The iPhone Mom

Family Matters is not an app that you use to distract your kids or keep them occupied. It’s meant to help you connect with each other through actual face to face interaction.  The app features questions and activities that are designed to help you communicate with your children more effectively, learning more about them as you go.

Family Matters features questions/activities that are designed for four situations where you might find yourself sitting around with time to talk. They are: Restaurant, Road Trip, Dr. Office and a General category. The different categories have questions that relate to these situations.  The idea is to go through the app and use it to begin discussions with  your child. For example – the Restaurant category might ask you to “name your favorite food that is your favorite color” or “what is your favorite meal that your parents make you?” Some questions are lighthearted, some will foster deeper conversations. As you are going through them all you can mark activities/questions as favorites or even delete them. You can also add your own to the lists. Family Matters also features advice on how to best use the application and ideas to get you started.  I found this section be be very helpful. I’ve been told that an update featuring the category of “Airports” has been submitted to Apple and they are working on “Waiting in Line” for early 2010.

If you’re finding it difficult to really talk with your children and you don’t know how to get beyond the “How was your day? It was okay.” routine this app will get you going.  I think it’s a fantastic idea and a great way to use the iPhone as a positive tool for families. The only thing that I didn’t really care for were the graphics. I found them a little distracting and not really necessary given the nature of the app. But that’s just me. Everything else was terrific.

On a side note, the creation of this app was actually a family affair for the Weiner family. The development involved dad, mom and their three children. Pretty cool! Throughout the month of December they are donating half of the proceeds from Family Matters to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Which makes this an app that can benefit your own family while you help someone else’s.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

Seller: Weiner Family Studios

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.