ParentApp Tanzania

ParentApp for Kids provides parents and caregivers with the guidance and resources they deserve to raise healthy and resilient children. The app supports parents to build strong relationships with their children, while providing easy and effective strategies to enhance children’s development. With the ParentApp library, parents can access more than 60 children’s books, along with guidance for sharing books and stories in ways that boost children’s learning.

ParentApp for Kids was built by researchers with the help of feedback from parents and caregivers.

It supports parents and caregivers to:
● Take care of themselves and deal with stress
● Connect with their children and spend quality time together
● Create a positive and supportive learning environment for children
● Enhance children’s learning through play
● Talk and communicate effectively
● Build the skills children need to cope with challenges
● Encourage children to explore and learn from the world around them

ParentApp includes a variety of useful features:
● Interactive Modules: ParentApp introduces essential parenting strategies one-by-one, using a series of interactive modules accompanied by suggested home activities. This format makes it easier for busy parents to access resources and guidance as and when it suits them throughout the day or week.
● Audio and Visual Features: ParentApp uses a range of audios, visuals and video clips so that parents can learn through listening and watching, rather than just reading. This feature supports all caregivers, including those with low literacy to access and engage with the app’s content.
● Access to Digital Picture Books: The ParentApp library includes more than 60 digital picture books, designed to capture the attention of young readers, that parents can share and read with their children.
● Home Activity Suggestions: ParentApp provides ideas for book and play activities to promote shared experiences between children and parents, while creating opportunities for learning.
● Access to Supportive Resources: The resource centre provides activities and resources to help caregivers feel more supported and informed. Resources include activities for managing stress, activities to support children’s learning, income-generating activities and contact information for local support services.
● Community Support: Users can join facilitated WhatsApp groups where they can share experiences, seek advice, and build a support network with other caregivers.
● Offline Accessibility: Recognizing the challenges of limited internet access in many regions, ParentApp is designed to function largely offline. This ensures that caregivers can access key content without needing a constant internet connection.
● Video Streaming: To accommodate users with limited memory space on their phones, video clips in ParentApp can be viewed via streaming rather than downloading video content onto their phones.

ParentApp for Kids was developed as part of the Global Parenting Initiative (GPI), with funding from the LEGO Foundation. The GPI supports the rapid development and evaluation of open-source, playful parenting programmes based on the Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) Suite. PLH is a worldwide collaboration between parenting experts from Universities in South Africa and the UK, UNICEF, the WHO and African NGOs and families all across Africa.