Discover essential apps for parents with busy schedules. From organization tools to family budgeting and entertaining kids, these apps have got you covered. Best of all, most of them are free!
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Why Apps for Parents are Needed
Parents are busy and need to keep in touch with their significant other through apps to keep the family organized. This doesn’t need to mean constant texts, phone calls, or emails, there are apps for parents that will accomplish this for you.
In this blog post, we will explore the best apps to help you stay organized, connected, and make the most of your time.
Google Calendar: Stay Organized and Never Miss a Beat
With Google Calendar, you can create multiple calendars and easily share them with your significant other. This helps you both stay organized and aware of important family events, appointments, and activities. Though this app isn’t just for parents, it’s my #1 app for parents because it helps my husband and I stay in sync the most out of any app.
Whether it’s school schedules, playdates, or doctor’s appointments, Google Calendar has you covered.
With Google Calendar, you can create multiple calendars and easily share them with your significant other. This ensures that both of you stay organized and are aware of important family events, appointments, and activities. Whether it’s school schedules, playdates, or doctor’s appointments, Google Calendar has got you covered.
We have been using Google Calendar for over a decade now and love it. My husband and I have a shared calendar where we keep family events, doctor’s appointments, school events, and even just what we plan on doing for a weekend at home. We even can set calendar reminders so we don’t miss anything.
We also have our own calendars that we keep track of things that don’t need to be on the shared calendar but are important to us. I use this for keeping track of my chronic health conditions, personal appointments and courses I take online, and more. I’ve chosen to give my husband access so he can see what’s going on as well, as has he with his personal calendar. Surely not required though.
I’ve created a calendar for each one of our kids as well as calendars for my blogging schedule, courses, and everything else I do on a regular basis. We also have a birthdays calendar so we remember extended family and friends birthdays and we can even set reminders to remember to send cards to them.
You can create as many calendars as you want, set reminders for the interval that you’d like, decide how you receive those reminders, change the color of calendars and certain events, and more. You can use it on your phone and computer.
As you can see in the screenshots from my phone below, on the left side there is a full month calendar showing above the daily calendar. You can make the full month go away and just focus on one day, as well as scroll to different times.
On the right you can see the week view which also shows the different calendars I have showing at once. I can toggle calendars on and off so it doesn’t get too cluttered but here you can see my 7 year old’s school call schedule as well as when he has karate, etc. As you can also see, Lego club is on there twice because I have it on the dark green calendar which is the one I share with my husband, as well as the bright green calendar which is my 7 year old’s calendar.
On the mobile app the weekly view does look a bit squished but it’s what I prefer when I’m viewing it on my iPad or laptop.
The best thing about Google Calendar is it’s free!! You just need to create a Google account and you’re all set!
Google Keep: Collaborate Checklists
Keeping track of various tasks and to-do lists can be a challenge for busy parents. Google Keep is a fantastic app that allows you to create and share checklists with your partner. From grocery lists to household chores, you can both stay on top of everything and work together as a team.
One of our main shared checklists is regarding what we have in the freezer such as our monthly meat order from Wild Pasture. Keeping track of what’s in our freezer, especially our chest freezer, helps with meal planning as I can shop my freezer in a sense and also helps us not have five year old freezer burned roast wasted in the bottom of the freezer. Luckily that’s never happened but if I didn’t keep track of our frozen meat especially, I’m sure it would! The freezer Keep checklist is one that my husband and I share access to so we both can edit it.
Others that are just for me include Keep lists for movies and shows I want to watch, one for flowers I want to plant, questions for the pediatrician, questions for my doctor, restaurants to try, etc. You can make as many as you’d like and edit them as you’d like.
Below is an image of the frozen foods list we have, though this just shows the first four, there are a lot more below it! This is the list I use the most so I have it pinned to the top which is helpful to find it quickly!
EveryDollar: Budgeting Made Easy
Managing finances is an essential part of parenting. EveryDollar is a user-friendly app that helps you create and stick to a budget. You can plan where your money goes and track your expenses throughout the month. With EveryDollar, you can ensure that your family’s financial goals are on track while saving for the future.
We just recently switched from Mint to EveryDollar since Mint won’t be around much longer. Historically, we used Mint to categorize transactions then twice a month I’d put them into a Google Sheet that my husband and I share access to, and we’d budget from there.
With EveryDollar it’s so much easier. I can do everything in the app or website without needing a separate spreadsheet. This saves me hours a month and helps us both keep on top of our spending at a glance.
This is the one app on this list that does cost money but it’s well worth it! You can try it for free but in order to unleash it’s full potential including linking bank accounts and credit cards, the paid version is great.
The photo on the right shows a small part of our December budget where you can see that we went over budget in the ‘Daily Needs’ category but well within budget on the others. The 1 in the blue circle toward the bottom of the picture indicates that there is one transaction I need to categorize which I’ll be able to drag and drop into my current month’s budget.
Glow Baby: Simplifying Baby Care
For parents of babies, GlowBaby is a lifesaver. This app allows you to create multiple profiles for each child, enabling both parents to enter important information such as diaper changes, feedings, sleep schedules, and medicine given. By sharing this information, both parents can provide the best care for their little ones.
We fell in love with this app for our first child and continued to use it with our twins. You can manage multiple children at once as well as have multiple caregivers. We wanted to keep track of everything from feedings to diaper changes to sleep to pumping and how much I produced. If I marked down that I fed Baby A my husband could also see it so he didn’t accidentally feed the twin that was already fed.
It’s extremely important for things like medications. When our oldest was sick all the time while in daycare for the first year of his life (then I became a stay at home mom) we had to give him antibiotics from time to time, as well as fever reducers. If I got up with him overnight and gave him the meds he needed before feeding him, my husband could see that when he woke up with the baby and know not to give the meds again.
I could go on and on about this app and how much we relied on it when the kids were babies and toddlers but I’ll let you explore it for yourself.
Period Tracker: Supporting Each Other
While this app may not be exclusive to parents, it can be incredibly useful for couples. Period Tracker allows you to keep track of your or your partner’s menstrual cycle, fostering support and understanding. This is especially helpful when trying to conceive, but it can also enhance day-to-day communication and empathy.
It might seem odd to have your partner track your cycle and I honestly never would have thought of it until my husband started tracking mine and I thought it was really sweet when he knew my cycle. I also have horrible PMDD which is even worse than typical PMS so at least if I start getting really grumpy toward him, he can look at this app and see that it’s not me, it’s my hormones. We talk openly about this as well and my symptoms have greatly reduced with supplements and medication.
Rakuten: Earn Cash Back on Everyday Purchases
Saving money is always a priority for busy parents. Rakuten is an app that allows you to get cash back on everyday purchases. From groceries to clothing and household items, Rakuten helps you save money while providing for your family’s needs.
We’ve been using Rakuten for many years and we get cash back every quarter. They have a great deal where you can get $30 for signing up through the ‘Try Rakuten’ button below when you make your first purchase of $30+ on a site that partners with them. I use it on my Target orders and get cash back on every order! They have partnered with thousands of retailers to help you get cash back!
Trello: Streamline Your Products and Tasks
From household projects to everyday tasks, Trello is a fantastic app for keeping track of everything. Each family member can have their own account and share boards with each other. This way, you can easily see what needs to be done, mark tasks as completed, and stay organized as a family.
I honestly prefer to use this on the computer but it can be used on a mobile device as well. The basic version is free and you can create 10 boards per free account. My husband has an account as well and we share a board called Home To-Do where we both can put in cards with tasks to complete.
It really takes planning and task management up to the next level!
Plan to Eat: Effortless Meal Planning
Meal planning can be a real time-saver for busy parents. Plan to Eat is a comprehensive meal planning app that allows you to create one account for the whole family. You can easily plan meals, view your grocery list, add recipes, and know what’s for dinner tonight. Say goodbye to mealtime stress!
We’ve been using Plan to Eat since 2015 and have added over 1,000 recipes to it, easily clipped from websites, and
You can get a 14-day free trial by clicking Try Plan to Eat below. Check out my blog post to learn more about why I love Plan to Eat.
Kids Doodle: Creative Distraction on the Go
While I don’t advocate excessive screen time, there are moments when having an app like Kids Doodle can be a lifesaver. Whether you’re waiting at the doctor’s office or traveling on public transit, Kids Doodle provides a fun and creative outlet for your little ones. Let them unleash their artistic side while you take care of necessary tasks.
The only downside of this is there are quite a few ads when you get started with the app.
Below you can see a blank screen with several options to color with and there are even more. On the right you can see a sampling of the different coloring options, my favorite is the rainbow one! It’s so cool!
FitOn: FREE Workouts for Busy Parents
Finding time for exercise can be a challenge, but Fit On makes it easier. This app offers short and effective workouts that you can squeeze into your busy schedule. You can share an account with your partner or have your own, ensuring that both of you stay active and healthy.
There are so many different options in terms of types of workouts, duration, intensity, instructors, and more. It really has something for everyone and every fitness level.
The app is free for basic use and you can choose to upgrade for Pro features. I’ve tried both the free version and the paid version and they’re both great. After a year of the Pro version I decided to go back to the free version.
The Way it Really Is
As parents, we understand the juggling act of managing a busy schedule while staying connected with our significant other. With these top apps, you can stay organized, support each other’s well-being, and make the most of your precious time. Embrace the convenience of technology and let these apps become your trusted companions in the wonderful journey of parenthood.
I use, or have used, all of these apps and they help me keep my sanity as well as connected with my husband.
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.