Innovation in Citizen Services
4 must have apps for parents
9 February 2024
Which government apps can help busy parents? From LifeSG to Parents Gateway, discover tools to make family life easier.
If there were a list of the busiest people in Singapore, we’d be willing to bet that ‘parents’ would be near the top of that list. In between juggling work, errands, relatives – and of course, school, life can get pretty hectic.
That being said, we’ve got some good news.
There’s an array of useful free apps that parents can use to make their lives a little easier. With these apps, families in Singapore can manage their daily tasks more efficiently, ensuring that they can focus on what truly matters - spending quality time together!
4 apps and 1 platform for parents to try out:
1. Tackle multiple tasks with LifeSG
Parents often wear multiple hats. They might be property managers for the family home and teachers to their children. At the same time, they might be caregivers to their elderly parents. That’s why the LifeSG app is perfect for them – it’s the closest thing to a super-app in the GovTech arsenal. You can use it for multiple tasks such as registering your child’s birth, or even end-of-life planning.
Other useful things you can do with it include:
Applying for HDB season parking
Search for a preschool
Check medical appointments at public healthcare institutions
Report an issue in your neighbourhood
Learn more about LifeSG here.
2. Managing your finances with MyMoneySense
Making a big purchase and need to look at the family’s joint assets? Curious about what insurance coverage your loved ones actually have? Wonder how much to go about managing your finances?
Understandably, not everyone has an affinity with spreadsheets and paper documents, so thankfully, here comes MyMoneySense to the rescue.
Not strictly an app, MyMoneySense is a free government financial planning service that helps Singaporeans better understand their finances so they can make conscious choices to improve their financial well-being across different life stages.
How? For starters, MyMoneySense leverages SGFinDex, a digital infrastructure that enables you to easily access your financial data across various government agencies, and financial institutions to get a consolidated view of your finances.
Think banks, insurers and even your CDP (Central Depository) account. Find out the full list here.
But that’s not all – MyMoneySense also teaches you more about your finances by using objective indicators.
For example: Based on your cash flow and current cash reserves, they can crunch out an ‘emergency fund ratio’ to see whether you have enough cash in the case of a loss of income.
Explore MyMoneySense.
3. Keep your family safe with myENV
With the haze making its rounds in Singapore again these days, it might be a good idea to be updated on air quality often. Particularly if the family is heading out for a hike or a picnic.
That’s where the myENV comes in. One of its most popular features is the alerts function, with 200,000 subscriptions for the air quality 24-hour PSI alert.
Of course, it’s more than just a glorified weather app. The app, myENV, can also give you updates about dengue hot spots (still a major issue in Singapore), water levels, floods, water disruptions, hawker centres, food hygiene, and recycling.
If you want something more customised, you can even bookmark locations such as your home, office or your child’s child care centre (or your parent’s nursing home) to stay on top of any hazards that appear there!
Download myENV on Google Play or the App Store.
4. Learn as a family with NLBMobile
If you’re looking for a way to bond with your child, reading with them should be at the top of the list.
You see, reading to children is an intimate ritual that weaves bonds of emotion and intellect between the caregiver and the child. This is opposed to, say, giving your child unlimited access to your iPad to watch YouTube videos.
The extremely popular NLBMobile app lets you skip queues at the library by using your phone. Borrow books by scanning them, manage your loans, and even read digital materials such as ebooks – all at your fingertips.
For those who are feeling nostalgic, there’s also NewspaperSG – where you can search the digital archive for newspapers published locally since 1827!
That’s nearly 200 years of reading to catch up on, longer than Singapore has been an independent nation!
Download the NLB mobile app.
5. Keep track of your child’s progress with Parents Gateway
Staying updated with your child’s academic progress and school activities can sometimes add to the many tasks parents juggle daily. While parents often rely on massive WhatsApp groups for updates, these chats can sometimes overflow with non-essential conversations.
Parents Gateway offers a more streamlined approach. It acts as a simple yet effective link between schools and families, ensuring that parents receive the most relevant updates. Gone are the days of searching through endless messages or piecing together scattered information.
With this app, parents can easily access important school announcements, view a consolidated list of their child’s activities, and even schedule Parent-Teacher Meetings without the usual hassle.
For those with children in different schools, the app offers a unified view, making tracking easier. Additionally, as kids transition between academic stages, Parents Gateway provides resources to support parents during these times. It also houses a collection of parenting tips, from cyber wellness pointers to activity suggestions.
Download Parents Gateway.