App to keep tab on kids

 

Texas resident Sharon developed the Ignore No More app to address a common problem that she faced with her two children — they never answered the phone when she called! The app, once installed, makes it unwise to ignore a call from mom or dad’s number; if the child doesn’t answer the phone, it will simply lock down until the user dials either an emergency services number or his/her parents’. Only the parent can uninstall the app from the phone once downloaded.

 

Parents in the US have responded positively to the app — but not so much the kids. “I love it, my son hates it,” wrote one mom, as a review for Ignore No More. While the app is certainly handy, we asked celebrity parents here if there’s another one they wish they could invent to keep tabs on their little ones, and got some pretty interesting answers.

 

“The greatest challenge in this day and age is to monitor your child’s access to social media and the Internet on their phone,” rues designer Amy Billimoria. “I would love to create an app which will enable my daughter to access the Web or WhatsApp on her phone, only after she makes a phone call to me. And that too, the access should last for a timed duration, say 15 minutes. At the end of the browsing session, either of us parents should get a notification of her browsing details and time. I think an app like this is really needed to monitor just how much kids are exposed to social media.”

 

Model and actress Aditi Gowitrikar too feels an app that can control how much access children have to the Internet would be something many parents would profess to want. “I would create an app that would switch off the iPad or TV set automatically if my child doesn’t complete his homework/assignments on time,” she says. 

 

Suchitra Pillai and Tara Sharma would love an app that lets them see a different side of their children. “I’d like to know how my daughter behaves in school,” Suchitra says. “When (my husband) Lars and I aren’t around, I’d love to have an app that lets me check how she is behaving with her nanny, whether she’s throwing a tantrum etc.”

 

As for Tara, she says she isn’t really in favour of using apps to parent a child, but if she could create one that helps her rectify her tots when they’ve been naughty or said something inappropriate. “I’d like an app that’d help me correct them then,” she says.