Technology: Smart apps that can help make parenting easier

BabyBerry
Sends vaccination alerts and builds a digital health record that can be shared with anyone, anytime

While being a good parent is a learning curve with its shares of trials and errors, certain issues especially related to health, such as vaccinations, are sacrosanct. You wouldn't want to miss an appointment at any cost. Now, if only an app could offer constant alerts for the vaccination dates, your life would be a lot more easier, right? Thankfully, you can download the app, Babyberry to do just that and more. This new-age parenting app allows you to stay updated about the needs of your child's healthcare needs, including receiving timely vaccination alerts on your phone.

Share health records
The app is available for free download and also doubles as a digital storage space for your child's health records that could be shared with anyone, anytime, with the tap of button. So, next time when you go out of town for work, and you have your family or a nanny to take care of the child, you can use the app to make all the health records of your baby available to them, in case of an emergency. This facility can be very handy if your child has specific allergies or a health condition.

Record milestones
The app allows you to upload health records of all your children without any limitations. You can also upload test results, prescribed medicines and their dosages for future reference. The app also allows you to record growth milestones of the child including weight and height. The app comes with a growth chart based on WHO (World Health Organisation) standards to help you keep an eye on his/her growth. The chart can be used for new-born children to six-year-olds. It also offers details of nearby healthcare service centres as well as features an online shop for baby care products.

AVailable on: Android and iOS devices
Price: Free
Log on to: babyberry.com

Tinkertip
Helps discover activities for your kids categorised by age group and interests

When 34-year-old Santacruz resident Neha Talesara wanted to engage her three-year-old son, Shaurya, in an activity during his free time, she couldn't find a platform that would help her discover age and interest-based activities in her neighbourhood. "Many of my friends, who are parents, also struggle with the idea of choosing activities for their kids. While they come across many activity centres and promotional Facebook posts, it's difficult to find something that's suitable to their kid's age, gender and interests," she shares. This concern led her to develop Tinkertip, an app that helps parents discover activities for kids between two to 14 years of age. And that she is an interaction designer from Ahmedabad's National Institute of Design made the app-building process easier.

Origami to aeromodelling
Available for free download for Android users, the app currently packs in 50 activities and 250 centres in areas like Powai, Andheri, Juhu, Goregaon, Malad, Khar, Bandra and Santacruz. After you log in to the app, you need to reveal your kid's age and pick three or more interests from categories like Abacus, Adventure, Cooking, Language, Gardening and even Midbrain Activation.

Based on your selection, the app curates a list of activities that include camping, skating, ballet, origami, quilling, robotics and aeromodelling. "Based on my research and conversations with many mothers, I was convinced that I wanted to build an app where the user gets a personalised experience. Say, if I have a four-year-old daughter, I wouldn't want to browse through aeromodelling classes that are meant for eight to 12-year-olds," says Talesara, who is in the process of expanding the database to other areas of the city.

Rating matters
What we particularly liked are the details provided under each activity. These include the facilities (for instance, if pick up and drop is available or if the instructor can come home to conduct sessions) as well as student-teacher ratio. It also entails reviews and ratings on parameters like proximity and value-for-money. "The ratings are provided by parents who have their kids enrolled for classes with these centres. Based on a survey that I had conducted with a sample size of over 50, I found that kid friendliness, value-for-money, the kind of instructors and proximity to their home were the most important factors that parents consider before enrolling their kids in an activity centre. So, I wanted to ensure that we reflect these ratings for the listed centres," she says. Currently, the app lists only useful content, but soon, the users will also be able to book activities through it. "As an extension, parents can buy a set of Tinkertip cards from us and try out different activities at any of the activity centres we have partnered with," she adds.

Available on: Google Play store
To buy a Tinkertip card,
Call: 9619154092