The rise of the nursery spy app

Do you know what you were doing at 10.03 a.m. last Tuesday? Or what you had for breakfast three weeks ago? I don’t. You probably don’t either – unless you’re a spy, or you’re putting together an alibi for a murder. But like millions of parents, I know these things about my son. Not because I was there, but because I wasn’t.

My one-year-old goes to a local nursery three days a week. On those days, I know his every movement, bowel or otherwise. This is thanks to an app that parents are asked to download when their child enrols. The app acts as a journal, a record of all the things he’s done and learned, as well as a communication system between parent and carer (‘We need more wipes’; ‘Fancy dress tomorrow’ – that sort of thing).