iPhone applications give us an easy way to save time in a time-strapped world. There is an app for everything, from video sharing apps like AirCastLive to exercise apps like Nike Training Club. iPhone applications have even crossed into the parenting realm and more and more modern parents are using their iPhones to train and maintain their kids.
There are typically three main reasons that parents enlist their iPhones as a kind of hand held nanny: to educate, to entertain, and to organize. Interestingly enough, many child psychologists also divide parenting styles into three categories: authoritative, permissive, and authoritarian. Broadly speaking, authoritative parents value balance and achievement, permissive parents are relaxed and encourage self-expression, and authoritarian parents prize discipline and structure. If you use the iPhone nanny, then it might be helpful for you to understand which of her applications are best suited to your parenting approach:
1. Authoritative parents want iPhone applications that educate: Authoritative parenting is all about balance, and these kinds of parents are interested in producing well-adjusted, hard-working, well-educated kids, but they also want to make sure their kids enjoy their lives. If you find yourself falling into this category, reading, spelling, and counting apps like Word Wagon, Read Along with Grover, Miss Spider’s Tea Party are worth a try because they mix learning with an element of fun.
Permissive parents want iPhone applications that entertain: Permissive parents are all about a relaxed approach that puts kids in the decision-making driver’s seat. They are also the parents you see at the grocery store, racing for their iPhones in search of cartoons to distract their toddler in the throes of a temper tantrum. Permissive parents want to entertain their children—they want to make sure they get some fun out of life. If you can identify with this parenting style, then you might want to load your iPhone with apps that give you access to cartoons and movies for kids, like Netflix and Movies by Flixter.
Authoritarian parents want iPhone applications that organize: Authoritarian parents use discipline and structure to create an efficient household. They are usually the parents who mean business and they are not afraid to use discipline. If you like structure in your house, then you might want to try some apps that can facilitate your organizational skills like the Dinner Spinner, ReQall, or JotNot. You might also want to check out the White Noise app for the times that you need to drown out the screams of your toddler in time out.
Whatever your parenting style, there are a variety iPhone applications to suit your needs. But as important as it is for us to identify our unique styles, it is just as important to define what connects us to others—in this case, to find the universals of parenthood. Nearly all parents have the desire to share their kids with family and friends, so some apps are good for parents from all walks of life. For example, the iPhone application AirCastLive is a great way to tap into the universality of the parenting experience by creating videos to show all your loved ones the important steps in your child’s life. We are all individuals with unique ways of living our lives, but we can always be united by our relationships with our families, friends and children.