I hope that this monthly installment of our newsletter finds you happy and healthy, enjoying your fall season! Our school year rock climbing and video game making groups are flying by already!
This issue of our newsletter features some recommendations for apps that might be helpful for raising a family in the current electronic age. At Quest, we are proud to provide an innovative treatment program through our therapeutic summer camp and school year therapy groups that have been proven to reduce problem behaviors not only at camp, but in school, at home, and in everyday life. We hope that our newsletter will be a source of support and applicable information to improve the lives of the amazing children and families in our community.
Sincerely,
Jodie Knott, Ph.D.
Director and Licensed Psychologist
Quest Therapeutic Camps of Southern California
Apps to Assist with Parenting
As many of the monthly newsletters focus on parenting tips and how to make life easier for families it seems appropriate to mention some of the apps that are available that can be helpful at times for parents in achieving some of their parenting goals. There are some helpful apps that focus on how to help families monitor the safety of their children, provide reminders, and manage chores, rewards, and allowances. Some of the suggestions that I will be offering this month come from researching online about a variety of apps available, while others are direct recommendations from some of the parents I work with who have highly recommended these apps. For all of these recommendations, each parent should reflect on what they would like in an app and what is really a good fit for them and their specific family's unique needs. This list is also just a small list of what is out there and available as possible resources.
Several recommendations on this list come from Heather Leister, The Iphone Mom at www.theiphonemom.com, who has a whole website designed to evaluate apps for children and their families. Her top 50 suggestions for moms in a variety of areas including "saving money, organizing, and having fun" are available at www.babble.com. The three apps she mentions that I specifically want to call attention to are:
1. Mobicip Safe Browser--provides and alternative web browser that can restrict what your child can access online
2. iReward Chart--reward chart/incentive program tracker
3. e-Nag Reminders--schedule text message prompts
Lindsay Hutton wrote the "12 Must-Have Apps for Moms" for www.familyeducation.com. The apps on her list that I specifically wanted to mention are:
1. Mama Bear--"an all-in-one app that allows you to always know where your kids are, what they're doing on social media, who they are with, and, for parents of teens, if they are speeding." The app also provides updates about social media including notifying parents about inappropriate language, a map feature, and a chance for your child to check-in or notify a parent in an emergency.
2. iReward Chart--reward chart also highly rated above
3. Chore Pad--reward plan for chores
Code9 Mobile--Regarding teen tracking, this app was recommended online since it locates your child, monitors their contacts in the address book, curfew tools to shutdown texting after hours, text message filtering, and the ability to block certain numbers.
Recommendations from my families:
1. 360 Locator--For GPS locating, parents can use this app to locate their children, noting this app is so specific they can even see if their child is on the right side of the street when waiting at a bus stop to make sure their child catches the right bus.
2. iAllowance--a system for tracking rewards, priviliges, and allowance
3. Play Timer--an app that shuts down the electronic when their child's earned time is over
4. Kik--text messaging app
5. Teen Safe--text and facebook tracking (a parent mentioned this is a great app for android users)
6. Directive Parenting--This is a web based program, developed by Dr. Robert Field, the founder of Quest, to identify problem behaviors, create behavior programs, chart a baseline of behavior, and set rewards and consequences. www.directiveparenting.com
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