Technology now helps parents keep a close tab on their children. There are apps that update them on school activities and their children’s grades.
Link is one such, which keeps parents informed about the status of their children’s performance, assignment submissions and homework. It also sends parents general circulars. The app has an inbuilt calendar that reminds parents on matters such as when children should take geometry box to school.
Rajeev Sharma, director, Elevenity (the company that developed the app), said Link improved parental engagement with their children’s work. He and co-founder of the company Gautaum Mayur felt there was a communication gap between their children’s school management and them. “Most often if children get circulars about exams or new rules, they don’t reach us. So we thought of an app to bridge the communication gap,” he said.
Link helps schools as well. “Schools needn’t send printed circulars or maintain manual records of marks and attendance,” he said. The app is also connected to the GPS of school buses and provides real-time information on the exact location of the child.
As many as 10 city schools have enrolled for the app, and Mr. Sharma said the one-year-old company was reaching out to schools in other cities like Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai. He added that unlike other apps, this one sent personalised information to parents about their wards. Parents can also communicate with each other on this platform.
“If parents want to invite their wards’ friends for a birthday, our platform would make the communication easier,” he said.
Vijaya Sateesh, principal of Bubbly Bunnies, a Montessori school in HSR Layout, said thanks to the app parents would instantly respond to circulars. Geetha Pujar, a parent who works in a software company, who started using the app recently, said it helped parents prioritise their child’s academic tasks.
However, M. Sreedhara Murthy, a professor of psychology, felt obsessive focus and vigil on children by parents would curb their mental space and described it as “panic” parenting. “Breathing down the neck of the child is not healthy. Parents can instead focus on making children more responsible,” he said.
Mr. Sharma, however, said the app was only a tool for parents to have a control on their child’s studies.
Published - April 27, 2014 11:04 pm IST
