Best Budgeting Apps Australia – Free

Frollo

Availability: iOS and Google Play

Cost: Free

Frollo is a FREE app that will not only allow you to get a broad overview of your entire financial situation, but also help you to budget, save, and work towards paying off debts too. By allowing you to link all of your financial institutions together within the app, including bank accounts, loyalty points, investment portfolios and even superannuation, you will be able to keep track of your overall wealth as well as expenditures in real time.

Key Features:

• Set budgets by category and track what you spend
• Goal setting (to save for something like a holiday, or to pay off a debt)
• Sync from Australian bank accounts – including superannuation and investments
• Automatically categorises transactions
• Automatic bill tracking
• Keep track of your net worth
• Bank-level security and encryption
• Track tax-deductible expenses

GetReminded 

Availability: iOS and Google Play

Cost: Free

When the bills are coming in thick and fast it can sometimes be hard to stay on top of which ones are due and when. This is where the GetReminded app can be an absolute godsend. By allowing you to input bills and due dates, the app can send you reminders ahead of time. It can also let you know when household contracts and bills are set to expire, such as utility bills, car insurance and registration, and subscriptions. Another handy feature is its ability to help you compare the market and look for cheaper policy options. Alerts are sent to your phone and email with the relevant advertiser’s offers so you can start shopping around straight from the app. Something many of us always want to do but never seem to get round to doing.

Key Features:

• Set reminders in multiple categories for all household costs
• Automated bill reminders ahead of time
• Annual cost summaries for household contracts
• Can recommend cheaper policies

Best Budgeting Apps Australia – Cost involved

WeMoney

Availability: iOS and Google Play

Cost: Free basic plan, with the paid WeMoney Pro costing $9.99 per month (first 7 days free)

If one of the main reasons you are searching for a good budgeting app is to help you pay down an existing debt, then WeMoney should be the first one you look at adding to your phone. Helping you keep track of your overall ‘financial wellness’, this budgeting app will allow you to connect all of your financial accounts in one place and then work towards clearing the outstanding debt you may have through a carefully managed budget. You can track your bills and subscriptions, set up money goals, and even keep track of your credit score.

Key Features:

• Connect all financial accounts
• Track credit score
• Connect with other users for community tips
• Create budgets
• Get bill reminders
• Manage subscriptions
• Goal tracking

Buddy: Money & Budget Planner

Availability: iOS

Cost: Free to download, however users must pay a subscription to unlock full functionality. Buddy Premium costs $4.99 per month or $34.99 per year.

Buddy is the best budgeting app when you need to share expenses and keep track of budgets with a number of people. If you have a shared trip coming up, or even if you’d just like to share your budgeting journey with your partner, family or friends, the app allows you to invite other members into your budgets so that everyone can get a clear picture on who spends what. Users can also import all their transactions from their bank accounts to see how their budget is doing. The app enables you to share distribution of costs for specific events and bills too.

Key features:

• Shared budgets and cost distributions for events and bills
• Invite other members into the budget
• Sync from Australian bank accounts
• Split function allows you to see who paid what and how to settle up the bill
• Users can create their own categories and choose the colour themes of the app
• Can set up multiple accounts as well as any debt to see total net worth

Goodbudget

Availability: iOS and Google Play

Cost: Free basic plan, with a paid plan costing US$8 per month or US$70 per year.

Although Goodbudget is an American app, its availability and popularity in Australia make it one that is definitely worth looking into. Using the old-fashioned but much-loved ‘envelope’ method of saving, Goodbudget helps you manually divide your funds up into clearly labelled envelopes. By allocating certain amounts to each category / bill, you can set yourself a limit as to how much you have available to spend. By linking to your financial accounts, the app can present you with spending pie charts and can even export your data to Microsoft Excel.

Key Features:

• Great budgeting app for beginners
• Simple ‘envelope’ system of fund allocation
• Export data to Microsoft Excel
• Reports generated, such as an income vs spending report
• Spending analysis for each envelope, including pie-charts
• Schedule transactions and automatic envelope fills

YNAB (You Need A Budget)

Availability: iOS

Cost: After free 30 day trial, $14.99/month or $99/year.

YNAB, short for You Need A Budget, is another American app that works just as well for Australian’s looking to budget, save money and get out of debt. Focussing only on your present financial situation, the app helps you work out what your priorities are and makes sure each dollar has a job to perform. The app can provide you with a number of extra features including goal tracking and financial habit reporting, but it is the support from YNAB staff that can make it a more effective journey, with dozens of online workshops available to assist you. The app allows you to share your budgeting plans with others and link your financial accounts too.

• Add your accounts and expenses
• Set savings targets
• Accessible from several different devices
• Shareable with one other person
• Live help from YNAB staff, along with interactive webinars

Looking for more ways to help keep your budget down? You might also be interested in these useful pages:

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For this reason a number of apps have been created to help make the co-parenting journey more manageable and stress-free. With shared schedules and features that keep everyone in the loop and working together with minimal fuss, these are some of the best apps for co-parenting in Australia. 

You don’t need to be co-parenting to benefit from these apps. Many of these apps are useful for all parenting situations. 

2Houses

2Houses was created by co-parents looking for a way to simplify and manage their separated family situation. Popular because it is simple to navigate and use, the app provides co-parents with all of the tools necessary to share important information, dates, expenses, custody arrangements and more. 

There is a journal feature means file, photos and general updates can easily be shared and the custody schedule calendar makes changeovers easy to follow too.

Cost: Free trial and then monthly subscription fees 

Find out more: 2houses

AppClose

One of the most popular co-parenting apps, AppClose comes highly recommended by Family Courts across Australia.

It is easy to see why this app comes with so many recommendations and users. One of the biggest drawcards is the fact it is free and offers an incredible range of tools for co-parents and individuals to use.

Some of its key features include a multi-functional calendar with comment capabilities, request option (which can even be sent to a third party), record keeping and expenses, messaging, video and audio calls, and the ability to create different ‘group circles’ within the app.

Cost: Free

Find out more: AppClose

Baby Connect

Whilst not specifically designed for co-parents, the Baby Connect app is perfect when separated parents have a baby they are sharing custody of.

With the ability to keep track of feeding and sleep schedules, doctors visits, medication requirements and routines, this is an invaluable app for parents trying to coordinate and maintain routine for their little ones.

Keeping track of the baby’s age, developmental milestones, health and more means both parents can be fully aware of what their child needs and is doing all the time.

Cost: Free 7-day trial and then monthly subscription fees

Find out more: Baby Connect

Cozi

Cozi is the ultimate calendar-sharing app and is widely popular for all families! 

As a co-parent, the app’s shared calendar facility goes further than simply inputting events that can be shared by all – it allows each person to have their own colour code, notes to be inputted for each event, details about which family members will be attending and more. 

Reminders can be set for particular people and to add to this the app also features shared to-do lists and even favourite recipes (which can be nice for kids to have their favourites known by all).

Cost: Free for the basic version or a paid Gold version is available. 

Find out more: Cozi

Divvito

Like many co-parenting apps, Divvito helps parents keep all of their communication in one place.

Designed in Australia for Australian families, this is one of the more popular apps due to its usability and free cost.

Messages can be organised into specific topics, files and photos can be easily shared, and other things like changeover, medical and health details, expenses and care arrangements can all be handled easily too. 

Divvito also has a build-in program which aims to keep all communication child-friendly and positive, scanning messages before they are sent and suggesting alternatives if it doesn’t seem appropriate. It also automatically archives all conversations.

Cost: FREE  

Find out more: Divvito

Our Family Wizard

Our Family Wizard has been designed to streamline co-parenting and simplify shared custody arrangements.

The apps central features includes virtual visitations and secure calling, a colour-coded shared calendar, time-stamped recorded messages, expenses which highlight different payment responsibilities and real-time balance checking, and an Info Bank where all important medical and health information can be easily shared and stored.

Its ToneMeter also helps to ensure any communication between both parents remains respectful.

Cost: Free Trial and then monthly subscription fees 

Find out more: Our Family Wizard

Talking Parents

The TalkingParents app offers a secure and accountable communication method for co-parents. It allows for expenses to be requested, shared and tracked, custody arrangements to be coordinated, and calls and messages to be shared.

To make sure both parents are always accountable for what is written and said in the exchanges, nothing can be deleted and everything is automatically recorded, with calls transcribed.

Cost: Free with limited options or a paid monthly subscription.

Find out more: TalkingParents

WeParent

WeParent can help alleviate the stress of co-parenting by providing a shared platform where each parent can easily communicate and share important information.

The app allows you to add as many family members as you like and parents can have multiple message threads with additional people too.

Contacts and important information, custody schedules, calendars, and documents can all be shared, with everything permanently archived.

Cost: Free trial then monthly subscription fees

Find out more: WeParent

We know parenting can be full of ups and downs. While you are navigating parenting you may be interested in the following:

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For those readers who grew up in the ‘90s, you’ll know exactly what this wonderful madness is all about. Proceed with caution: expect your Brisbane Kids to start asking for the merchandise and demanding to binge-watch the animated TV shows and movies on your streaming video service of choice as the Pokémon craze takes off all over again!

Niantic, Inc., with the involvement of industry heavyweights Google and Nintendo, have created something pretty special here: by leveraging an affinity for technology and a hunger for interacting with screens, they’ve created a clever hook to get Brisbane Kids outdoors and into the sunlight. In addition, the game offers a host of aspects that call for social interaction with other players, so your Brisbane Kids have a brand new way to get outside and play with their friends.

How to set up and play Pokemon Go

The basic premise of Pokémon GO is that, through the app’s guidance, you dash around your neighbourhood, or even your city, discovering various Pokémon—or, pocket monsters—which you have to catch by throwing Poké Balls at them. Plus, you can uncover other items during your travels such as a variety of Poké Balls and eggs at PokéStops, and loads more. You can take your Pokémon into battle at Gyms with other Pokémon, as well as hatch and train new Pokémon.

Pokémon GO uses a combination of modern technologies and concepts, courtesy of that little supercomputer in your pocket, to enable an immersive gameplay experience that puts you right inside the game.

1. Download the app
2. You’ll quickly recognise that your avatar, along with the Pokémon you’ve got to catch which are laid over the top of a map of your surrounding streets.
3. The aim of the game is walking, this means there is no advantage to driving to try and gather more Pokémon. 
4. When you find a Pokémon, approach it, tap the screen, and you’ll get a close up view where you can enter a special Augmented Reality mode which composites an animated Pokémon over live video from the camera on the back of your phone!
5. The more Pokémon you catch the more you gain levels as a Trainer. At higher levels, you’ll be able to catch more-powerful Pokémon to complete your Pokédex.
6. If you catch the same species of Pokémon enough times, you may be able to evolve it!
7. This is just the beginning- as you play you have the chance to join teams and gather gifts for friends and all sorts of things. 

Did you know the weather can influence the type of Pokémon you will find on your travels? Rainy weather = water Pokémon

But don’t let the gobbledygook get in the way—it’s super easy to start and will all make sense once you’re up and running

Explore Brisbane

If you’ve ever found it difficult to get your Brisbane Kids, young or not-so-young, motivated to get outdoors for some exercise—and let’s face it, it’s a common problem—then you might just find that it’s about to get a whole lot easier. Even if you fire up the game whilst indoors, and can clearly see a Pokémon lurking in your street, you have to get up close to catch it, and that requires opening the front door and getting yourself outside—genius, really.

As an added bonus, Pokémon GO and the renewed interest in the Pokémon franchise, which has now been around for 20 years, offers an added opportunity for some parent/child interaction. Mums and Dads will no doubt be happy to get involved in the fun with their Brisbane Kids, reliving their youth and sharing their knowledge of all things Pokémon.

What a fantastic way to entice your whole clan to get amongst this beautiful Brisbane Winter weather!

Safety while playing Pokemon Go

Sure, there have already been a myriad of stories about users being injured during gameplay, but it’s important to remember to use common sense and keep your wits about you whenever you’re out and about and there shouldn’t be any problems.

If you’re at all concerned about the safety of your Brisbane Kids whilst playing Pokémon GO, consider laying down some ground rules from the outset. For starters, Niantic have enforced a minimum age of 9 years to even be able to download the app—that’s good thinking, as children only really start being self-aware and taking notice of their surroundings as they approach teenhood. But if you’ve got little ones that are eager to get involved, maybe make sure they’re playing with an adult present to help avoid some unwanted spills. It’s important to note that you don’t need to look at the screen continuously whilst traversing the footpaths of your neighbourhood, so a quick glance every so often to get an update is fine. And under no circumstances should there be any looking at the screen while crossing the road—this is a recipe for disaster, so now may be a great time to revisit some basic training. The age old adage of Stop! Look! Listen! Think! applies as it would under any circumstances, so keeping eyes and ears on the road and surroundings will ensure your Brisbane Kids can navigate the streets safely.

Pokémon GO is available now as a free download, with optional in-app purchases, for Apple iDevices via the App Store and Google Android devices via Google Play.

If you love Pokémon GO, why not try Geocaching in Brisbane with Kids?

What is The Kano Computer Kit Complete?

The Kano Computer Kit Complete contains everything you need to assemble your own fully-functional Linux-based computer right out of the box. Linux is a type of operating system, like Windows, which allows you to actually do stuff with your computer hardware, like run programs or even code your own. In this instance, the Kano kit uses its own kid-friendly customised version of Raspbian, called Kano OS, made especially for the Raspberry Pi and the Kano bundled hardware.

Anyone who’s built or upgraded a PC before will know the drill here. There are individual components such as the motherboard, audio capture card and power supply—those things are represented here by their Kano kit counterparts dubbed the Raspberry Pi 3 ‘Brain’, Sound Sensor and Battery, respectively. The quality of the included components is excellent—the custom keyboard with built-in trackpad feels nice to type on, the transparent chassis is beautifully crafted with no hard edges, and the 10” screen is seriously eye-catching.

The Kano kit is presented in such a way that it looks and feels a whole lot like you’re assembling a LEGO set… something I’m sure your Brisbane Kids will be familiar with! Each piece is colour-coded, right down to the cables, and the included printed Getting Started manual is clear and easy-to-understand, and the colours really help identify the parts they’re talking about in each step.

How does the Kano Computer Kit teach kids?

Being a fairly seasoned PC builder myself, I was really impressed at how Kano haven’t completely dumbed-down all the terminology. They retain enough real-world terms, such as HDMI and USB, that will directly translate to things that your kids will interact with later on in any profession that adopts technology.

I must make extra special mention of the focus Kano have put on teaching kids the importance of cable management—this was a surprise stand-out feature for me. The chassis features a number of ‘channels’ to run your cables through, and as you connect the various components to each other you find that some cables are positioned really close to each other when plugged in. Miss 12 found on occasion that she had to unplug, manoeuvre, then replug cables to ensure they weren’t putting undue pressure on each other—a useful skill to learn.

Now, we were unlucky enough to receive a faulty power board in our kit—a happy accident, in some ways. First, it actually meant Miss 12 and I had to troubleshoot the problem and figure out a way to get the computer to work without it… which we absolutely did! This is a computer, remember, and being modular means there are multiple ways of putting it together and making it work. Further to this, it meant we got to try out Kano’s customer support, which we must say is outstanding. We filled out a support ticket online (something your kids will likely be doing A LOT in later life), and after a couple of follow-up e-mails, the kind folk at Kano had a working power board in our letterbox after only a few days. Although, this didn’t stop us from getting stuck in straight away with our workaround.

What can you do with a Kano Kit?

Once fully assembled and you fire up the Kano computer for the first time, you are greeted with some ‘old-skool’ computer text instructing you on what to do next. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but this bit really is for the grown-ups looking over their kids’ shoulders (hint: think of your favourite Keanu Reeves-as-a-hacker movie from the 90s!). This, and the many steps that follow, are a seriously nice touch as Kano takes your kids for a walk down memory lane of the evolution of computing, from the monochromatic displays of yesteryear through to the ultra-sharp colourful graphics of today and beyond. Kano call this ‘Story Mode’, and is a truly unique way to acquaint your kids with computers.

Aside from Story Mode, your kids can choose their own learning adventure, and there are apps positioned front-and-centre on the home screen which teach you to how to recreate some of the best-known games of all time, including Pong and Snake. Think of these as the bare-minimum building blocks for game dev, and Kano clearly believe that, once familiarised with the basic principles of game design, it’ll trigger your kids’ imaginations to apply the knowledge they’ve acquired to build something even bigger and better.

Of course, the thing which really caught Miss 12’s eye when the home screen first appeared was the Hack Minecraft icon. If your kid is into Minecraft (aren’t they all?) this is an incredibly fun learn-to-code tool that piggy-backs onto the success of one of the most engaging and surprisingly-simple engineering apps of all time. With this app, you can effectively alter Minecraft’s code to suit you—the tutorials walk you through the process, and your kids will be thrilled at the cool stuff they can now do with their beloved game that was otherwise impossible.

Updating your Kano Computer Kit and opportunities for further learning

Kano are continuously pushing software updates, adding new features and new challenges for your kids to try out. But, the fun doesn’t stop with the software provided in the box… not even close! The Kano Computer Kit prides itself on being highly hackable—at its heart is a Raspberry Pi, quite possibly the most community-focused computer that ever existed. There are so many other wild and wacky projects just waiting for your kids to explore with this hardware. Just hit up your favourite search engine and look for ‘Raspberry Pi software’ and you’ll find a virtually limitless sea of stuff to plonk on a microSD card and plug into your new favourite kit computer (a retro-gaming console anyone?).

Pricing and options

Kano offer a variety of kits to suit different budgets, as well as a bunch of great add-ons to explore for existing kits or even plain old PCs and Macs. Each add-on revolves around a different subject or application—for example, check out the Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit, which teaches you to build a magical wand that interacts with your computer through code that you create! Guaranteed, there’s a Kano kit to match the interests of your Brisbane Kids.

I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project with Miss 12, being able to help and point out the stuff I know about computers as she followed along with Kano’s walk-through. But you absolutely don’t need to know a thing about computers to get started here—Kano’s goal is to help acquaint anyone with an interest in computers and/or programming with the most minimal barrier of entry possible.

To find out more about the Kano Computer Kit, and other Kano Kit options, please check out https://kano.me/row. In Australia, Kano Kits are available from Australian Geographic, JB Hi-Fi and Telstra.

Brisbane Kids was provided with a Kano Computer Kit Complete for the purpose of a review. All opinions contained in this article are those of the writer. This article has not been sponsored.

The best part?  These fun audio tales involve no screen time and studies prove that when children are really listening to something without any visual distraction they are more likely to use their imagination and become fully engaged in the topic.  Made by and for children, most of these podcasts run at shorter lengths to help captivate a child’s usually short attention span quickly and can be listened to on their own or shared with family members.  Ideal for long road trips, rainy days or just curious young minds, below are a range of podcasts for kids that we think your Brisbane kids (and you!) will love.

Imagine This: A Podcast for Kids

For the past year, online news and research site, The Conversation, have been collecting questions from kids and publishing answers from experts on their website. The section, titled Curious Kids, has each question listed with answers written in a way that are easy for children to understand.  Taking our children’s thirst for knowledge one step further, The Conversation have now teamed up with ABC KIDS Listen to create Imagine This, a podcast based on the Curious Kids articles.

Hosted by Brianna Peterson, the podcasts take these questions and gets preschool-aged children to chat alongside Australia’s leading academics as they explore and discover the science behind the answers.  That’s right, now your child can find out the answer to that pressing question of whether or not sharks sneeze at the click of a button and really, could it get any more perfect than that?

Average length: 7 – 9  minutes

Suitable for children aged 3 years and older.

Find it here: iTunes

What If World

What If World is another podcast aimed at answering our children’s questions but this time they do it by exploring and breathing life, momentarily, into their beautiful imaginations.  Questions like “What if it rained candy?”, “What if cars could talk?” or “What if robots could turn into dragons?” are given their own reality as the host describes in vivid, colourful and realistic detail what the world would be like if these things did indeed happen. A fun and inspiring podcast that builds and expands on a child’s imagination.

Average length: 15 – 20mins

Suitable for children aged 3 and over.

Find it here: iTunes

Peace Out

In a world as demanding and hectic as ours now is, teaching our children lessons in mindfulness and meditation is a wonderful way to help them learn to self-calm and relax.  The Peace Out podcast is a perfect introduction to cultivating this life-long skill.  Each podcast starts with a calming countdown over gentle, soothing music.  Then, while either standing or sitting, kids can listen to stories about the world around them and be guided through gentle movements, yoga poses, stretches, breathing exercises and meditation based on the story being told. The stories are both informative tales about things in the world or different emotions and challenges.

Average length: 10 – 15 mins

Suitable for children aged 4 – 12 (most episodes list a specific age recommendation).

Find it here: iTunes | Website

Short and Curly

Short and Curly is a podcast that is great to listen to as a family.  Tackling ethical questions within entertaining content, this podcast opens conversation and is a brilliant way to engage in discussions on what is wrong and what is right and why this might be the case with your kids.  The podcasts in the Short and Curly series are a little longer than most kids-centred ones – usually lasting between 15-20 mins – but it is paced well and easy to follow.  Kids are regularly asked ethical questions before being asked to push pause so they can have a think about what they would choose to do and why.  Very entertaining, enlightening, and discussion-worthy podcast which opens communication about subjects like bullying, virtual reality, invisibility and fairness.

Average length: 15 – 20mins

Suitable for children aged 6 years and over.

Find it here: iTunes

Fierce Girls

What better way to inspire our daughters then to have them listen to stories about inspirational Australian women who have achieved great things in their lives?  Fierce Girls is a fantastic podcast that will inspire whole families (yep, boys too!) with the tales of Aussie women who were adventurous, brave, spirited and who dared to do things a little differently. Written for children, the podcast is an easy to follow, interesting and entertaining listen.

Average length: 15 minutes

Suitable for children aged 8 years +

Find it here: iTunes | Website

Story Pirates

This extremely popular podcast takes stories that are written by children and has world-class actors, comedians, improv artists and musicians adapt and then reenact them as sketch comedy and musical theatre pieces.  Highly entertaining, engaging and funny, these live shows are recorded and uploaded as a podcast for everyone to enjoy.  Whilst some of the podcasts can get quite long (some over 40 minutes) they each include two stories written by two different children and are very easy to get lost in – even for adults!

Average length: 10 – 30mins

Suitable for children aged 3 – 10 years

Find it here: iTunes | Website

Tumble

Tumble is a science podcast for kids and features stories of scientific discoveries that are both fun and easy for kids to enjoy.  Hosted by a teacher and a science journalist, children can listen along to podcasts such as “Dinosaur Poop, Who Dung it?”, “How to Build a Robotic Eel” or “The Case of the Missing Brains”.  A great listen for children with a love of science and fun facts.

Average length: 15 minutes

Suitable for children aged  6 – 15 years

Find it here:  iTunes | Website

The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel

A dramatic podcast where 11-year-old Mars Patel and his pals JP, Toothpick and Cadde set out on an audacious adventure in search of two missing friends.  This high-quality serial mystery story for school children is performed by actual kids and like any mystery story is completely addictive.  It is also one for a slightly older audience with The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel being described as a mix between Goonies, meets Spy Kids, meets Stranger Things for 8-12 year-olds.

Average length: 15 – 20 mins

Suitable for children aged 8 years and older.

Find it here: iTunes | Website

Eleanor Amplified

Eleanor Amplified is another adventure series that older kids will love. Easy for the whole family to enjoy, this podcast follows world-famous radio reporter Eleanor as she foils devious plots and outwits crafty villains, all in pursuit of the big story.  Perfect for the child that dreams of being an investigative reporter or for a family that loves to listen to the clever ways she gets both her way out of danger and the information she needs.

Average length: 15 minutes

Suitable for children aged 8 – 12 years

Find it here: iTunes | Website

Bedtime Explorers and Daytime Explorers

Combining bedtime stories and meditation, this podcast series by Kinderling features the calming voice of a mindfulness coach and beautiful sound design. A gentle and magical way to help your child’s active body and mind slow down and ready itself for sleep, kids will learn and use basic meditation techniques while being led through adventures, meet and play with animals, visit far away lands or explore new spaces.

This series also has a daytime version of its popular nighttime series. Perfect as an emotional reset at any time of the day, each daytime explorer podcast episode invites little listeners to take a WALKING MEDITATION in their imagination. With each gentle step along a snowy path, in a leafy forest, or along a sandy beach, children will gradually slow down and let go of their worries.

Average length: 12 mins

Suitable for children aged 3 years +

Find it here: iTunes | Website

Start Listening Now!

If you are new to the podcast game then don’t worry, getting started is actually extremely easy and you can be listening to one of your choices in just a few clicks of a button.  Podcasts can be easily streamed online and there are also plenty of apps you can download specifically for podcasts to make it easy to listen from your phone.  If you have iTunes you can simply search for kid’s podcasts or by a particular topic and when you have found one that interests you hit play!

Podcasts are a brilliant way to both educate and entertain your children at the same time.  Whether this is done on their own for some quality downtime or with the whole family together, podcasts for kids are a great way to open up conversation and foster imagination in our children.   So what are you waiting for?  There is a whole world of interesting podcasts out there just waiting for you all to explore!

The Learning App Guide

The learning app guide says it is, “ideal for choosing educational apps for students with autism, language disorders, reading disorders, hearing impairment and other diverse learning needs.” It is a focus on apps for kids aged between 2 and 12 years old. They lay out their categories in boxes defined by the below areas.

• Apps focused on behaviours like reward charts, group reward systems (for teachers) and other ways of helping kids to focus on good practices and making good choices as well as task following.
• Social skill guide apps that seem centred around helping kids identify social cues and supporting them in showing consideration in social situations, interaction supporting others ideas etc
• Literacy apps that offer support to help kids with autism with learning to read, phonics apps, letter recognition apps and other typical literacy apps.
• Language guide apps that from a glance seem mainly about word placement. For example, my daughter often says things like, “You don’t do it right, so you can’t help me, that’s why” Vs, “I don’t want your help if because you don’t do it right”. possibly a poor example but it’s all about how to put words into a sentence so that it makes sense. 
• Sensory Guide apps which centre around calming kids with bubble popping apps and other such ideas that allow a child to focus and remove themselves from their sensory alarm.
• Emotional guide apps which is one of their most exciting categories with lots of apps helping children to be self-aware of their emotions, how they are feeling and build a dialogue and words around that.
• The creating guide is about content and speech around using photos. This selection is for children with speech difficulties and kids who are non-verbal.
• Their early language apps are lots of game-related apps like Toca which help kids to identify common themes and words and concepts like animals and hairdressing, cooking and many more.

This online guide also curates these apps into lists like apps for late talkers and other useful collections. Being a source of apps used by professionals makes it worth collaborating with your child’s therapist to find out the best practice in using the apps with your child. You can view each app right down to the skills expected to be gained by the app usage as well which will be helpful in ruling out those that don’t apply to your child.

Website: Best Autism Therapy

Autism Apps for Ipads

The Autism Association of Western Australia has created a useful website which supports parents in how to use Ipads effectively to support their child with autism. It includes therapist reviews of apps, tips for selecting useful apps depending on your need and where possible they have included tablet android options.

Website: Autism Apps

Autism Speaks Apps

Autism speaks offers a collection of apps for kids with autism making it really clear what category each app falls into, (language, maths etc.) whether they are android or apple or both. What we like most about their app collection is that they add a research column that provided information about whether the apps results are proven in research, anedotally or if they come with no known data. For some parents, this kind of quantification is essential to investing time in an electronic tool and is rare in app reviews. The website also displays the age group most likely to benefit, and they have a helpful search function so you can filter the apps most likely to help you according to age and focus.

Website: Autism Speaks

App Toolbox

Craig Smith is a teacher and has generously curated a best practice list he uses in his teaching to support students with Autism. What we liked about his collection was the way he showed how he implemented them and where he saw value. This includes some literacy apps but also apps like the Toca collection and how to use these to add value. As we all know, sometimes kids are more likely to engage in the apps which present as games so it is helpful to understand how to make the most of these experiences.

Even though these apps pertain to use in the classroom, you can easily see how they can be used in the home. For example, he has identified an app which provides a visual schedule of the week which would have been helpful when my son was a toddler, moving activities visually into their day of the week so kids can be in control and aware of what is happening. I found this list to have apps I didn’t see elsewhere and offering the most value due to the explanations given.

Website: App toolbox

Don’t waste your time searching for “apps for kids with autism” because these websites offer the best collections. We found that even the government resources link to these collections as best practice sources. Please feel free to comment below with any specific apps or feedback on these websites.

Why is ‘Fortnite’ so Popular?

Fortnite is like Minecraft had a baby with Hunger Games – the cartoon version.  It combines harvesting and building gameplay with shooting enemies and fighting for survival.  Gamers play matches made up of 100 players and all drop out of a bus dangling from a hot air balloon (because, why not?).  Players must then skydive to a location on the map, hunt for loot such as guns and shields and eliminate opposing players.  Oh, and all this while running from the looming storm trying to kill them all.  The last player or team standing wins the match.

What makes the game so child-friendly is the fact that it lacks the graphic violence that a lot of other shooter games contain.  When a player is shot there is no blood, no cry and no sign of pain or injury, the player’s health bar simply goes down.  Other players even get a chance to rescue injured teammates by reviving them (teaching moment here).  And if a player dies they just disappear.  Making the game one of the most child-friendly and playful shooter games on the market.

Is ‘Fortnite: Battle Royale’ expensive?

The thing I like most about Fortnite: Battle Royale is that it is free.  Or it can be.  Of course, most kids will want you to spend money with ‘in-game’ purchases, but that is completely up to you.  Gamers can buy themselves a Battle Pack at any time after installing the game, which will give them cool upgrades the more they play.  You earn Battle Points for each match and these unlock fun tricks like dance moves and outfits (skins) to customize your player.  Special items can also be purchased in the item shop at any time.

What risks should I be aware of?

As with all types of online gaming, Fortnite can pose some very real threats to our children. Parents should consider the following risks when deciding if they should allow their children to play Fortnite.

• Addiction
• Online Predators
• Cost of ‘in game’ Purchases
• Hacking
• Cyber Bullying

How can I make Fortnite safe for my kids?

Gaming is great fun for our kids, but it needs to be monitored and we need to protect our children.  Fortunately, though, there are several steps parents can take to make Fortnite: Battle Royale safe, and keep our kids happy.

Control game time

As the old adage goes, ‘everything, in moderation’.  Same applies here.  Not only does this limit the time our children are exposed to the risks associated with online gaming, it will also help us get more quality time in with our kids.  Check out this article on childhood gaming obsession for tips on how to manage their addiction.

Change chat settings

The best way to keep your children safe from online predators is to limit how much they share with other gamers.  The main way players communicate in Fortnite is through voice chat.  This involves a child using a microphone to talk to other players in their team.  Obviously, this exposes children to online predators, hackers and bullying.  However, this feature can be limited or not used at all and is not necessary for enjoyable gameplay.  There are several ways you can to do this…

• Firstly let’s open the game Lobby (this is where you go to start playing a match),
• Then click on the three white vertical lines on the top right-hand corner.
• Next, you need to click on the settings button, the icon looks like a gear and pops up just under those white lines. Now You are in the Settings (to our children’s horror I’m sure)!
• Okay so now we need to click on the Speaker icon right up the top next to the picture of the sun.

Now you can change the settings!

Here are our options:

• Voice Chat
  You can use the arrows to turn this off completely and your child won’t be able to talk to other players
• Push to Talk
  If you would like your child to be able to talk to other friends you should use the arrows to turn this on. This means your child will have to press a key on the keyboard when they want to talk (click on the white boxes with the arrows up the top to see which key).
  The reason we want this on, is so that other players don’t end up unintentionally hearing private conversations.  Microphones pick up more than you think and more than once I have heard mothers talking to their children at home, not knowing other gamers online could hear everything.
• Voice Chat Output Device
  By Changing the Voice Chat Output Device to the speakers instead of to a headset, parents can listen to our children’s chat exchanges and can keep an ear out for inappropriate communication. Use the arrows to switch through your options and select the tv or speakers instead of the headset.

Protect your PayPal and Credit Card information
With Fortnite children can only make ‘in-game’ purchases if they supply your PayPal or Credit Card details in the game checkout.  Keep these private to ensure you don’t end up paying a fortune for some wicked dance moves!

Play Fortnite with your kids

Of course, the best way to make sure your kids being safe is to join in the fun and your kids will love you for it.  The game is free, so why not set it up on multiple devices and the whole family can play together.  You will develop a greater understanding of how the game works and connect with your children on their level.  Who knows, you may even enjoy it!

The opinions reference in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Brisbane Kids or its employees.  This has been written as an information piece to support the many families whose kids are playing Fortnite not to influence the use/or not of Fortnite. 

Flying a Drone in Council Parks

Drones can now be flown in several Council parks, thanks to a trial that began in late December 2017. As part of the trial, the parks will have designated areas where you can fly a drone or other remotely piloted aircraft. The trial will run for up to six months, and will be reviewed regularly, with close monitoring of the areas to ensure all safety measures and regulations are being followed.

Parks Included in the Trial

Specified areas in the following parks are included in the trial, where you can fly your drone or aircraft (subject to conditions — see below):

Canterbury Park, Rushworth Street, Bald Hills

The designated area for flying drones and aircraft is located at the north side of the park, near the river. Signs are provided on site. Follow the link in the table on this page to see a map of the designated area.

Carindale Recreation Reserve, Bedivere Street, Carindale

To find the drone flying area, head to the south side of the park, behind the dog off-leash area and car park. See here for a map of the designated area.

For more information about Carindale Recreation Reserve, click here.

Cliveden Park, Moorfields Street, Fig Tree Pocket

Head east of the playground on Moorfields Street and towards the corner of Cottesmore Street, and look for the signs provided. The link in the table on this page shows a map of the designated area.

Keperra Picnic Ground Park, Tramway Street, Ferny Grove

The drone flying area can be found at the north side of the park, between the bowls club and the cricket fields. Signs are provided. Follow the link in the table here for a map of the designated area.

Lacey Road Park, Roghan Road, Carseldine

Look for the signed area at the eastern side of the park, near Roghan Road. See a map of the designated area in the table on this page.

Moggill Ferry Reserve, Moggill Road, Moggill

Head towards the banks of the Brisbane River, behind the car park and shelter and look for the signs provided to find the designated area. Follow the link in the table on this page to see a map of the designated area.

Preston Road Park, Kate Street, Carina

The designated area for drones is signposted and is located east of the car park near Kate Street and the corner of Preston Road. The table on this page provides a link to a map of the designated area.

Preston Road Park is also known as Meadowlands Park and also has a great playground (see above). For more information about Preston Road Park, click here.

The Common Park, Cambridge Street, Coopaproo

In The Common Park, the designated drone flying area is signposted and is located south of the playground and picnic shelters. Follow the link in the table on this page to see a map of the designated area.

Voyager Drive Park, Pioneer Drive, Kuraby

The area for flying drones in this park is signposted and can be found to the east of the pathway near Pioneer Drive, heading to the bottom of the hill. There is a link in the table on this page with a map of the designated area.

Wishart Community Park, Kavanagh Road, Wishart

The drone flying area is signposted. It is located east of the car park at the end of Kavanagh Road. To see a map of the designated area, follow the link in the table on this page.

Conditions for Flying a Drone or Aircraft in Council Parks

Drones and other remotely piloted aircraft can only be flown in council areas if they meet the following conditions, as stated on the Brisbane City Council website at this link:

• you are flying for recreational purposes; and
• your aircraft weighs no more than 2 kg; and
• your aircraft is electric; and
• your aircraft has propeller guards (drones only); and
• you are flying in a manner that does not endanger, interfere with or cause nuisance to the park, park users or adjoining properties; and
  you follow Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s (CASA) safety rules for flying drones and other remotely piloted aircraft recreationally.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regulates the flying of drones and other aircraft in Brisbane, and their rules must be strictly followed. Visit casa.gov.au to read the rules and make sure your are flying your craft suitably and safely.

Other Areas for Flying Drones

Drones and other remotely controlled aircraft can also be flown in ANY Council park, without needing prior Council consent, as long as it meets the following conditions as stated on the Brisbane City Council website at this link:

• the drone is a children’s toy, or weighs less than 0.5 kg; or
• the drone weighs less than 0.1 kg when flown in Council parks located within 5.5 km of the Brisbane Airport or Archerfield Airport; and
• the drone is being flown for recreational purposes; and
• the drone is being flown in a manner that does not endanger, interfere with or cause nuisance to the park, park users or adjoining properties; and
• the operator follows the Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s (CASA) safety rules for flying drones and other remotely piloted aircraft recreationally.

Further Information

The flying of drones in other areas is a restricted activity according to BCC. It can only be done in other areas or for other purposes with consent from Council. Events such as training, racing and filming all require consent. You can apply for consent here.

Drones and remotely controlled aircraft over 0.1 kg are not permitted to be flown within 5.5 km of Brisbane Airport or Archerfield Airport.

Consent is needed for any filming or photography from drones for commercial purposes from Council parks.

The flying of drones is also regulated by noise restrictions.

For further information on flying drones in Brisbane, please visit the Brisbane City Council website here, or call them on 07 3403 8888.

Below is a list of apps that have been created to support separated families.  Be it by having joint calendars, journals or communication methods – these apps aim to make a sometimes difficult process as smooth and calm as possible with the fact that most of the communication is done online – rather than in person – actually a plus for most.

Useful apps for co-parenting

Divvito

Whilst Divvito offers co-parents a way to have all of their communication in one place, to organise messages into conversations related to specific topics and to share photos and files easily for collaboration, it is the way they deal with the delivery of messages between parties that really sets this app apart.  Developed from an understanding that quite often communication between separated parents can be fraught with emotion and that things can often be written in the heat of the moment and regretted or misconstrued, the team at Divvito have created an app that can sense if there are any inflammatory words in a message and gives parents a chance to revise their messages before sending to help keep discussions positive.  Entire chat histories can be archived so that messages can be referred back to when needed and all notifications are private so that parents can read and respond when they are ready.  It also ensures that kids don’t accidentally read anything that they shouldn’t.

Cost: FREE  Divvito

• Designed in Australis for Australian families
• Communication management tool to cool conversations

Our Family Wizard

Our Family Wizard is an app that is aimed at simplifying shared custody arrangements. Parents can use it to share messages, communicate expenses and update each other on appointments and meetings.  With a calendar, message board, expense log, journal and info bank easily shared and accessible it stops children from being the middle messenger, which tends to happen in most cases.  The notification centre for emails and texts also helps make sure no important dates or information can be missed.

Cost: FREE Our Family Wizard

• Expense trackers
• Shared parenting calendar
• Message board

Parenting Apart

Created by Christina McGhee, well-known divorce coach and parent educator, the Parenting Apart app focuses less on practicalities and more on emotional issues for parents and children. One of the hardest things to navigate but also the most important, this app provides information and guidance on things like the emotional stages parents and children will go through, adjustment issues, challenges and inspiration. Once purchased it provides free updates with content ‘refills’ in the form of new articles and materials as they become available.

Cost: $1.49 Parenting Apart

• Support information for parents – collective understanding

Kidganizer

Kidganizer is another app that is designed to help communication flow when face to face is not preferable.  A synchronised app that updates in real time, Kidganizer allows parents to keep track of expenses, custody arrangements and calendar appointments without the constant back and forth that would usually be required.  Parents can set up individual profiles for each child which can be shared with other caregivers if needed and expenses can be viewed for individuals as well as totals for all children too.  Alerts will also be seen if anything changes to a schedule or an important meeting is coming up, making sure that everyone is made aware kept up to date in real time and without hassle.

Cost: $2.99 Kidganizer

• Expense management
• Alerts to remind parents about appointments

2Houses

This app was created by co-parents who recognised the need to help manage their children’s two homes fluidly.  It is popular in its efficient simplicity with parents able to access and edit synchronised calendars, expenses and custody arrangements.  The journal feature is the perfect way to communicate with each other privately and allows for not just messaging but also photo, file and video uploads if desired.  Shared photo albums, to-do and shopping lists, as well as an information bank, are also features of this app.

Cost: FREE 2houses

• Shared lists and photo albums
• Joint calendars, expenses and central custody information

Ultimately, these apps do far more than simply help make co-parenting easier for the parents.  By providing separated couples with a way to keep communication between them as simple and peaceful as possible the real winner will be the children they support.

So should we panic? Absolutely not, because even though the internet presents some risks, the internet also represents a place to explore, play, share and, most importantly, learn. With a few basic steps you can balance your child’s safety while developing their online life.

1. Start  a Discussion

With a full 95% of teens aged 12-17 now online it’s important to realise the internet is here to stay. The best way to deal with this, as with many parenting challenges, is through open and consistent conversation. With the internet being such an important part of our own adult lives, it shouldn’t present too much of a challenge to get things started – merely mention something you saw of note today and steer the conversation around to what your child might be doing online and anything they might’ve seen or heard which they’d like to discuss.

Technology has created something of a role reversal for parents, it is one of the few areas in life where kids are often more skilled than their parents. Let’s face it, when it comes time to set up that new Apple TV, it’s usually the kids we turn to for help.

2. Be Involved
   

One pillar of good internet parenting is to be involved. Treat screentime in the same way you would, say, reading a book or playing in the backyard – don’t merely toss the iPad to your child for some peace and quiet, sit down with them and explore what interests them. Not only is this a great way to bond over your child’s interests, it’s also a great way to ensure the content they’re viewing is appropriate. Indeed, studies showed the vast majority of kids would change their internet behaviour when their parents were watching.

3. Talk to other parents

Good cyber-parenting isn’t a solo undertaking. Kids are viewing internet content on an ever-growing number of devices, and while most use still takes place at home, increasing numbers are using technology at school and at a friends’ house, away from direct parental supervision. This means you should chat through challenges, ideas and concerns with your child’s friends’ parents to make sure you’re all on the same page. Truth is, bad internet practices can quickly spread amongst a group of friends.

4. Set boundaries

Screen time has benefits, such as encouraging kids to write more, however, like many things in life you need to be careful of too much of a good thing. For example, a 2015 Cambridge University study found that an extra hour over and above the average amount of screen time for teenagers could lead to their GCSE results falling by 2 grades. Some examples of healthy boundaries to set could be; set times where devices are/aren’t acceptable, certain devices only allowed to be used in certain rooms (communal living spaces for example) or no devices during meal times.

5. Screen free time before bed

This is so tempting for kids and adults alike. One last email, one last check of Facebook, one last journey through the wonder which is Minecraft. In fact, one poll found 95% of Americans use technology within an hour of bed. This causes issues in three distinct ways, firstly it encourages kids to go to bed later. Secondly, it excites them close to bedtime. And finally, the light emissions can disrupt the body’s natural rhythms.  So when bedtime comes near read them a book or tell them a story, their body clocks will thank you!

6. Lead by example

Watching your child develop is one of life’s great thrills. And truthfully, most of what they learn they learn from you, their parents. The same goes for their use of technology. If you tune them out to reply to a text or check Facebook, they’ll learn that too. Indeed, one sad fact is that many kids feel they need to compete for attention with their parents’ devices, so be sure to lead by example.

7. Stay informed

The internet is always changing, and that means you’ll probably need to constantly make efforts to educate yourself about what’s available to your kids, who they’re talking to and what they’re talking about it. Acronyms are a good place to start, ever seen “POS” come up on your child’s chat screens? If so, you should know it means “parent over shoulder”.  Yep, they’re onto you. But don’t worry, let them know you know what it mean and they’ll have a whole new respect for their “cool” mum or dad.

8. Use technology as an opportunity to connect

Get your child to show you things that they find fun or engaging on technology or the Internet. Be open minded and genuinely interested in what they are doing (even if you find it somewhat baffling), learn about their world and explore it with them. The more your child is comfortable engaging with you on the fun stuff, the more they’ll be open to discussing with you some of the more challenging things they discover online.

Whether it’s the digital world or the physical one, children are always going to explore, experiment and push boundaries. That’s part of the job description of being a kid. Our job is not to stop them from exploring, but to give them the opportunity to explore safely, and to help them build the knowledge and experience so they can safely make their own decisions.

Daniel Zwolenski, author of this article, is co-founder of Code Camp and has taught 10,000 children from ages 5-12 to code around Australia as part of holiday camp programs. Code Camp’s mantra is #infinitepossibilities.

Sources:

1. http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/teens-fact-sheet/
2. https://www.ctia.org/growing-wireless
3. http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/health-and-community/enewsletter/kids-online-statistics
4. http://literateforlife.org/screen-time-benefits/
5. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34139196
6. https://sleepfoundation.org/media-center/press-release/annual-sleep-america-poll-exploring-connections-communications-technology-use-
7. http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/families/enewsletter/screen-time-and-sleep
8. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/be-a-role-model-4-ways-to-balance-screen-time-around-children
9. http://www.guardchild.com/statistics/