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Need Parenting Tips? There's An App For That...

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Parenting just got a whole lot easier with a little help from iTunes.

We're used to parenting books as a source of help when raising our kids, but now there's a parenting app for your phone.

Tom McIntyre doesn't have an iPhone, but the Ossining resident has developed an app called Positive Parenting Practices and it's now available on iTunes as a two-hour audio lecture with rapidly changing pictures.

WCBS 880 Reporter Catherine Cioffi on the parenting app

Podcast

"What we tried to do in this app is to provide parents with a solid foundation of why kids do what they do," said McIntyre, app developer.

McIntyre, who also teaches at Hunter College, told WCBS 880 that once the app was done, he knew he needed illustrations.

His kids' babysitter suggested her classmate, 16-year-old Emma Kates-Shaw.

"Cute, little sketchings and I wanted it to be whimsical," Kates-Shaw said.

According to McIntyre, the app shows parents how replace negative behavior with positive behavior through effective use of behavior-change procedures, like time out, shaping, task analysis and effective praising.

"They learn the hazards of using punishment," he said. "And how to use positivity in effective -- not wimpy -- ways."

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Would you trust an app for parenting advice? What advice would you include? Tell us what you think below...

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