October is the start of flu season, which is just one of the many things on a parent’s worry list. Did the kids get their flu shots? Do they need any other vaccines? Are they growing at a healthy rate? And will they ever outgrow their picky eating?
There’s an app to relieve some of those worries: Circle by Swedish, available for your smartphone in Google Play and the App Store. Circle offers access to a vast network of local Swedish-approved resources and tools for parents and moms-to-be. From pregnancy through the teen years, Circle has answers to your questions about raising healthy kids.
Track kids’ vaccines
Just in time for flu season, Circle has added a vaccine tracker for kids, including seasonal flu shot reminders. The Circle vaccine tracker follows the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control for kids from birth to age 18. If you have more than one child, you can track each one individually and export a summary for sharing.Find more than 1,000 parenting articles
When you’re not tracking vaccines, there’s a lot more Circle does to help your peace of mind. The app offers to-do lists for pregnancy and parenting, a personalized home feed, and more than 1,000 articles to answer questions and support kids’ health through age 18, including everything from acne and asthma to STDs, warts, and Zika. You can also find advice on tricky situations such as sexting, single-parenting, even how to help a child cope with death. Picky eaters will find kid-friendly recipes, too.Use local resources
You can use Circle by Swedish to find local resources such as breastfeeding support, parenting classes, health and wellness seminars, along with access to video visits through Express Care Virtual. If you connect Circle to your MyChart account, you’ll get appointment reminders for yourself and your kids and easy access to your provider’s contact information.
Katie, new mom and Circle user, says “It was great to have everything in one place, to have something that has information that is approved by your doctor. My favorite part of the Circle app is the to-do list; I’m very organized, both at work and at home, and to be able to check something off a list is so satisfying. It’s like having my doctor in my pocket. They say that a baby doesn’t come with an instruction manual, but the app’s a good start.”
