Life
Working mothers these days are the norm, not the exception: according to the U.S. Department of Labor, 70 percent of all moms with kids under 18 in America are in the workforce, and three quarters of all working moms work full time. Nobody, however, claims that it's easy. Even though studies show that having a working mother is good for kids, the time pressures and organizational squeeze of having both a job and a family are substantial for many mothers, particularly considering that many are still expected to be primary caregivers.
As people have become more aware of the unique struggles working moms face, apps for working moms have exploded in popularity. And these apps can help in many different ways, from locating places for busy mothers to nurse, to finding babysitters, coordinating chores, dictating emails, and establishing new social connections with other mothers. Some of these apps weren't specifically designed with the experience of working moms in mind, but have been adopted wholeheartedly by parents juggling both jobs and kids. Others were deliberately created to make the lives of working moms easier, and thank heavens for that. One thing's for sure: these nine apps can make life just a little bit easier for people who are already under a lot of pressure.
1
Milk Stork
Milk Stork is "the first company to tackle the challenge of getting breast milk home for traveling business mamas," according to a press release. If you pump on a business trip, Milk Stork will get the milk back home for you, whether through shipping it or providing a specially-made tote, without the fuss of worrying about liquid limits on commercial airlines. The service starts from $79 and at the moment only delivers milk to U.S. homes, but business trips can be coordinated from any point in the world.
2
Bambino
It's no secret that working moms need a lot of help. Bambino is a highly popular free app for iOS that helps parents find childcare and babysitters at short notice. It allows sitters to be reviewed by a network of friends and neighbors, and simplifies booking and payment. The organization Working Mother, which focuses on the needs of working moms, ranks it as one of the most useful apps out there.
3
Moms Pump Here
The aim behind Moms Pump Here is to provide a map of locations where nursing mothers can pump or breastfeed in cities across the U.S. and Canada. The app costs 99 cents and is GPS-enabled to find nursing locations nearby where anybody with a fussy baby or a pump can nurse in peace. Pump-friendly businesses can also add their own facilities to the list.
4
ContinuousCare
Like several other apps, ContinuousCare aims to collect all the healthcare details and appointments of dependent children in one place, so that they can be easily accessed in an emergency. It also allows parents to schedule appointments with doctors who use virtual video consultations, and will connect users with medical experts if they have an emergency query out of normal hours.
5
Keepy
Want to keep all your kids' precious artwork preserved without cluttering up your desk at work? Keepy is the solution for that. The free app allows photographs and recordings of all kids' artworks to be kept for perpetuity, and each child has their own timeline showing their artistic development from finger-painting to oil portraits. And yes, the app is also designed to share the masterpieces easily with other doting parents.
6
Chorma
Chorma tends to be mentioned often in conversations with working moms who have complicated households and older children; SheKnows featured the free app as one of their top working mom apps. It makes assigning and completing chores in a multi-person household a competition that earns points and rewards for every completed task. It's the upgraded version of gold stars on the chore chart for the 21st century.
7
Dragon Dictation
Working mothers interviewed by the Miami Herald identified Dragon as one of their weapons: it's an app that allows texts, emails and other professional communications to be dictated while commuting and on the go. It uses the Cloud to store edited documents, works on a huge range of mobiles, and is one of the world's most popular dictation software packages, making it a brilliant time-saving opportunity.
8
GoToMeeting
Another app that's a lifesaver for women who are short on time: GoToMeeting is a free app that allows sophisticated video conferencing via your mobile rather than requiring Skype or a laptop. You can join video meetings, show other people your phone screen, and use its whiteboard app to brainstorm. Which is valuable for mothers who have to handle a meeting while also coordinating a child's vaccination appointments.
9
Peanut
Peanut is an app that works like Tinder, except for mothers who want to meet others. It's designed to help moms of all kinds form friendships with similar caregivers without necessarily having to go through the rigmarole of parents' groups or kindergarten mixers, and is a godsend for working moms who don't have a lot of time to spend on anything, let alone fostering new friendships.
