As a busy mom, I’m all about streamlining things in my life for convenience and efficiency and love apps that help me do so, especially in a moment of crisis when we have to head out the door immediately with a sick or hurt child. I recently wrote about our son’s first trip to the emergency room as a six week old with a high fever but what I didn’t write about was how I scrambled to make sure his health insurance information was in my wallet, searched frantically for the file with his vaccination information from our pediatrician, and racked my brain wondering what other crucial information might help our very sick son. Of course, that happened back in 2006 and while I had an iPhone, there wasn’t quite an app for everything like the commercials claimed. I only wish KidsLink had been around then.
KidsLink is a free family management app that allows parents to store important family information in one place such as documents like digital copies of birth certificates, social security numbers, and health insurance information for access on the go. I was introduced to KidsLink while attending Type A Parent this past September in Atlanta and even though I’m always looking with a critical eye at products that claim to be parental timesavers, I admit to being impressed after a quick overview of beta version in the conference expo hall with the app co-co-founders. I recognized how helpful it would have been for my first ER visit with our son and the many that have followed and gave my immediate reaction on video! Apparently I wasn’t the only one at Type A impressed with KidsLink! Hear what other attendees thought through this video!
KidsLink Launch at Type-A Parent Conference from KidsLink on Vimeo. I was not compensated for sharing my thoughts about KidsLink on video.
Getting Started with KidsLink
After downloading the My KidsLink app from mykidslink.com, I found that it took very little time to create an easy-to-use profile that holds a wealth of information. In literally two minutes I set up my family account that consisted of inputting my email address, password, and both of my kids’ names, birthdays, genders, and a photo for their profile. Profiles for each child were automatically generated and parents can input as much or as little information as they want. Please note that the photos below are from my family’s test profile. For security information, I did not use screen shots of our actual KidsLink profile.
KidsLink is helpful for storing as much information as you choose to include through child dashboards that include a Document Vault with sections for activities, financial, health, household, ID & vital records, and school. Take photos of any documents you’d like to save via KidsLink with your smartphone camera to store them electronically. I like that KidsLink is flexible and users are never required to fill out all the sections.
Given our hospital history, I find the Health section to be the most helpful since I can store an electronic copy of each child’s birth certificate, health records, allergies, doctor’s notes, measurements, fingerprints and footprints, medication details, and also a current photo. There are also places to health insurance information, pediatrician contact information, medical receipts, and invoices for easy access.
Benefits of KidsLink
Having the KidsLink app on my phone allows me to have one central electronic place where information is securely stored and can be accessed immediately through my mobile device. Since KidsLink can be shared, my husband can also access our family profile complete with our information through his smartphone whenever he needs it from wherever he may be. As parents, we can rest easy that whether we’re together or apart, we have the same information about our children when we need it.
Additional Features of KidsLink
KidsLink is a way you can share vital information with other caregivers such as grandparents, babysitters, nannies, and any other individuals you choose. It also allows you to capture so much more information by taking a photo of the document with your smartphone.
Here’s a sample of the kinds of things you can store via KidsLink:
- Activities— Keep track of achievements, team directories, handbooks, ID cards, instructions, registration forms, and receipts
- Financial— Note auto insurance information, estimates, receipts, warranties, life insurance, contacts, and coupons
- Household— Record contracts, estimates, greeting cards (even broken down by kind of greeting card), instructions, invitations, and even recipes
- ID and Vital Records—This is a good place to store electronic copies of birth certificates, driver’s licenses, ID cards, ID photos, passport, finger and footprints, proof of citizenship, proof of residency, and measurements
- School— Never search for assignments, directories, school info, test scores, tuition or registration information again! The School section also serves as a place to archive teacher notes, test scores, and electronic copies of precious pieces of your child’s artwork for posterity.
For more information or to sign up for a free KidsLink account for your family, visit:
This post is part of a sponsored content series to share the features of I like the most but all opinions are my own. Images courtesy of KidsLink.
