BabySparks - Development App Reviews

by Amy.bo.bame.e

I never write a review but feel compelled to do so. I signed up for a newborn sleep class and paid $20. On the day of the class, Dad and I rearranged our schedule to be able to take this interactive class (hard to do with a newborn!) We waited an hour for the class to start and it never started. Others in the class were also chatting waiting for it to start. I HAD to reach out to this app and was told their was, “technical difficulties.” They automatically signed me up for another class, which I could not attend. Since it would be available to watch later, I thought whatever better than nothing. However, I now CANNOT WATCH THE CLASS. I reached out again to costumer service and was told to “delete and reinstall BabySparks .” I did and wrote back that I still cannot view the class. I keep writing and get no response.
Terrible customer service, no phone number. THIS IS A SCAM! I will be contacting my bank to file a fraudulent claim. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! I am worried they now have my bank account info!

by Agfirmbwosnc

BabySparks was fine when I first purchased it, but in the past 6 months it has been updated twice. Both times making it worse than before. The last update seems to have erased all of the milestone dates that had been tracked. Milestone progress is at 0% after the last update and it’s not intuitive to figure out how to fix it. I’ve had to email supper twice for various things in 6 months. Also, some of the “milestones” and tips push sleep training. For example, a milestone is your baby sleeping through the night at an age well before that is developmentally appropriate. One of the tips is that at 4-6 months you can start sleep training. I am highly in favor of biologically normal sleep and do not intend to ever sleep train, but BabySparks is set up in a way that shows my baby is behind if he isn’t sleep trained. I bought the lifetime membership because I intend to have more children, but I regret that.

by Bakheh

I purchased BabySparks. However, I found BabySparks as an completely inaccurate application based on baby’s age. In the system, it is displaying my baby age is one month whereas she is about three months. And, in daily exercises, BabySparks wants me to do some exercise which are not appropriate for baby in one month or even two month old. You would harm your baby if you want follow those exercises! Moreover, In each exercise movie, it is showing a baby who can grab things and seat in two month( I was assuming BabySparks is offering the exercises based on my baby age and it is customized service)! I was worry a lot why my baby cannot grab toys in two months age or why my baby cannot do the things that movie baby is doing. However, after study and probing my concern, I realized that BabySparks is wrong and it is not my baby issue. Therefor, do not trust it , and do not perform all the exercises. Otherwise, you will harm your LO with these faulty plays and she would get pain👎👎👎👎

by Sn0714

From the the initial look and feel of it, it feels very antiquated. BabySparks is poorly designed, and not user friendly at all. To make matters worse, somehow my account information (either my email or pass was incorrect) and kicked me out — mind I tell you this is AFTER I PAID for the subscription. I contacted their support team and it has been well over a week that they respond once a day I’ve been going back and forth on. I sent them my subscription email verification and the welcome emails they’ve been sending me and STILL they they are not able to find my login even after I’ve sent them the emails they’ve been sending me.
The brief moment I used BabySparks , the use/feel felt very 2008ish to me not a modern app. I paid for the content which now I regret even paying for it. And when I asked for refund they referred me to the Apple team to get my money back. Garbage app, don’t bother with it. Use a more modern one like Kinedu.

by Ftmjoy

Update: The developer did respond to my email by telling me to delete and download BabySparks again. I was able to access the paid videos. However I still have to log in every time I try to use it and logging in requires typing in your full email and password. When you have a baby ready to play it’s incredibly inconvenient and prevents me from using it much. For an almost $40 app (I have never paid this much for an app), it is not worth it.
Despite paying the lifetime subscription, the subscription videos are locked and when I click on them, I am told to purchase a subscription again. When I look in BabySparks to see my purchase history, it had no record of my purchase. However, I have an Apple receipt for the subscription and when I purchased it, it worked for a few days. In addition, I am constantly signed out and there is no option to save log in info or use fingerprint log in. As result I have to type my email and password every time. I have contacted the developer but so far I have received no response. There should be option to refund apps that do not work.

by DublinJenny

BabySparks is pulling on the heartstrings of new parents and is not insightful enough to justify the 1 year subscription. There are many common sense things you would do anyway such as “allow baby to touch your face and say I am mommy”, “do tummy time”, or “go outside where there are lots of people”. We had a problem initially where the activities weren’t updating and were the same at 5 months as at 1 month but the developer quickly responded to my review and suggested I delete and reinstall BabySparks which corrected the issue. Still, it took me 5 months into my 1 year subscription to notice because I just wasn’t turning to BabySparks regularly since the activities were not very interesting. That being said, I like the way the activities are presented with short videos. If you are going to try this, I recommend going month to month to start.

by Ashone8806

It’s a great concept. The exercises are good, and it was nice to have something to follow along with at the beginning when newborns aren’t really doing much of anything.

It disappoints when actual development begins, which is when this would be most helpful. It really doesn’t take into consideration that all babies develop at different rates. For example, there’s a type of crawling that the milestone lives under 6 months, but states that it may happen between 6-8 months. For our daughter she hit this at 8 months, but her crawling exercises and milestones are far surpassing what her actual abilities are (which are not delayed). It would be nice if the lists were not static, so that when I check off that milestone at 8 months those next milestones fall into place at the correct time. It’s a bit disheartening feeling like your child is “behind” when that is not true. Now I have to go back two months to check off the appropriate milestones, but honestly, my efforts are better used by just engaging and playing with her!

by Mha Dukes

I have gotten great value from BabySparks and would say it is worth it overall. However, it seems to be only for babies that are exactly on track with all development. My son is 16 months and not independently walking yet. It is not that big of a deal. Half of the activity recommendations made by BabySparks are for a child that is walking unsupported. It does not matter how many times I report that activity being “too difficult” they still constantly recommend them. Likewise I have the same problem with some activities being far to easy, like self feeding, yet they continue to recommend. There should be a way to filter out activities based on capabilities of the child. Also, they offer a lot of activities that are not helpful because they aren’t an actual activity, but more of a general reminder of way to interact with your child in normal daily happenings. Furthermore, some of the activities I don’t agree with based on my parenting style. There should be a way to completely disqualify an activity suggested.

by Sarasmile8

As a first time mom with very little prior experience with babies, I have found BabySparks to be really helpful with finding activities to do with my new baby. However, there are technical glitches which are quickly becoming annoying and make BabySparks almost unusable at times: multiple times a day, I get logged out of BabySparks (sometimes even while using BabySparks ), so I’m constantly needing to log back in. On more than one occasion (and sometimes more than once a day), the activities for the day will change after I log back in. It’s frustrating to be logged out repeatedly, but it’s more annoying to have activities change and tracked progress lost as a result. For an app I paid for, I would expect not to have such buggy issues, and I hope an update comes soon to fix these problems. The content is very good, so I hope the technical kinks can be worked out.

by TweetyBird0510

this app is great! No new parent needs to pressure themselves too much because most of these activities simulate normal day-to-day interaction and play that most great parents do with their baby. However, I’m one of those people who will get stuck in a rut and end up doing the same 5 activities with baby over and over every day. BabySparks provides a wide range of activities to vary your playtime. I love that the activity descriptions are clear, the link to the various developmental milestones is described right there in the activity and every activity has an accompanying video.

The only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is because of a very slight misstep in the UI. It is mildly annoying that when you look at an activity it stops you on your way back to the main list to ask how the activity was. I like to look at the daily activities first thing in the morning and get an idea of what we’re going to try that day and again would be nice not to have to click extra times to get back to the main list. It’s an unnecessary step. It’s a small thing but over time feels cumbersome. Slightly more thought on how much button pushing is required in BabySparks would make it a 5-star treat for every new parent!

by New England Chowder

When I first started using it, I was under the impression that I would be able to purchase the entire package with $7.99. But some time down the road, they updated it and suddenly some activities are now locked and I'd need to pay more to unlock those. There's no way I'm allowing myself to keep falling in this money trap so I'll use whatever they decided was included in the 'full package' I bought until they run out.

Most of the activities are fit for the age and easy to complete, but there are a few that I don't really care for. They let you archive an activity if it's too easy and that activity won't show up again, or postpone an activity if it's too difficult and it'll show up 3 weeks later.

by Ktspence

I am a child development home visitor. I see 12-15 babies a week and help parents learn about developmental milestones and relevant activities. I love BabySparks! I thought I had found the perfect tool to help during my visits. It allows me to enter the children and their date of birth. It even had “development professional” in the list of who is using BabySparks . I purchased the subscription (one year) and then realized I was limited to five children. It would be great if there was a professional level subscription that allowed more. I think most full time professionals serve about the same number of children I do. It would also be awesome if BabySparks went all the way to 36 months (but I won’t get too demanding) Overall, this is an wonderful tool for parents.

by Yuls24

Overall, it is a useful app; it helps with your child development and gives you idea what you can actually do with them.
There’s a couple things that annoy me though.
A new day starts at 12am, after which you can’t add or change anything in the previous day (check any completed exercises for instance). Often, I don’t have time for it before 12am. Thus, at the end of the day it is as if we’ve done nothing... and then at the end of the week, when they send you a report, they kind of rebuke you (in a very delicate form) for not doing enough with your child.
The other thing, it would’ve been so great if you could substitute exercises. Let’s say you can’t do this particular one today (you don't have the right equipment, your child is not in the mood, or you just don’t like the idea of doing it, etc.), and you do something else instead. You want it to count. Since you can’t, again it looks like you’ve accomplished nothing.

by MamaDee33

I feel closer to my baby using BabySparks. He’s also 8 weeks old and during play time I try to do what I can to help his development but I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ll read books and do yummy time and sing but then I run out of ideas. BabySparks suggest other ideas that I wouldn’t have thought up on my own that help with his development. They even have articles backing up why doing certain activities help his development! I don’t feel silly doing any of the activities knowing that it helps his mind grow! And it’s actually fun doing the activities during play time! I love that I can view the activities suggested for the next day to plan and prepare my day. Playtime now is more fun!

by MSKmom

I absolutely love doing activities with my kids, I’m not always the most creative so BabySparks really helps me do some pretty amazing activities that they love. It keeps everything new and exciting, and helps me to feel like I’m really spending quality time with them. I would recommend BabySparks to anybody.
Update: although BabySparks is absolutely wonderful, trying to reach Customer Service to have a problem resolved is proving to be very difficult. I reached out two weeks ago with an issue, five days later got a reply with a resolution that had nothing to do with what I needed, I immediately replied and 5 more days still no response.

by Desk Job

It is perfect to see small development “games” to do with my 3 month old granddaughter for a few moments a day seeing “sensory or brain or motor skills” are being developed. But even better (in my opinion) is seeing this is a step in the sequence of developing the muscle/skills, (etc) for…rolling over, then for crawling for example.
BabySparks helps me interact, know the current developments and see how it plays into the next leaps.
I raised 3 children and didn’t intentionally teach them from infancy who people “were & naming them” (developing relationships)… how cool! I always talked about what we were doing (but rarely said about the people!).
Today is my second day with BabySparks & I love it - thank you Baby Sparks

by Follow Carlos

I bought BabySparks when my second child was born. Unlike my first child, he had minor delays in development, from refusing to learn to walk and crawl to not wanting to speak. He did things differently. Sat in a “W position,” which the physical therapist and pediatricians said were bad for development and the spine. Anywho, BabySparks helped me a lot through the first two years of his life. The instructional videos are easy to follow, and I liked having the checklist and seeing the growth/progress charts. I like that you can favor activities and that you can move to the next level once a baby masters a specific exercise. I recommend BabySparks. I bought the lifetime membership!! You can also add more than one child.

by Smrk418

This is hands-down the most comprehensive developmental app I’ve seen and used. I’m so glad I found it and used it with my daughter almost daily from 2months-2years. I loved how the recommended daily activities were tailored to where she was and that I was able track skills across all developmental domains. I found the video demos extremely helpful along with the activity descriptions. Each day took no more than 20 minutes to complete, but those 20 minutes were so valuable to not only her development, but they also served as a building block for my own understanding of child development and I learned how to facilitate her growth at every stage. I highly recommend BabySparks to everyone and believe pediatricians should be recommending BabySparks for their patients/parents!!

by 918kat

First time mommy here. I was at lost with what to do with my newborn. Initially, I YouTubed things to do, but I was looking for a convenient app that would give day by day exercises in both motor skills and brain development. Also, I wanted to be able to track what was completed or not. I was shocked to discover BabySparks. The instructions are clear and easy to follow with a video demonstrating each activity. I wish I had this from the day she was born, and not at 7 weeks. I saw a difference after a couple days in her motor skill after doing the exercises suggested. I love how you can archive a skill as too easy once your child masters it, or to difficult if she is not ready for it.

Yes BabySparks is expensive, but I think it's worth the lifetime membership. You can use it for multiple children if you plan on having another.

by Keen Ennobled

Updating my review: I’m not sure if they went in and fixed the issue but I went back into BabySparks and saw it has my sons adjusted age. So I give it a 5 star because it is a great app to help with your child’s development!

Our son is 10 weeks old but he was born 34 weeks (5 weeks early). For preemies, you take how many weeks they have been born subtract that by how many weeks they were early and that’s their developmental/gestational age. So he is at 5 weeks right now. I used BabySparks a few times and it only gave me videos for 2 months old and he wasn’t responding at all because he’s too young. He’s basically acting like he is only 1 month old. He isn’t cooing, following objects or responding to sounds. BabySparks is great if the baby is born at full term. It does not change it up for preemies, even though it has the option to check the premature box and add his original delivery date.

by UVRae

I paid for a month to see if I would like BabySparks . I'm glad I did because so far, it is too buggy to be worth $38. On the main screen it says 'play with Clover' (my daughter's name) twice. Often when I click on things, I am left with a white screen. I can get things to load if I close BabySparks and try again a few times.
I like that BabySparks is able to handle that my daughter is 2 months old already and not due yet. (12 weeks premature). The videos have good ideas, but should list recommended times. (Like, should I 'rotate her on her back like the hands of a clock' once or more. Should there be a time limit?).
I like that multiple phones can be under the same account so my husband and I only had to pay once.

by Msaddams

When I first bought BabySparks, first I thought it was monthly payment then when the entire year payment came out first I was a little upset and can’t get a hold of their billing department. Then there are the games, they expect you to have so many toys to play with that each activity is costing to go out and get the objects each activity. Example: grab five balls, each a different size and compare each size with the babies hands? Grab a sphere and have the baby practice crawling? Drop five objects in to cups...poke styrofoam? anyway you get the point. I don’t have styrofoam sitting around my house, I have a couple of balls and some blocks and a lot of toys, I went out and got some of the activity toys but each activity is until the next growth stage...so if you want to go out and buy several things to participate in BabySparks then this is BabySparks for you.

by CarlosMcSquizy

Not only is this a great tool for teaching children but for parents as well. As a mother of two children one needing speech therapy the other needing physical therapy BabySparks is amazing. It has a lot of exercises from our therapy classes and more. Videos that show exactly what to do and how to do it. Clear labeling of what the exercises works on I.e. fine motor skills, social skills. It has easy to follow daily tasks, progress reports, and you can tailor what you are working on to where your child is. It has reading material, age appropriate milestones, parenting guides and tips. I love it, my infant loves it, my toddler loves it. I could not be happier!

by Africanstardust

I’m a first time mom of a 2.5 month old. Now that he’s awake for longer periods in the day, we were feeling a bit unsure of what to do with him to make sure he’s stimulated, learning, having fun, and bonding with us. BabySparks is seriously worth every penny and we’ve so enjoyed spending time with him using the activities suggested. There is a good mix of different kinds of activities and every day is different. The videos and instructions are clear and easy to follow, and the milestones are useful. All in all a great app!

by BabyTeagan

BabySparks is SAVING me! I am a new mom of a 20 month old precious little girl. I don’t have any family around, have to work full time and want to teach her everything there is to learn. Baby Sparks has been my little bible of ideas for all of her needs. I get so excited every day/week to read what’s next and try new things with my toddler. She’s becoming so smart and able to handle new tasks every day. Every parent should have this and anyone who interacts with children. It’s unlike any learning app I’ve seen. THANK YOU for creating this gem!

by JanineCh

I began using this app just to have some fun activities to do with my baby. But it is so much more. It has taught me so much about my little one’s development and how to support it that I know recommend it to all my friends.
I love that each activity has a video. It is very helpful to help me understand how to do the activity.
For all the research, content that BabySparks offers and the impact that it is having in my baby I feel like this is the best money that I have paid in a long while.

by Jnmorgan23

Wonderful app!!! I used to do activities with my LO but after a while we would get board doing the same thing over and over. Now we have a plan and each activity is not only a new way for us to interact but also helps him to develop and meet milestones. There has been a big change in his development just in the few weeks we have been doing this app! It’s fun to watch him master skills he struggled with at first and now I have more games and activities to do with him each day.

by Katina Kay

BabySparks is simple to use and lets you play, bond and teach your baby all at the same time. My son is 4 months and can roll over, front to back and back to front, he can lay on his belly and look up at you, he knows his name and knows who the people are around him (mommy, daddy, bubby) he can sit for long periods of time without support, he’s almost crawling and can walk across A room just while holding your fingers. He can identify my nose, mouth, eyes and ears. And his personality is already formed. Thank you this app!!