This blog was originally published on June 22, 2021 and updated on August 6, 2024 with new information.
When choosing the best features for a child care mobile app, understanding the importance of the mobile experience is crucial. The average person in the U.S. spends around 7 hours focused on a screen and checks their phone about 96 times per day. That means a daycare app must encompass more than simple communication; the best app must offer features that allow parents to explore their child’s daily routine, check weekly menus for meals, pay their monthly tuition and much more.
Let’s take a closer look at the features and benefits of a child care app and what to look for when choosing one for your child care business.
What is a Daycare Communications App?
A daycare communications app, also known as a family engagement app, daycare app or a teacher parent communication app, facilitates interaction and engagement between parents and the educators who work with their kids in child care programs.
With a daycare communications app educators can use a desktop computer, tablet or a mobile device to send and receive messages, share photos and video as well as deliver daily reports to parents.
Daycare apps may be used by child care providers, public school teachers, after school program leaders or early childhood educators to connect with parents and relay information like upcoming lesson plans, event schedules and developmental progress updates.
Daycare apps make it easier for parents and educators to connect, build trust, share information and resources, and solve problems to improve each child’s care and developmental outcomes.
The Most Important Features for a Daycare Communication App
The seven most important features you should look for in a child care app are:
- Direct and mass in-app communications with families
- Text alerts for emergency communication
- Tuition payment capabilities
- Calendar and event-sharing capabilities
- Child care newsletter distribution options
- Activity report updates for children
- Multimedia capabilities (to send/share videos and photos)
These seven features allow your child care business to save time, enhance emergency planning and keep parents in the loop with updates and engagement across multiple channels. We’ll explore the importance of each of these key features and discuss why they’re everything you need for a successful parent communication strategy.
Direct and Mass In-App Communication vs. Texting Families
A parent communication app is more efficient for parent communication than texting, which is why the most important feature for any child care mobile app is the ability to send messages to parents through an in-app interface. Your family engagement app should give you the ability to communicate directly with parents on a one-to-one basis or to send the same message to a group of parents.
The best apps will thread your messages with each family so you can easily look back through your communication history for reference. You’ll also be able to attach an image to each of your contacts, making it easier to remember whom you’re talking with when your center has a lot of customers.
Text Alerts for Emergency Communication
The best communication apps feature an alert system that allows families to receive texts in the event of a closure, severe storm or other emergency situation (like an intruder lockdown). This feature must be simple and seamless, allowing staff to simply create a message within the alert system and activating the notification system within the app to deliver the message to every parent and individual in the center’s emergency contact list.
Every child care center must have an emergency plan, which is a set of defined protocols for responding to any emergency situation. Wondering why you might want to send texts instead of in-app messages during an emergency?
Data shows that read rates for texts are 99% or more, and that 90% of text messages are read within three minutes. This makes text messaging the absolute best way to communicate an urgent message to parents.
In-App Capabilities for Tuition Payments
Another feature you should look for in a child care app is the ability to pay tuition through the app.Make sure the app allows your center to create and send invoices to parents easily. You also should be able manage all billing transactions, payments, refunds and credits from the app.
Families should be able to make online payments — from a checking or savings account, or a debit or credit card — to your center and get a viewable list of transactions.
And your center should have the ability to bill parents based on hourly attendance using information gleaned from the app.
Share Your Child Care Calendar & Event Schedule with Families
The best daycare and preschool communication app for parents allows them to see their child’s care center calendar and events schedule. The calendar and events information allows parents to find details on lessons, activities and fun events that you and the staff scheduled. A child care calendar may include information about planned activities, field trips, upcoming holiday celebrations, open house events and more.
Shared calendars keep parents in the loop on what your center is doing so they can plan to get involved or find ways to supplement their child’s learning with additional activities.
Apps Should Let You Create and Email Child Care Newsletters
Some family engagement apps give your center the ability to create and email a newsletter about your child center.
Newsletters are a great way to share updates with parents in an engaging format that includes an attractive layout, text and images from your center. Your newsletter can leverage your company logo and brand colors to increase awareness about your business and highlight your professionalism and attention to detail.
Share Digital Daily Activity Reports Securely and Privately
Security and privacy are crucial features of the best daycare communications apps; this feature is important when sending daily activity reports about children. Look for apps that offer private secure portals for sending (and receiving) these updates.
Digital daily reports are a great way to provide consistent feedback and communication on how each child is developing and learning to thrive in the child care environment.
Digital reports are easier to fill out. They never get lost or damaged and they’re easy to access if they need to be referenced in the future.
Share Child Care Updates through Photos and Videos
The best child care apps allow child care providers to share pictures and videos of the most exciting things happening at their centers. That includes birthday celebrations, exhilarating activities and the developmental milestones kids reach as they get older, stronger and smarter.
Parents love to receive picture and video updates that make them feel like they’re an engaged participant in their child’s daily learning.
Four Benefits of a Child Care Parent Communication App
Enhance Your Center’s Emergency Planning
Communication is no longer focused on emails and phone calls. Parents want instant updates, and an app ensures constant visibility into their child’s day and routine. While these apps are crucial for parent communication, they also benefit care centers by providing:
- Quick resolution solutions when behavioral or other issues arise
- Enhanced emergency planning
- Additional trust with parents to improve retention and happiness
- Increased parent engagement
Enhance Your Center’s Emergency Planning
A parent communication plan gives you the ability to respond to emergencies quickly and decisively, by keeping parents informed with text message alerts that go straight to their mobile phones.
Build Trusting Relationships that Increase Customer Retention
Family engagement apps enable easy two-way communication between parents and child care providers. This gives caregivers the opportunity to build strong relationships of trust and understanding with parents that will lead to long-term customer satisfaction and retention.
Keep Parents Engaged with their Child’s Development
A teacher parent communication app is great for keeping parents involved in their child’s learning. They allow parents to easily access lesson plans, calendars, event schedules and updates from teachers on their child’s progress. Armed with this information, parents can plan activities and learning experiences for their child that complement what they’re learning from their teacher or child care provider.
Quickly Resolve Child Care Issues
Whether it’s a logistics issue or a behavioral issue, daycare apps offer a direct communication line between caregiver and parent that helps everyone get on the same page and shortens the resolution time for child care issues. Parents and child care providers can share real-time updates and resources, form collaborative strategies and truly team up to help kids reach their full potential.
Daycare Communication Apps Security and Privacy
One of the most important considerations when choosing the best daycare communication apps relates to security and privacy; the best app should require strict password requirements, include multi-factor authentication, and offer secure encryption for any payment options. The platform and its app also should consistently monitor for any security vulnerabilities and alert customers when passwords need to be updated because of a vulnerability.
Procare takes security and privacy seriously. Our Trust & Security page details our privacy and security best practices and provides contact information if you need to reach us to report a concern.
Questions to Ask When Considering a Parent Communications App
When you are considering your center’s options for a communications app, it’s important for you and your staff to feel comfortable using it. You also need to feel confident that the features meet your needs. Here are the top questions to ask vendors when you’re considering an app:
- Does it combine messaging, billing and daily reports in one place, or will I still need separate tools?
- Is the app available for Apple and Android phones and tablets?
- Does it offer an emergency system for text communication?
- Is the app included with the platform price, or is the app an additional fee?
- How does the vendor handle data security and privacy for children’s information?
- Is the app offered in multiple languages when English is not a family’s native language?
- Do you offer a free demo?
What to Look for in a Parent Communications App: At a Glance
Remember to keep the seven key features in mind when you’re researching your parent communications app options. The table below shows each key feature and why it’s valuable to your care center and staff (and your families, too).
| Feature | Why It Matters |
| Direct and group messaging | Saves a message thread (history) for families; this means you don’t have to repeat updates |
| Emergency text alerts | Texts are read within minutes; this is the best way to communicate emergencies |
| Tuition payment | No more cumbersome invoicing and an app payment option can minimize late fees |
| Shared calendar | Keeps families updated on events, field trips, etc. |
| Digital daily reports | Saves time for staff and lets families quickly view reports about their child’s day |
| Photo/video sharing | Parents love to see videos and photos of their child throughout the day; this boosts transparency and trust |
| Security and privacy | The best apps include multi-factor authentication and other security protocols |
Boost Your Parent Engagement with Procare’s Daycare Communication Features
Instant communications and mobile payments have become a necessity in today’s child care business.
Procare’s robust child care management solution has enhanced family engagement functionality and through the child care mobile app, you can immerse parents into their children’s day-to-day activities – from tracking developmental milestones to sharing photos and videos to enabling two-way communication.
Procare’s expertise in child care has also helped us create simple solutions for child care billing, staff management and attendance tracking. From daily communications to emergency situations, Procare will be your all-in-one solution for staying connected with parents and running your center every day.
FAQ
Reputable platforms protect family data with the same security standards used in other industries handling sensitive information, including data encryption and access controls. Ask the vendor about privacy and security.
Texting and email are not ideal communication options for care centers, as messages can get lost. There also might not be a saved history of these messages. However, an app offers threads that are saved, letting families look back on old messages for reference. Apps also should allow centers an option to send messages to multiple families at once.
Many daycare or child care center apps are packaged with the platform, allowing centers to use the app when it’s most convenient. When your center is researching platforms, be sure to ask about app access – some platforms may charge an extra fee.
Yes, however, be sure to look for an app that works on a tablet and/or a phone. Also research the compatibility of the app – can it only be used on iPhones, or does Google Play offer a download for Android? Make sure the app works for different devices to improve parent communication.
The best daycare communication apps should always support more than one channel. Don’t let a provider force you into one communication channel. You should be able to send text alerts, in-app messages, etc.
