Committee for Children Launches First-of-Its-Kind Parenting App, Parachute Published: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Shauna McBride, smcbride@cfchildren.org, 206.612.8718 A free, daily resource for parenting’s toughest challenges SEATTLE — Parents are a child’s first teacher, but we all know children don’t come with an instruction manual. Picky eaters? Won’t stay in bed at night? Tantrums that force you to abandon full shopping carts? We’ve heard it all. What if parents could access a user-friendly, research backed parenting resource wherever and whenever they needed it? Committee for Children, a global leader in research-based social-emotional learning (SEL) education, recently announced the beta launch of the new Parachute app, which provides tangible solutions for common parenting challenges. Parachute is a free app for parents of two- to five-year-olds. It’s grounded in evidence-based SEL strategies that help create healthy parent-child interactions, build strong relationships, and equip kids with the social-emotional skills they’ll need to enter kindergarten. The app gives parents more than just tips; it provides concrete strategies to common parenting obstacles such as bedtimes, following directions, tantrums, and mealtimes. But most important, it helps build children’s social-emotional competence. Parents who use the app regularly can see a decrease in problem behaviors and an increase in their child’s ability to manage emotions, listen carefully, and follow directions. “We’ve been creating award-winning SEL programs for schools for nearly 40 years. We realized it was time to be where the kids first need us, with their parents,” said Mia Doces, VP of innovation and creator of Parachute. “The genius in this app is the journey it takes you on. You watch videos and learn strategies, but that isn’t where it ends. You go through an activity, set a goal, get reminders, reflect on how it went, and really track the issue you’re working on. It’s like having a parent coach in your pocket!” Parachute is designed for daily interaction and makes it easy for parents to act on what they learn. Parents can select a common challenge, watch and learn a new strategy, and then complete the activity. Then they’re asked to reflect on the strategy they used and track their progress. If the strategy doesn’t work, the app gives them a new tactic to try. Parachute currently addresses four main challenges and delivers a total of 29 strategies. The app has been two years in the making and was privately launched last year in a pilot test. User feedback was incredibly positive, with 95% of users finishing an activity, 60% of users returning to use the app again, and 99% saying they would use Parachute daily. The feature parents loved most was the ability to check in and track their progress over time. “We knew we had to meet parents where they were. As a single dad working full time, I know this is something every parent can use, and we hope they will feel the same,” said Scotty Iseri, Parachute’s product manager. “Parenting can be really challenging, and sometimes you need a little parachute to guide you to your landing safely.” Parachute will be in a public beta launch for the next few months, and there are plans to expand the app and its offerings. Interested parents can download the app for free on iOS. About Parachute Parachute is a mobile app from Committee for Children designed to help parents tackle the toughest challenges of raising a preschooler. Backed by cutting-edge research, Parachute contains videos and activities that will help parents deal with bothersome bedtimes, terrible tantrums, mealtime meltdowns, and more! Parents can download Parachute for free on iOS. Start working on a stronger, more cooperative relationship with your children today! About Committee for Children Committee for Children is on a mission to ensure children everywhere can thrive emotionally, socially, and academically. Best known for our innovative social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula that blend research and rigor with intuitive program design, we empower children and their adults with skills that help them realize their goals in the classroom and throughout their lives. Since 1979, we’ve been connecting experts in the field to share experiences and advance the cause of educating the whole child. A force in advocacy, we’re helping pass policies and legislation that place importance on creating safe and supportive learning environments. Today, our social-emotional learning and child safety programs reach more than 14 million children in over 70 countries worldwide. By lifting up children today, we’re helping them create a safe and positive society for the future. Learn more at cfchildren.org. Connect with Committee for Children on Facebook and Twitter. ###
Committee for Children Launches First-of-Its-Kind Parenting App, Parachute Published: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Shauna McBride, smcbride@cfchildren.org, 206.612.8718 A free, daily resource for parenting’s toughest challenges SEATTLE — Parents are a child’s first teacher, but we all know children don’t come with an instruction manual. Picky eaters? Won’t stay in bed at night? Tantrums that force you to abandon full shopping carts? We’ve heard it all. What if parents could access a user-friendly, research backed parenting resource wherever and whenever they needed it? Committee for Children, a global leader in research-based social-emotional learning (SEL) education, recently announced the beta launch of the new Parachute app, which provides tangible solutions for common parenting challenges. Parachute is a free app for parents of two- to five-year-olds. It’s grounded in evidence-based SEL strategies that help create healthy parent-child interactions, build strong relationships, and equip kids with the social-emotional skills they’ll need to enter kindergarten. The app gives parents more than just tips; it provides concrete strategies to common parenting obstacles such as bedtimes, following directions, tantrums, and mealtimes. But most important, it helps build children’s social-emotional competence. Parents who use the app regularly can see a decrease in problem behaviors and an increase in their child’s ability to manage emotions, listen carefully, and follow directions. “We’ve been creating award-winning SEL programs for schools for nearly 40 years. We realized it was time to be where the kids first need us, with their parents,” said Mia Doces, VP of innovation and creator of Parachute. “The genius in this app is the journey it takes you on. You watch videos and learn strategies, but that isn’t where it ends. You go through an activity, set a goal, get reminders, reflect on how it went, and really track the issue you’re working on. It’s like having a parent coach in your pocket!” Parachute is designed for daily interaction and makes it easy for parents to act on what they learn. Parents can select a common challenge, watch and learn a new strategy, and then complete the activity. Then they’re asked to reflect on the strategy they used and track their progress. If the strategy doesn’t work, the app gives them a new tactic to try. Parachute currently addresses four main challenges and delivers a total of 29 strategies. The app has been two years in the making and was privately launched last year in a pilot test. User feedback was incredibly positive, with 95% of users finishing an activity, 60% of users returning to use the app again, and 99% saying they would use Parachute daily. The feature parents loved most was the ability to check in and track their progress over time. “We knew we had to meet parents where they were. As a single dad working full time, I know this is something every parent can use, and we hope they will feel the same,” said Scotty Iseri, Parachute’s product manager. “Parenting can be really challenging, and sometimes you need a little parachute to guide you to your landing safely.” Parachute will be in a public beta launch for the next few months, and there are plans to expand the app and its offerings. Interested parents can download the app for free on iOS. About Parachute Parachute is a mobile app from Committee for Children designed to help parents tackle the toughest challenges of raising a preschooler. Backed by cutting-edge research, Parachute contains videos and activities that will help parents deal with bothersome bedtimes, terrible tantrums, mealtime meltdowns, and more! Parents can download Parachute for free on iOS. Start working on a stronger, more cooperative relationship with your children today! About Committee for Children Committee for Children is on a mission to ensure children everywhere can thrive emotionally, socially, and academically. Best known for our innovative social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula that blend research and rigor with intuitive program design, we empower children and their adults with skills that help them realize their goals in the classroom and throughout their lives. Since 1979, we’ve been connecting experts in the field to share experiences and advance the cause of educating the whole child. A force in advocacy, we’re helping pass policies and legislation that place importance on creating safe and supportive learning environments. Today, our social-emotional learning and child safety programs reach more than 14 million children in over 70 countries worldwide. By lifting up children today, we’re helping them create a safe and positive society for the future. Learn more at cfchildren.org. Connect with Committee for Children on Facebook and Twitter. ###