A popular parenting app is getting a refresh in time for the school holidays thanks to the Turnbull Government, with hundreds of articles, activity suggestions and advice to help families with children of all ages.
The Learning Potential app has been downloaded 118,000 times since it launched in August last year and the latest updates come in time for the school holidays with a range of new features and 45 new articles that include a variety of activity ideas and parenting tips developed based on data of the information families had been seeking out.
Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham said the usage data from Learning Potential showed families wanted to better understand how best to incorporate technology in their children’s lives so the updates include more than 20 new articles that offer advice and tips on how to use technology or alternative ways for parents to entertain and engage with their children.
“Parents have voted with their fingers and are clearly turning to technology themselves to help find the best ways of managing technology in the lives of their children, with the Learning Potential app’s technology sections clearly the most popular,” Minister Birmingham said.
“We can see from the data that even parents who have grown up with more technology in their lives are eager to get advice they can trust on how to get the right balance of and benefits from the internet, smart devices like iPads and TV in their children’s lives.
“The Learning Potential app is a trusted resource for parents across the country because it uses the latest national and international research and is designed in collaboration with expert agencies, like the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority and the Office of the Children’s E-Safety Commissioner.
“While we work to implement initiatives in schools that will help turnaround Australia’s declining rankings in international education benchmarks, Learning Potential helps parents in their role as the first teachers in any child's life and better allows them to complement the work of teachers and schools.
“Whether they’re in the high chair or when they’re in high school, the Turnbull Government’s Learning Potential app has hundreds of articles, games and tips designed to help parents no matter what stage their children are at.”
Minister Birmingham said the app offered parents trusted advice for any of the burning questions they had.
“As a dad I know what it can feel like to be looking for guidance but not wanting to sift through some of the dubious parenting advice you find on the internet,” Minister Birmingham said.
“Our Learning Potential app helps fill that gap of trusted advice and helps encourage parents to try new ways of engaging with their children.
“This app gives parents ways to easily tap and share advice, tips and ideas on being actively involved in their child’s learning and to ultimately help boost their personal skills and education outcomes.
“Our updates build on the success of the popular Learning Potential app with new articles on a range of topics like how to teach children to read using phonics, whether handwriting or typing notes is best and managing stress during exams and activities for little ones designed to improve motor skills or encourage a love of science.”
For further information or to download the app visit https://www.learningpotential.gov.au/