The virtual world is swamped with hundreds of parenting apps providing advice, information and
support on a wide range of parenting issues, writes Cynthia John. Our Top 4 picks:

Baby Monitor 3G

This app helps parents supervise infants when they are away from home and hearth. All you need to do is place a cell phone with the Baby Monitor app in your infant’s room. The app enables you to watch over your baby. The app alerts you if she is asleep/awake and even enables you to chat with her. Download and set-up is easy. Price: $3.99 (Rs.328) per month.

Kiddly app

The kiddy app helps parents to reward children’s good behaviour, motivating them to improve themselves. It allows parents to schedule a variety of tasks and encourages children to take responsibility to finish them. You can give positive/negative points based on your child’s performance and award gifts after she earns a certain number of points. Children can also make a wish list of gifts, and you can link them with tasks completed and reward points. Price: $4.99 (Rs.410) per month

S’moresup

This app enables parents to organise and manage family/household chores. It keeps track of household chores completed by different family members and award points. You can create a list of chores and corresponding rewards to motivate children to complete them on time. The app also allows for scheduling and tracking family events. S’moresup is free for the first 45 days, after which you can sign up for the paid premium version ($4.99 or Rs.410 per month).

Baby Rattle!

The centuries-old baby rattle — a toy, usually in animal or flower shapes, which typically makes a rattling sound when shaken — has got a digital makeover with the Baby Rattle app. It generates different types of sounds and animations on a phone shake/tap — delightful tinkles, sound of drums, birds, etc. There’s also a sleep mode with soothing sounds to lull your infant to sleep. Moreover the app features interactive characters that your toddler can play with virtually. It also promises to improve the hand-eye coordination of toddlers.