Our experience using Lillio in Pennsylvania

Back in 2015, our center decided to give HiMama a try with the hopes of eliminating daily paper reports, and we’ve never looked back. Over the years, we have seen HiMama continue to improve their platform with current trends and user friendly options. Here are a few of the reasons we chose HiMama and have continued to stay for the long haul!

1. It is so user friendly.

Whenever you start anything new, it takes time to adjust, and there is always a learning curve. But with HiMama, our staff loved how easy it was to jump right in. To set up classrooms and accounts was very intuitive, and parents enjoyed how easy the set up was. The fact that I can use HiMama on any device has always been so convenient. I can access it through my phone, laptop, or iPad from anywhere I am! 

2. It is aesthetically pleasing.

Anything that HiMama puts out is always high quality and pleasing to the eye. Everything from their downloadable templates to their website and their blogs are exceptionally well done. Our staff love having all the resources that HiMama creates, and we love how nice the app looks. The colors, graphics, and buttons are all beautifully done. This makes a big difference when I’m giving a tour to a prospective family and showing them the HiMama app. They can see how aesthetically pleasing it is and are always immediately impressed.

3. Customer support excellence.

We rarely need to get customer support for things, but whenever we do, a HiMama representative has always been readily available. When we first joined HiMama we had a specific representative assigned to our account so we didn’t have to talk to a new person each time. Now, as a veteran customer, I can still reach my dedicated account manager right away, or contact the support line directly via call, email, or the chat feature on the website. When I call, they know me by name and are so kind and patient with us. I’m very grateful to have a company that continues to show excellence and support through the years.

4. Lesson plan templates with teaching standards built in.

This was the main reason I chose HiMama over the other competitive apps out there. I just love that the teaching standards and lesson plan templates are built right into the program. My teachers can build their lesson plans within the app via the HiMama Activity Planner, and then attach our state specific standards through the click of a button. Teachers can then upload photos, attach the activity and development milestones and share it with the family all in a matter of seconds. Teachers and parents love being able to connect throughout the day via meaningful and detailed photo and video updates.

5. Parents love engaging and interacting safely.

Let’s face it, everyone is on social media. We all enjoy “liking” and commenting on photos and videos. It’s nice how HiMama is formatted much like a social media platform where parents can comment and like photos, but it is completely private and safe right in the HiMama Parent App. Parents love that they can send a direct message to their child’s teacher and see photos in “real time”, while teachers are no longer receiving texts on their personal phones. As a parent myself, I love the ability to go back and see previous daily reports of my children and see their growth over time. I also appreciate how I I can add extended family members to my account as “crew” so that they can see the photos that are being shared me. While my extended family members are able to view the photos with this feature, I am still able to control their access level (great job with that feature, HiMama!).

6. The versatility of sharing photos and videos.

Something my teachers love about the app is the versatility of being able to share single photos and videos, or the option to create a collage with multiple photos at once. It’s also nice that when you take a photo of the children, you can choose to “share now” or wait until later when the report is released during check out. This gives me time as an owner to review the photos that are being shared. Parents love receiving these photos, and they especially love that HiMama automatically generates a photo journal for them where they can see all the photos of their child in one spot.

While I know there are many competitors out there with similar platforms, I’ve always appreciated how personable HiMama has always been, and how it has that “small business” feel but with a professional, corporate reputation. If you’re on the fence about using this app, take it from this Pennsylvania mom and director- it’s the best decision for your program! We have been with the company almost since they first launched, and we have never been tempted to jump ship. They are the real deal, and we couldn’t be happier.