ArticlemHealth2019
Parenting apps review: in search of good quality apps.
Article in mHealth, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Safer Sleep Guidance in Standalone UK Smartphone Apps for Parents of Newborns and Infants: Systematic mHealth App Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Pooled it
- The Use of Noncommercial Parent-Focused mHealth Interventions for Behavioral Problems in Youth: Systematic Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Pooled it
- Measuring the Quality of Clinical Skills Mobile Apps for Student Learning: Systematic Search, Analysis, and Comparison of Two Measurement Scales.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2021Pooled it
- Smartphone-based support for early childhood development in a rural low-resource setting: an individually randomised pilot feasibility trial from Guatemala.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Trial
- Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Supportive Parenting App on Parental Outcomes: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Trial
- A Mobile App, KhunLook, to Support Thai Parents and Caregivers With Child Health Supervision: Development, Validation, and Acceptability Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Trial
- Proof-of-concept of a co-designed mobile game prototype to enhance parental mentalizing: Results from a single-group pretest-posttest feasibility trial (HelpingParentsMinds).Internet interventions · 2026Article
- Mothers' parenting stress and depression during infancy predicts parenting self-efficacy and media emotion regulation two years later.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Is it a Reliable Guide or a Source to be Approached with Caution? GenAI in Parents' Information Search Processes Regarding Their Children.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Engagement, Acceptability, and Impact of a Parenting App to Support Infant Sleep and Parent Well-Being: Quasi-Experimental Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2026Article
- Mobile Apps and Websites With Breastfeeding-Related Content in Germany: Cross-Sectional and Evaluation Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2026Article
- Expanding the Digital, Donor-Assisted Conception Tool to Empower Parental Telling and Talking (TELL Tool) Intervention to the Pregnant and Early Parenthood Periods: Findings From a Qualitative Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Evaluation of the Early Years South Australia mobile application.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Parental Information-Use Strategies in a Digital Parenting Environment and Their Associations With Parental Social Support and Self-Efficacy: Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2024Article
- Development and Usability of the OHiFamily Mobile App to Enhance Accessibility to Maternal and Infant Information for Expectant Families in Ohio: Qualitative Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Provider perspectives on equity in use of mobile health autism screening tools.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2024Article
- Breastfeeding Apps: A Descriptive Report.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Associating Parental Efficacy with the Utility of Smart Devices: A Cross-Sectional Study of Their Role in Alleviating Maternal Parenting Concerns among Infants Aged 6-11 Months.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- An App to Support Fathers' Mental Health and Well-Being: User-Centered Development Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- A novel wide scale well-baby clinic mobile application: an Egyptian pilot study.BMC health services research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundParenting can be challenging, and in this digital age, first-time parents actively access mobile applications or "apps" to adjust to their new roles. Apps are now technologically-savvy parents' go-to tool for accessing information, tracking their babies' development, editing and sharing photos, and much more. While apps have the potential to make parenting easier, the abundance of low-quality apps makes the process of finding a reliable one arduous for parents. Therefore, the objective of this app review paper was to provide a list of quality parenting apps that parents can use.
methodsThe Google Play Store was searched on June 1st, 2018 for available parenting apps using 18 search terms: mum, mom, mommy, mama, mother, father, dad, daddy, papa, newborn, baby, infant, kid, child, children, family, parent, and parenting. The eligible apps (n=16) were evaluated on engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information domains using Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS).
resultsThe authors identified 4,300 free apps on the initial search, of which n=16 apps were included in the review. All 16 apps were freely available to the public on Google Play Store. Most apps (n=13) were also available on the iOS platform. All eligible apps had a privacy policy, and half of the apps contained advertisements. Most apps (n=12) were updated within the last year and received 4.5 or above ratings from users. Babybrains app, developed by a neuroscientist, had the lowest number of downloads (one thousand) whereas, BabyCenter, a commercial app, had the highest number of downloads (ten million). A majority of apps (n=11) received MARS scores between 4.2 and 4.4/5, with four apps received highest MARS score of 4.5/5, and one app received the lowest MARS rating of 4/5.
conclusionsApps play an increasingly important role in supporting new parents in their first year of parenthood due to convenience and ease of accessibility. Health care professionals are in an ideal position to support technologically savvy parents in locating good quality apps; therefore, they should support the evaluation of existing parenting apps to ensure that the parents are presented with the up to date and best options.
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Registered trials
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