3 Apps Every Parent of Teens Need
My youngest child is now a full fledged teenager. As they all get older giving them more freedom and independence has been both scary and liberating. Whatever they can do on their own – ride the bus to school, to proactic and meets, and “go out” with their friends – they want to do. they’ve basically said “stay at home mom.”
I admit, on one hand, I’m glad I don’t have to run back and forth with them for every activity. But on the other hand, the world isn’t the same as when I was their age and keeping them safe is my #1 priority. So as they grow more independent we’ve begun using these 3 apps every parent needs when raising teens.
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Cozi Family Organizer
Keeping a schedule for all our activities is a must. Teaching my girls to manage their own schedules is an important part of raising responsible adults. I don’t take ballet, so if Olivia forgets her pointe shoes for class, I’m not dropping everything to bring them to her. Tough luck little lady.
My approach to planning our schedule includes a handwritten planner, a large wall calendar, and a shared family calendar app. There are many you can choose from but my favorite is the Cozi Family Organizer.
You can create appointments specifically for your teen with reminders so they don’t forget. You can also share lists and notes among the entire family. Best of all you don’t all have to be on the same email platform. Add Grandma or your next door neighbor when you need them and delete them when you don’t.
Click here now to download the Cozi app FREE!Life360 Family Locator
Both of my girls have an activity (or two) every weekday after school. That makes for a ton of conflicts in our schedule and mama can’t be two places at one time. One year we were able to change Olivia’s dance school so she could walk to class after school. That same year we bought her a cell phone for safety.
All my teens have iPhones and I’m #TeamAndroid all the way. In order to keep track of their whereabouts, we downloaded the Life360 Family Locator App. It sends alerts when your teen arrives and leaves the places they frequents. I have peace of mind knowing that I can track them wherever she goes. And they can even track Harold and me to see where we are…or how late we will be to pick her up. It happens.
Make sure that your tweens and teens make it to destinations safely…and that they stay there with the Life360 Family Locator App.
Greenlight Debit Card
Teaching young people to manage money is uber important. All my children have had bank accounts since they were very young. They know how to make deposits and withdrawals, and we’ve taught them about spending and saving. And when we go out for family activities, we make them use their own money for things they want. But Alexandra can be careless and Olivia can be absent-minded, and lost cash is just that, lost. So we got them Greenlight Debit Cards.
Greenlight Cards give parents control of where and how your kids can spend money while giving teens the freedom and independence to spend it. We connected their cards to their bank accounts and set limits on what they can spend. They can also send a request for added funds that you can fulfill immediately through the app. The best thing about the Greenlight Card is that it sends immediate alerts with the amount and location where money was spent. Teaching your children good money habits just got easier.
Use my referral link to sign up for Greenlight Debit Card and get $10 in your account! Click here to get started now.
What are you using to give your teens a little more independence without feeling like Spy Mom? Leave me a comment below and we’ll add them to the list!