number). I can’t read the message on the watch, but it helps me know if it’s worth getting my phone out of my bag or if it can wait. I can also use it as a remote for photos which I’ve loved, and it has the tile feature that allows me to find my phone if I’ve lost it. I can’t do voice calls or anything with it, but I highly recommend a hybrid option for those who don’t like the look of a traditional smartwatch.
Anyone have a recommendation for the best Apple watch app for tracking nursing and/or baby sleep schedules?