Julie Brannon
Here is a list of apps, sites and resources to help families reduce stress.
Headspace is meditation made simple. Install today to learn meditation and mindfulness in just 10 minutes a day.
If you enjoy Take10 and want to learn more, then you can choose to continue and get access to hundreds of hours of original meditations. These include guided and unguided lessons and range from 2 to 60 minutes long.
WHAT YOU GET
Capture your mood and improve your thinking habits through an innovative approach to journaling! Moodnotes empowers you to track your mood over time, avoid common thinking traps, and develop perspectives associated with increased happiness and well-being. A collaborative effort between Thriveport’s clinical psychologist founders (creators of MoodKit) and ustwo studio (creators of the award-winning game Monument Valley), Moodnotes is grounded in the scientifically-supported content of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and positive psychology. Includes Apple Watch app.
Moodnotes helps you to:
● Track your mood and identify what influences it
● Develop healthier thinking habits
● Learn about “traps” in your thinking and how to avoid them
● Bring new, helpful perspectives to situations
● Increase your self-awareness
● Reduce your distress and enhance your sense of well-being
This is a resource app for you to share with your child to help teach skills such as problem solving, self-control, planning, and task persistence.
Laugh and learn as you help a Sesame Street monster friend calm down and solve everyday challenges. This bilingual (English and Spanish), research-based app helps your child learn Sesame’s “Breathe, Think, Do” strategy for problem-solving. Tap and touch to help the monster friend take deep breaths, think of plans, and try them out! Your child will enjoy silly animations and playful interactions as she is exposed to important emotional vocabulary, a calm breathing technique, personalized encouragements, and more!
Pomodoro Timer helps you boost your productivity using the Pomodoro Technique™, one of the most effective time management methods out there. Not only will you get a fully configurable timer that lets you customize every aspect of the technique, but you will also enjoy a clear and beautiful user interface.
There are five basic steps to implementing the technique:
1) Decide on the task to be done
2) Set the pomodoro (timer) to 25 minutes
3) Work on the task until the timer rings
4) Take a short break (3-5 minutes)
5) Take a longer break (15–30 minutes) every four "pomodori"
With this app you can:
• Set your target number of pomodoros per day
• Choose your alarm sound from 6 harmonious and clear sounds, or just leave it muted
• Customize the pomodoro length.
• Customize the short and long break length
Sync your tasks with Google and across your iPhone & iPad devices.
Never liked your tasks app? You’ll love this one :)
MAIN FEATURES
● Sync your tasks with Google Tasks.
● Sync tasks between your iPhone & iPad devices.
● View your tasks and calendar events in one place.
● Keep your tasks organized with subtasks.
● Location based reminders such as when you leave your office.
● Set repeating tasks such as “Pay bills” every month.
● Universal app, designed both for iPhone and iPad.
GOOGLE TASKS
● Naturally integrating into Google Calendar.
● No permanent internet connection required. The app will sync updated tasks as soon as an internet connection is available.
● Your tasks are backed up.
Not enough time for all the books you want to enjoy? Download the app by Audible, an Amazon company, to listen to audiobooks on the go.
Immerse yourself in a great story anytime, anywhere, by downloading from a breathtaking range of 180,000+ titles to your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad—from best sellers to classics, and everything in-between.
Now you can turn on a good book even when you can’t pick one up—on your way to work, at the gym, while folding laundry, or any other time your eyes and hands are busy.
Features:
• Transfer books to your device over wi-fi
• Chapter navigation, bookmarking, sleep mode, variable narration speed, button-free mode
• Multitasking for background downloading and listening
• Earn badges and keep track of your listening habits
• NEW! Switch between reading and listening with Whispersync for Voice (compatible Kindle app or device required)
Get the official Google Calendar app for your iPhone to save time and make the most of every day.
● A new Schedule View - See your schedule at a glance with photos and maps of the places you’re going.
● Events from Gmail - Flight, hotel, concert, restaurant reservations and more are added to your calendar automatically.
● Assists to fill in your calendar - You can quickly create events with smart suggestions for event titles, places and people.
● Different ways to view your calendar - Speedily switch between viewing a single day to getting an overview of multiple days at once.
● All your calendars in one, easy place - Google Calendar works with all calendars on your phone, including Exchange and iCloud.
Engage the whole family in fun conversation with Family Chat! Family Chat will present you with an interesting question or topic which you can then ask to your kids, family, friends or whomever. Have real, meaningful conversations.
Start talking. Grow closer.
• 200 thought-provoking, family-friendly questions
• Designed for iOS 7
• Want a different question? Swipe to the next one
• Let your kids ask the questions (and they'll practice their reading skills at the same time)
• View all the questions in a list and search by keyword
• Tap on the one you want to see the full question
• View just your favorites or see all the questions
• See your favorites at a glance
• Tap the heart to mark a question as a favorite
• Tap again to "un-favorite"
PBS’ first app designed specifically for parents, PBS Parents Play & Learn provides more than a dozen games parents can play with their kids, each themed around a familiar location – including the new “In the Garden” game, plus the grocery store, a restaurant, the kitchen, and many more.
The bilingual (English/Spanish) PBS Parents Play & Learn app makes it easy for parents to seize upon those daily “teachable moments” through theme-based interactive games and simple hands-on activities that connect math and literacy skills to everyday experiences.
The app is designed to build on a child’s natural curiosity about his or her everyday world and to encourage dialogue between kids and parents. Each game comes with a parent note that provides information about the math and literacy skills woven into the game and suggestions for effective ways to interact with a child while playing the game to maximize the learning experience.
Take advantage of the step counting capabilities in your iPhone to improve your health. Pedometer++ lets you easily keep track of your daily and weekly step counts, without any impact on your battery life. You can view your progress each day from either the iPhone app, Today View widget or Apple Watch app.
You can also set the app to dynamically show your current step count as the applications badge. This will update dynamically throughout the day.
iMore.com's iOS Health & Fitness App of the Year 2014.
** Requires an iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus **
Note: The activity data shown reflects the measurements taken by your iPhone and not your Apple Watch. Real-time access to the measurements taken on your Apple Watch is not yet possible. For best results make sure that you keep your iPhone on you as you move throughout the day, ideally in a trouser pocket close to your hips.
Storytelling on the iPad can take many forms. But no story time is more sacred for most families than the bedtime story. Finding a way to settle down at nighttime can be a struggle for many children, so for generations we have held our babes close, peered at a book together and woven the magic of countless tales in the dim light of bedrooms around the globe.
Scribd brings you a world of more than one million books, audiobooks, and comics. Start your free trial and read anytime, anywhere.
Browse, sample, and binge on New York Times bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize winners, popular audiobooks, acclaimed comics & graphic novels, and more. Starting at $8.99 per month, less than the price of a paperback.
Discover recommendations tailored to you based on titles you’ve loved, or explore hand-picked favorites from our editors. Store titles right on your device and take your library with you wherever you go.
We’re available in 80 languages across nearly every country on mobile, tablet, and web. Start your free trial today.
FEATURES
• Read unlimited books and comics
• Listen to an exclusive selection of unlimited audiobooks
• Personalized recommendations & editors’ picks help you discover new favorites
• Store titles offline to read anytime, anywhere
• Syncing across mobile, tablet, and web
Now with HealthKit! Join 2 million others with the best 7 Minute Workout app. #1 fitness app in 127 countries.
12 high intensity bodyweight exercises. 30 seconds per exercise, 10 seconds rest between exercises.
Featured by Apple in the best "Apps for Health". Lifehacker chose 7 Minute Workout in "The Best Apps That Integrate With iOS 8's HealthKit".
User reviews : "Beautiful, simple, perfect." & "Useful and beautiful!"
Voice prompted, so complete the entire workout without looking at a timer or device!
Our App Preview was chosen by Apple as one of the featured videos for the iOS 8, iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus launch, check it out!
This app is inspired by the 7 Minute Workout that was originally published in ACSM'S Health & Fitness Journal and then covered by the NYTimes.
What the 7 minute workout app does:
Practice yoga anytime, anywhere with FitStar Yoga! We’ve teamed up with internationally recognized yoga expert Tara Stiles to provide the perfect experience made just for you. From beginners to expert yogis, you’re always just a tap away from a completely personalized yoga session. Whether you’re traveling, can’t make it to the studio or simply prefer the comfort of your own home, just grab a mat and begin.
For less than the cost of pair of yoga pants, get an entire year of Premium with access to exclusive, customized sessions for losing weight and gaining flexibility, a variety of new workouts added monthly, HD video, connect to some of the most popular devices and apps, and much more. FitStar Yoga's dynamic sessions continually personalize the experience based on your feedback, goals, and capabilities -- just like a personal yoga instructor! And FitStar constantly brings you new poses to keep things fun, fresh, and fit.
SleepBot, the critically acclaimed sleep cycle tracker and smart alarm and is finally available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch! Featured in WIRED, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Mashable, and more!
SleepBot is an intuitive smart alarm and beautiful sleep cycle tracker that lets you record movements and sounds throughout the night.
Customize how you want to sleep and wake up gently each morning during your lightest sleep phase. Listen to soothing ambient soundtracks as you fall asleep.
SleepBot is the most complete sleep tracker, smart alarm, and ambient sound machine in the App Store:
Smart wake up: Gradual alarm based on movements and noise within 30 minutes before first alarm!
Multiple alarms capability: Only smart alarm that lets you set multiple alarms as alerts or precautions
Movement tracking: Adjustable sensitivity, easily compare with sound graphs
Sound tracking: Detailed sound graphs let you play back noise with a tap
The latest Tweets from Emergency Kittens (@EmrgencyKittens). Critiquing the cutest animals online!
Can’t sleep? In 20 minutes you will, or less.
Introducing the most popular sleep aid app! Start sleeping now and enjoy full nights of sleep like you haven’t in a long time! Here’s how it works:
Select sounds and melodies that you like and combine them to create a mix. Adjust the volume of each sound individually for better results. Lay back, listen, and enjoy falling asleep. Is that simple and it works. Use timers and alarms if needed. Try different and new mixes every time!
Can also be used in many other situations. Perfect during some of your favorites activities such as relaxing at the spa, exercising in your yoga or relaxation classes, massaging sessions, or even when taking a nap! For parents, the ideal to help your baby fall asleep!
Just like our community of 20 millions users, say goodbye to insomnia, improve your health and feel better by getting back the sleep you deserve!
Smiling Mind is meditation made easy. A simple tool that helps put a smile on your mind anytime, anywhere and everyday.
Smiling Mind is a unique web and App-based program developed by a team of psychologists with expertise in youth and adolescent therapy, Mindfulness Meditation and web-based wellness programs.
Smiling Mind is a not-for-profit initiative that provides six free Mindfulness Meditation Programs including:
In recent years, Mindfulness Meditation has surged in popularity for use in the treatment of stress, resilience, anxiety, depression and other physical and mental illnesses. Highly regarded institutions such as UCLA, Harvard, Oxford, Monash and Melbourne Universities have developed clinical studies into the positive impacts of Mindfulness Meditation on health and general well-being.
Take a break or sleep in an extra hour while children safely watch YouTube videos on their own! As seen in the New York Times, Cakey is a COMPLETELY FREE app (no ads or upsells) built by a fellow parent.
[+] Assemble safe collections of videos for your children to watch
[+] Download collections already made by other parents
[+] Set daily viewing limits enforced but the app
[+] If you use videos to help get your child to eat, Cakey can pause every minute to remind your child to take a bite!
[+] Coming soon: ability to have reports emailed telling you what your child watched and for how long.
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/21/hot-or-not-founder-returns-with-cakey-a-youtube-app-for-kids/
A seriously fun 5-star drawing and painting app with over 200 colors and textures, voice recording, unlimited art storage and coloring pages designed by leading artists. Drawp® is a professional-grade art app designed for kids. Also great for thank you notes, birthday cards or open-ended art creation. SimpleShare™ allows kids to safely and easily share artwork in a parent-approved network.
The Drawp support website www.Drawp.it now offers premier printing and shipping of your child’s artwork created with the award winning Drawp app. Sign into the www.Drawp.it site to see a Private Gallery of your child’s artwork created with the Drawp app. Star your favorites and order professionally printed books, gallery wrap canvases, photos or greeting cards.
Get your kids moving with GoNoodle activities
Mindfulness for Children is a high quality children meditation App by Psychomotor Therapist and certified mindfulness teacher Pia Holgersen and App developer Jannik Holgersen.
This App provides step by step easy to follow audio instructions on how to meditate. With her calming voice, Perry Anne Norton skillfully guides children through body scans, visualizations and breathing exercises.
The meditations is developed by Pia Holgersen, Psychomotor Therapist with expertise in relaxation technique, and the App is originally created in Denmark. Schools in Denmark use these meditations with great success and Mindfulness For Children is recommended by several danish child psychologists.
Mindfulness for Children will help children to relax and will enhance feelings of contentment. It can be used for a general relaxation, or as a teaching resource and is suitable for children from the age of five and up.
The Mood Meter builds emotional intelligence. Use the Mood Meter to:
· Check-in regularly with your feelings: use reminders to check-in throughout the day
· Expand your emotional vocabulary: discover the nuances in your feelings
· Learn what causes you to feel the way you: notice patterns in your feelings over time:
· Learn effective strategies to help you regulate your feelings: enhance the way you manage your life each day
Over time, you’ll develop emotional intelligence skills that can help you in all areas of life.
Parents Magazine named ChoreMonster one of the App-solute Must Apps for Families in 2015
ChoreMonster makes chores fun by engaging and rewarding your kids!
● Kids earn points by completing their chores
● Earn rewards like ice cream, an hour of Xbox, or a camping trip
● Win monsters at the Monster Carnival (over 100 available, more being added monthly!)
● Parents manage their children’s chores and the rewards they can earn
● Takes the tension out of household chores
Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what ChoreMonster users are saying:
“Set the kids up on @ChoreMonster. So far it's a hit in the household with K wanting to complete a week's worth of chores by 8:00 am.”
“Incredible things happening since I installed @ChoreMonster app. My boys can't wait to help around the house!”
IF... The Emotional IQ Game! Your child will fall in love with this groundbreaking game and so will you. Improve the quality of your child’s life by giving them the tools to help them manage their emotions in a healthy way.
== EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS ==
• Subscription offers a full year of Social and Emotional Learning curriculum (comparable to leading private schools in the U.S.)
• Learn to listen, make friends and deal with bullying
• Bring attention and focus to school work and club activities
• Gain confidence at dealing with a variety of social situations
• Learn ways to manage stress, anxiety, anger, sadness and frustration
• Parents get involved by playing alongside and using the Parent’s Dashboard to keep track of the skills your child is learning
== GAME FEATURES ==
