Essential tech for the digital mother

Motherhood is a beautiful and profound journey. But let’s face it, it’s a full-time job that sometimes can feel overwhelming.

Luckily, technological advances are changing modern motherhood by giving mothers access to digital tools to simplify parenting. From online supportive communities to platforms for finances, tracking and scheduling, learning and education, and self-care, these platforms are making motherhood easier and manageable.

This Mother’s Day, we are rounding up 10 apps for expecting, new, and seasoned mothers that make mom life organised, fun, and stress-free.

1. Flo

Flo is one of the most popular health apps for women worldwide. The app tracks menstrual cycle, ovulation, and pregnancy. For women trying to get pregnant, it’s a helpful tool for fertility planning. And for moms-to-be, it gives detailed, week-by-week pregnancy tracking and information about the baby’s growth.

The app also provides daily insights that help women learn more about their bodies and well-being.

2. Baby Centre

There is no parenting manual, but if there were, then Babycentre would be it. The app is like a library of information on conception, pregnancy, birth, early childhood development, parenting, and more. Moms can join communities of parents experiencing the same issues they are and find information on wide-ranging topics such as parenting styles, money, work, travel, birthdays, siblings, and so much more. The platform even sends mothers newsletters on what to expect at every stage of their child’s life.

3. YouTube Kids

With so much content available in the palms of their little hands (of course during screen time), YouTube Kids offers a colourful and fun space for entertainment.

To keep their kids safe, moms can create profiles for their kids, approve the content they watch, and set a password restricting them from searching for content they are not supposed to consume. They can also set a timer for how long they can watch their favourite shows, whether it’s the classic Tom and Jerry, world-famous Cocomelon, or the television series Peppa Pig and Bluey. The app is easy to navigate, and you can also download videos to watch offline.

4. Nanny Cams

Nanny cams are often a topic for hot debate, but for mothers who are comfortable using them, they offer peace of mind while they are away from home. Nanny cams are connected to apps through Wi-Fi and allow moms to remotely oversee the safety of their children, making them feel connected to their kids. These cameras are also moms ‘ eyes and ears on the ground, courtesy of two-way audio and high-definition video. Some apps in this category include EZVIZ, TDSEE, and V380 Pro.

5. Baby Monitors

A baby monitor is another gadget that can relieve a mother’s anxiety in the early months of parenthood. A baby monitor allows a mother to monitor their child while they are not in the same room. It’s like a radio that listens to a baby’s sounds, and in some gadgets, it includes a camera for video. The transmitter is placed near the baby’s cot, and the mother carries the receiver, which has either video, audio, or both.

Baby monitors have corresponding smartphone apps to allow mothers to view their babies remotely. BabyCam, Cloud Baby Monitor and Dormi are some of the popular ones.

6. Google Family Link

For moms looking to balance their child’s screen time and online safety, the Google Family Link app is a solid option for parental controls. Once downloaded from the Google Play Store, moms can manage permissions for any apps the kids download or websites they visit. They can set screen time limits, approve or block the content they watch, edit the child’s personal information, and, when necessary, even delete their account. Additionally, they can keep track of the child’s device location. Similar apps include Apple’s built-in Screen Time feature, Microsoft Family Safety and Bark.

7. M-TIBA

Still on finances, healthcare does not come cheap. However, with as little as KSh10, mothers can save for their family’s healthcare costs, little by little, instead of waiting to pay through the nose when a member is taken ill.

Funds saved on the app can only be used for services at specific medical institutions that carry the M-TIBA logo. Saving on the platform is easy, as one can transfer money from their M-PESA.

8. WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook

Social media apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook give mothers access to online communities where they can share the joys and frustrations of motherhood. For most moms, sharing or reading about other moms’ experiences eliminates the sense of isolation. Facebook, for example, does not run short on groups dedicated to motherhood and parenthood that tackle topics such as breastfeeding, weaning, starting preschool, nannies and job opportunities for parents.

Instagram is also a cool platform for moms to see how other content creators who are moms navigate motherhood.

9. Huckleberry

One of the most precious things in the early stages of motherhood for moms, apart from the baby, is sleep. With the help of paediatric experts and AI, Huckleberry helps mothers track their babies’ daily activities such as sleep, feeding and diaper changes, taking the guesswork out of the routine stuff usually done for the baby. Once a profile is set up for the baby, the mom logs in sleep patterns, and the app predicts when they’ll sleep next, eventually creating a sleep schedule.

10. Fitness apps

Motherhood is an all-consuming full-time job, and moms regularly need time to take care of their bodies and recharge. Plenty of great fitness apps support any mother’s fitness journey, including those preloaded onto smartphones like Samsung Health or Fitness. Others, like Step Up, Nike Run Club, and Google Fit, can be downloaded. Most of these apps are free, but one can subscribe to paid plans to unlock robust workout routines.

From tracking fertility, entertaining children, and saving for the future, options abound for the tech-savvy modern-day mom. These applications are making motherhood practical and fun while empowering mothers with information.

This story was first published by Safaricom Newsroom