It’s no secret that being a parent is one busy job. The laundry, the cooking, the endless housekeeping – and all this before you’ve even uttered a word to your dear child or inquired into their well-being.
Luckily, help is at hand from the Start-Up Nation.
Often branded every parent’s worst enemy (think obnoxious screen time, confusing lingo and zombie children), technology can also be an absolute savior.
Whether aiding in getting everyone around the table or making sure you’re on top of everyone’s meds, technology can definitely make life a little more hassle-free.
And it’s no surprise that some pretty good innovations are coming out of Israel, the land of tech and family.
It’s great that your kids are involved in so many afterschool activities. It’s just not so great figuring how to get them there and back each time.
Step in Figure8, an app founded by frustrated carpooler dad Yaniv Vakrat that allows parents to form carpool communities free from nagging phone calls or last-minute mistakes.
Parents communicate solely through the Android or iOS app, which can update as regards any driver switches or pick-up and drop-off changes. It can also be integrated into schools to allow for better, more efficient dismissal time.
No random drivers can join the community, so you’re safe in the knowledge that your kids are getting picked up only by people you know. And there’s even a virtual “Driver Assistant” that automatically informs parents when the children have been picked up or dropped off.
How many mornings have you spent endlessly waiting at the pediatrician’s after your little one woke up sick? We’re guessing a few too many. The good news is that you no longer have to.
TytoCare telehealth provider allows you to have the doctor examine your child from afar, meaning you two get to stay home on the couch rather than brave germ-filled, time-sucking waiting rooms.
You use the TytoHome telemedicine kit and app to carry out a medical exam on your kid, guided by a physician in real time. Then you receive a diagnosis from your doctor, a treatment plan, and a prescription if needed, all from the comfort of home.
TytoCare was founded by Dedi Gilad, an Israeli dad frustrated with all the time and hassle spent waiting for the doctor with his two kids. The company now operates out of New York and Netanya and offers its solution through US health providers. Now that’s some real time-saving tech.
3. Time Tooo app to manage screen time
Tired of arguing with your kids about their screen time? Waste time no more. The Time Tooo app (available on Google Play) allows you to simply black out your children’s screens with the press of a button.
Parents can shut down their children’s screens at any given moment or schedule screen-less time on a daily, weekly and even permanent basis. No more late-night YouTube time, then.
For those parents truly determined to make a point, the shut-down can be accompanied by a loving on-screen message, perhaps something along the lines of “Homework. Now.”
Incoming and outgoing calls will still be available during blackout time, so in case of real emergency your child will still remain available the good old-fashioned phone way.
4. Medisafe meds-management app
In 2012, Omri and Rotem Shor’s diabetic father accidentally overdosed on insulin, putting his life in danger.
The brothers soon came to realize that their father’s accident was not uncommon at all, learning that 125,000 people in the US die every year from preventable medication mistakes.
They then founded Medisafe, which aims to make medicine management simple, easy-to-use and safe. The friendly app sends you reminders whenever you need to take your meds and even notifies you when your prescriptions are running low.
Relevant to busy parents, the app (available for Android and iOS) has a dependents feature allowing you to manage family members’ meds. Now that’s a great load off your mind.
Want to read the kids a bedtime story but running late at work? Or check in on them in their rooms without stepping away from your emails? All that and more is possible with the Temi personal robot.
Although it looks a little like a vacuum cleaner, the one thing Temi doesn’t do is clean the house. Instead, one of the computers inside its body displays video and calls up the Internet by voice command, helping you keep in touch with your loved ones, while the other computer successfully navigates Temi around the home.
Created in Tel Aviv, Temi comes at a reasonable (for robots) price of $1,500 and will begin arriving at customers’ in March this year. We can’t wait.
6. FoldiMate laundry-folding machine
Dreading the piles of laundry waiting at home? So did Gal Rozov, the founder of FoldiMate. He decided to create a techy solution that folds your laundry for you (only much better) in a fraction of the time.
Users feed their clothes into the top of the machine, which looks a bit like a Xerox machine, and the clothes come out neat and folded at the bottom. The folding technique is based on item size and even on users’ preferences, to guarantee it comes out right every time.
The product is set to go on the market late this year. It won’t come cheap at its target price of $980, but the avid laundry haters among us will most likely consider it time well saved and money well spent.
Definitely falling into the “who knew we needed this” category, this fun Android app wants to put an end to dinnertime shouting that the food’s already on the table.
It’s very simple. Whoever’s in charge of dinner creates a “food group” and can then conveniently call everyone else to the table with a polite online invitation that is most definitely less irritating than the traditional method. Who knew?
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