Rwanda Launches Parenting App to Guide Families in Digital Age

The Itetero Mobile App, unveiled Thursday by the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF) in partnership with the National Child Development Agency (NCDA), is designed to provide age-appropriate material and guidance to families.

Officials said the app is part of broader efforts to ensure children benefit from digital tools while being protected from abuse and exposure to harmful content.

“Proper parenting has always been the responsibility of parents, but do they know how to do it in today’s context?” NCDA Director General Assumpta Ingabire said at the launch in Kigali. “We wanted this forum so we could discuss honestly and ask ourselves how best to raise our children.”

Parents welcomed the initiative, saying it would allow them to better monitor their children’s phone use.

“It’s a good initiative,” said Eugenie Mujawimwana, a mother of a 7-year-old. “With this app, when you give a child a phone, you can choose what they watch, instead of leaving them to access random content. It is also structured by age, so children won’t easily get bored.”

Gender and Family Promotion Minister Consolée Uwimana said the app would provide families with reliable guidance.

“Today we are introducing an application that will provide accurate information on raising children,” Uwimana said. “But for it to have an impact, it requires collective effort and for families to take ownership of the responsibility.”

The initiative comes a decade after Rwanda Broadcasting Agency ended Itetero, a long-running radio and television program that educated children through games and songs and reminded parents about child rights.

Authorities said the new digital version reflects the changing landscape, where mobile phones have become central to children’s daily lives.