When my daughter was six months old, my mother-in-law babysat while my husband and I went on a weekend getaway. Though I was ecstatic for the break and knew she was in very capable hands, I spent much of the time obsessing whether she was OK and missing her desperately.
No doubt, the toughest part about going away or being a working mom with a child in daycare is leaving your kids behind. What parent doesn’t want to know how their child is doing beyond the occasional text message?
That’s why Mile High Mamas loves Tykester, a newly-launched FREE app that is a super easy and fun way for childcare providers and parents to stay connected. Available on both Android and iOS as well as desktop computers, parents get real-time updates on their children, instead of waiting for a paper daily sheet or a conversation when they arrive to pick them up.
The best news is Tykester isn’t just for working moms with kids in daycare and users run the gambit—from grandparents, aunts and uncles to deployed military to weekend babysitters to truly anyone who wants to get updates about your child.
Why Tykester?
- Tykester works great as a standalone application providing you with an easy method of documenting behaviors including sleep, food and drink consumption, potty, mood and you can even capture fun moments and create a timeline of your baby’s early childhood experiences.
- There are no cumbersome logins, making it easy for your childcare to do quick updates.
- There are texting and calling capabilities within the app.
- It is FREE and yet an incredibly valuable tool to see into your children’s day.
- In Settings you can select which types of entries you would like to receive a push notification for – each time your childcare provider makes an entry!
How does Tykester work?
Simply download Tykester from your app retailer, and register with your basic info.
Start a profile for your child and take his or her photo (or upload your favorite picture from your existing library.) You’ll see a connection code on your child’s profile. You can share this code with caregivers and family by sending a connection invitation. Start logging in daily activities. Only those with whom you’ve shared your child’s code can see the updates. You can easily log sleep, food and potty schedules as well as share any fun updates and photos with the What’s Up button. Busy parents can see a quick list of the most current entries, or see a complete list of the day/week/month’s activities on the timeline.
The Tykester story began with a challenge from Gannett to participate in a contest for innovative ideas that could help busy women find more “me time” to enjoy life. In their very first brainstorming session, their colleague, Megan, a busy young mom, shared her wish list for a simple, real-time connection to her little (then 14-month old) “tyke” while she was away at work. And thus Tykester was born. Nobody can vouch for Tykester more than those who use it!
I dreaded dropping off my baby in daycare after staying home with him for 8 months. This app definitely kept me at ease that whole first day. It is also less time consuming than a daycare live-feed. 4 weeks in, I am on tykester more than I am on facebook, I am addicted! This is by far the most useful working-parent app out there!
-Mom Fatima-Zahra B
Tykester has changed the way I run my Family Childcare Business. It is so much easier to keep in contact with the parents throughout the day! The parents especially love the What’s Happening alerts- they are able to see in real time the fun their child is having at my program, and they know their child is well cared for and learning because they can hear about it throughout the day.
-Michelle Slimak, Apple Valley Home Daycare
Mile High Mamas wants to help you stay connected with your kids. Simply download Tykester’s app for free on your Android or iOS and enter to win our $100 VISA gift card!!! Mile High Mamas has partnered with Tykester on this promotion.