i got a smartphone (android) a few months ago after the bird casually tossed my trusty dumbphone of three years into a nearby glass of water. i loved my dumbphone. it was just my speed. but i finally gave in to my husband’s smartphone evangelism after i enrolled in the reframe productivity system(which champions the smartphone/electronic calendar business). andy proudly presented me with this:

it was kind of like giving a pogo stick to a dog.

it took me about three weeks to figure out how to consistently answer the phone when people called. i’ve mastered this feat now. the current problem is that my crazy hair brushes against the screen while i’m talking. it hangs up on people, dials china, and downloads apps all by itself.

are you sure you want to read any further? my HAIR is leading me into the nether universe of apps, people.

i feel like a kid again. specifically, the kid whose next door neighbor got an atari for christmas — the kid who observed the big boys playing for hours before finally sneaking a turn at pac-man.

since i started this blog, many of you have written to me about how your smartphones (and all of their various  apps) are actually making parenting easier. so, it is with great naivete and technological ambition that i report this list of helpful apps for parents, compiled from various emails, blog comments, facebook posts, and internet research.

 smartphone apps for parents:

for occupying the kiddos:

 recommended by parents of two-year-olds:

– toddler lock (android)

– angry birds (iphone) & angry birds lite beta (android)

– the hatch (iphone) & hatch (android)

– first words (iphone) & first words (android)

– i hear ewe (iphone) & animal sounds (android)

recommended by parents of three-year-olds:

– wordgirl word hunt (iphone)

– cake doodle (iphone) & birthday cake (android)

– monster trucks nitro (iphone) & monster truck rally (android)

– memory (iphone) & snoopy memory game (android)

recommended by parents of children ages three through six:

– facegoo (iphone) & liquid face lite (for android)

– teachme kindergarten (iphone) & kindergarten master (android)

recommended by parents of kids ages five through eight:

– themed puzzles such as this princess puzzle (android)

– sheep abduction (iphone) & abduction! (android)

 

to salvage the remnant of your brain while your little darlings are in their little smartphone trances:

– npr news (iphone) & npr news app (android)

 

health:

– baby activity logger (iphone) & baby esp (android): record your baby’s eating, sleeping, and diapering patterns and share data with your partner.

 

shopping:

– wootwatch‘s “kids” tab (iphone) & today’s woot ‘s “kids’ tab (android): check out the latest kid-related bargains.

 

productivity:

– grocery gadget (iphone) & mobisle notes (android): create and share electronic grocery lists with your partner. arranges items by store location, and cross them off as you go.

 

leisure:

– b & n ereader (iphone) & laputa book reader (android): wide selections of free download-able books.

 

and if you haven’t had enough already, check out babble.com’s top 50 iphone apps for moms and helium.com’s top ten android apps for busy moms.