Collaborative post by another author. It’s a busy and hectic life being a parent, but some online resources can help ease that stress a little bit. Take a look at our ideas for websites and apps for the digital age parent.

Cloud Pharmacy

Kids seem to catch every germ going. A distinct lack of acknowledgement for personal space combined with the latest seasonal virus means you can spend a lot of time in the local pharmacy asking for calamine lotion, cough medicine or calpol. If that's time out of your day that you simply cannot sacrifice right now, not least because it usually means you have to load the child into the car with you try checking out Cloud Pharmacy and look into getting a delivery. Load up on cough medicine, ear infection treatments, cold and flu meds, and anything else you need and it will arrive at your door while you look after your sick little ones. 

Shared calendars

It wont take long for your children to have a busy and more hectic social life than you. They have grandparents to visit, school events, clubs to take part in and friends parties to go to, quickly turning you into a taxi driver. But more than that, you’re a PA. You’re keeping track of their diary and that can get overwhelming. Sure, a family physical calendar is useful, but the digital equivalent allows for more flexibility. You don’t need to remember to remember that a teacher mentioned World Book Day and its costumes, you can put it in right there in your phone. Plus if both parents are working and sharing the responsibility of getting children to the right place, maybe with the help of grandparents too, it's useful to share an online calendar so everyone involved can see who needs to be where and when. 

Skillshare

We’re not about to tell you that Skillshare is a replacement for school, but it does have a niche collection of classes that light up the creative mind. You and your children can spend an afternoon learning how to do something new like crocheting or video editing and build skills that they’ll take further into their lives even if it’s only for their own enjoyment. It’s learning, but it’s keeping the maths and English lit that is already stressing your kid, at school. Plus, it means you can do something together when you’ve run out of ideas and you don’t fancy learning how to play Fortnite.

Meetup

The sad reality of the digital age is that it’s harder for both kids and adults to make and keep friends organically and sometimes that stuff just needs a little help. You need an excuse to get out and talk to people, which is what Meetup can provide. It’s a platform that showcases all the social events happening in your local area, which is helpful for parents who perhaps need to give their kids something to do this weekend or, even better, need an excuse to head out themselves. And you might be surprised what you find. Sure, it’s the place to find a book club but you might also stumble across a burlesque dance class or a DND game. Nothing is off limits, so find something fun and new to you and your kids.