Co-Designing Everyday Digital Parenting Support

Many parents face recurring, low-intensity parenting challenges—such as daily stress, uncertainty, or minor behavioral issues—that often fall outside the scope of traditional care services. Formal interventions are frequently experienced as stigmatizing or too intensive, while informal support may lack continuity, personalization, or scientific grounding.

This study used a longitudinal co-design approach to explore how digital tools might provide low-threshold, ecologically valid, and evidence-informed support for everyday parenting. Over three months, twelve participants—six parents and six youth care professionals in the Netherlands—took part in three sequential focus groups. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to explore their lived experiences, support needs, and design preferences.

The participatory and temporally spaced format enabled deeper reflection, shared learning, and iterative idea development. Ten key themes emerged, ranging from parent–child dynamics and daily routines to emotional regulation, autonomy, identity, and communication within the app. These themes revealed both shared needs and role-specific perspectives, and were translated into concrete design recommendations.

Participants emphasized the need for emotionally validating, concise, and non-judgmental tools that fit seamlessly into everyday family life and do not pathologize common struggles. These insights guided the development of a digital prototype including short videos, interactive features, and flexible learning pathways.

By combining behavioral science with lived expertise, this project demonstrates how co-design can be used to create context-sensitive digital solutions that strengthen family resilience and preventive youth care.