As my children get older giving them a little freedom and independence has been both scary and liberating. Olivia now rides the bus to school. Alexandra always wants to ride the team bus to and from track meets. They have both asked to “go out” with their friends sans chaperone (i.e. stay at home mom). I admit, on one hand, I’m glad I don’t have to run back and forth with them for every activity. But on the other hand, the world isn’t the same as when I was their age and keeping them safe is my #1 priority. So as they grow more independent we’ve begun using these 3 apps every parent needs when raising teens.

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Cozi Family Organizer

Keeping a schedule for all our activities is a must. Teaching my girls to manage their own schedules is an important part of raising responsible adults. I don’t take ballet, so if Olivia forgets her pointe shoes for class after school, I’m not dropping everything to bring them to her. Tough luck little lady.

My approach to planning our schedule includes a handwritten planner, a large wall calendar, and a shared family calendar app. There are many you can choose from but my favorite is the Cozi Family Organizer.

You can create appointments specifically for your teen with reminders so they don’t forget. You can also share lists and notes among the entire family. Best of all you don’t all have to be on the same email platform. Add Grandma or your next door neighbor when you need them and delete them when you don’t.

Click here now to download the Cozi app FREE!

Life360 Family Locator

Keep your family’s schedule in one place with this free shared family organizer.

Both of my girls have an activity (or two) every weekday after school. That makes for a ton of conflicts in our schedule and mama can’t be two places at one time. We changed Olivia’s dance school so that she is able to walk to class after school. She is now responsible for her own schedule and her own transportation. So we got her a cell phone for safety.

She has an iPhone and I’m #TeamAndroid all the way. In order to keep track of her whereabouts, we downloaded the Life360 Family Locator App. It sends alerts when she arrives and leaves the places she frequents. I have peace of mind knowing that I can track her wherever she goes. She can even track Harold and me to see where we are…or how late we will be to pick her up. It happens.

Make sure that your tweens and teens make it to destinations safely…and that they stay there with the Life360 Family Locator App.

Greenlight Debit Card

Teaching young people to manage money is uber important. All my children have had bank accounts since they were very young. They know how to make deposits and withdrawals, and we’ve taught them about spending and saving. And when we go out for family activities, we make them use their own money for things they want. But Alexandra can be careless and Olivia can be absent-minded, and lost cash is just that, lost. So we got them Greenlight Debit Cards.

Greenlight Cards give you control of where and how your kids can spend money while giving them the freedom and independence to do so. We connected their cards to their accounts and set limits on what they can spend. They can also send a request for added funds that you can fulfill immediately through the app. The best thing about the Greenlight Card is that it sends the parent account an alert with the amount and location where money was spent. Teaching your children good money habits just got easier.

Use my referral link to sign up for Greenlight Debit Card and get $10 in your account! Click here to get started now.

[bctt tweet=”These 3 apps every parent needs will make giving your teens more freedom much less scary. #momonthemove #raisingteens” username=”themomonthemove”]

What are you using to give your teens a little more independence without feeling like Spy Mom? Leave me a comment below and we’ll add them to the list!