OurDuski Dream Guardiansmake the perfect sleep aid! They are not only a Rechargeable night light, but also a Bluetooth speaker. This means that you can stream white noise, nature sounds, meditation, stories, your favourite tracks and so much more!
Since our firstDuskishipment arrives any day now, we thought it was the perfect time to have a look at all the different apps available to help calm, relax and lull your baby or child into a peaceful, deep, LONG sleep.
If you’ve looked into sleep apps after one too many sleepless nights yourself, you’ll know that there are MANY out there, each claiming to solve all of your family's sleep woes! It can be very overwhelming trying to choose which one will work for your specific needs, so we decided to test them ourselves.
Here are our top 5 picks:
Headspace: Meditation and Sleep
https://apps.apple.com/app/headspace-on-the-go/id493145008
This highly rated app is designed for the entire family.
What they say– this is ‘your guide to health and happiness. Learn to relax with guided mediations and mindfulness techniques that bring calm, wellness and balance into your life.’
What we found– when you first sign up it creates a personalised plan just for you depending on your needs and bedtime/wake up time. There’s a free initial trial, it then reverts to a subscription fee. You can listen to ‘sleepcasts’, sleep sounds and guided wind down exercises amongst others. All of which can be downloaded for offline use.
There is a kids and parenting section which includes meditation for different age groups - under 5 year olds, 6-8, 9-12, Here you’ll also find sleepcasts, exercises and courses.
Our rating- Very detailed and thorough and well designed - impressive if you can afford the subscription fee. On the plus side, it will work for the entire family.
Moshi Twilight Sleep Stories
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/moshi-twilight-sleep-stories/id1306719339
Moshi Twilight Sleep Stories was voted best family app 2019 and is the number 1 sleep app in 60 different countries.
What they say– ‘Join the millions of parents who have used Moshi Twilight to quickly settle and soothe their kids into a peaceful night’s sleep with over 30 hours of original sleep stories, meditation, music and sounds. Recommended by top sleep experts and physicians.’
What we found– Definitely for the younger crowd, although I found myself enjoying listening to everything and feeling super relaxed. The design of the app is very sweet – your little one will love it. You can listen to stories, music, playlists (you can create your own or use theirs) sleep sounds or meditate. The stories are great. You can also put things on a continual loop – super useful if baby is determined to stay awake for a while!
There is either a monthly or yearly subscription fee with an initial 7-day FREE trial. However, there are some elements that remain free to use.
Our rating– a winner with the under 8s. LOVE the continual loop option and the kid friendly design.
Smiling Mind
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/smiling-mind/id560442518?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Meditation and mindfulness app for all ages – to help assist in dealing with stress, pressure and the challenges that daily life throws at you. Recommended for 7 year olds - adults.
What they say– ‘Smiling Mind is a FREE mindfulness meditation app developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life.
What we found– Like headspace, you get to tailor the app to your needs. I chose under 12s and sleep for kids. There are not a lot of kid’s meditations specifically for sleep, but plenty for daily use separated into different age groups.
Our rating– We tried thought catcher for under 9s and bedtime butterfly for under 12s. Both relaxed and calmed my children as they were lying in bed. A great FREE meditation app, well organised and super easy to use.
ABC Kids listen
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/abckidsiview/id1336318869?preserveScrollPosition=true#?platform=iphone
This is a FREE app for pre-schoolers (0-5), brought to you by the ABC, featuring radio programs and podcasts with ambient sounds.
As part of the ABC Kids listen site you can also listen to lullabies. Emma Wiggle features on a Wednesday and Sunday. (I know this may be super important to your little person):https://www.abc.net.au/kidslisten/lullabies/
What they say– ‘Listen to our radio station or simply choose a program on demand that suits your needs at that moment. Inspired by the Early Years Learning Framework of Australia, which encourages children to learn through play. Explore, learn and play and later wind down and sleep’
What we found– Love that you can download for offline listening. You can set a timer – which has a passcode for parent only access. This is a handy free app to have on your phone. Great to use with your toddler during the day too.
Our rating– Perfect as a back up sleep app
Relax Melodies: Sleep Sounds
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/relax-melodies-white-noise/id314498713
‘The Most Positively Reviewed App in the History of the Apple App Store’ — Business Insider.
This app combines soothing sounds, bedtime stories, meditation, movement and breathing techniques. It is recommended by leading doctors and neurologists.
What they say– ‘Since sleep is unique to everyone, Relax Melodies gives you the freedom to create your very own bedtime experience. Choose your favourite tracks amongst our rich library of sounds and guided content. Mix them together. Fall asleep to your own perfect soundscape.’
What we found– I really like this app. You get to mix together your sounds to create your own unique sleep track, you can also decide how loud you want each element to be. I could have played with this for hours! You can set timers and it can be used as an alarm clock. The sleep moves are all only available under the paid subscriptions and the free meditation is limited. I am quite impressed with the sounds and alarm clock elements.
There is a 1-week free trial and then a paid subscription. However, there are free features, just make sure that you click the X in the top left when it’s suggesting that you sign up to the free 7-day trial.
Our rating– Definitely worth installing on your device for the sleep sounds alone! A winner!
Now that you’re armed with 5 of the best sleep/mediation apps to use with your family. Get yourself aDuski Sleep Aid, choose one of the soothing colours (we recommend red to help your baby or child sleep) connect it to your device via Bluetooth and start streaming magical, calming, sleep inducing goodness!!
What are your favourite sleep and meditation apps to use with your children?