Not all iPhone apps are bad for your child. A musician has created Ora’s Musical Box, an app that builds bonds between parent and baby.
Contributed By Yeo Zhi Qi
Queenie and her daughter, Elleora, showing her new app on the iPad. CN PHOTO: Michael Chan.
The next time you frown at what looks like yet another distracting iPhone app interfering with the healthy growing years of a child—you might want to take a closer look.
A brand new app available on iTunes, Ora’s Musical Box, differentiates itself from the wide spectrum of apps by being an app that’s meant to enhance, not replace, the nurturing role of parents.
The app—which solely delivers music meant for children with few graphics and no special animations—encourages parents to spend quality time bonding with their little ones as soothing tunes play in the background.
Developed by full-time mother, Queenie Hu, 32, who wanted to express her love for her daughter through her passion for music, Ora’s Musical Box offers a range of songs suited for different occasions including playtime, storytelling, baby massage, and even bedtime.
Hu shares, “Being a full-time mum, I felt I could do more for my daughter, and prayed to God for direction. My inspiration came when it dawned on me that having an album in an app is a readily available platform that I can tap on. Plus, my husband would be able to develop the app with his technological expertise.”
Named after her 2-year-old daughter Elleora which means “light” in Hebrew, Hu hopes that Ora’s Musical Box will bring light to every household. The newly launched app has indeed been well-received, enjoying nearly two thousand downloads and twenty-five thousand play requests just five days after its launch.
The young mother, who started learning piano at the tender age of 3 and the flute when she was only 10, shared with City News that she discovered her talent in composing music only through serving in City Harvest Church, where she is a member.
Having served as a keyboardist in various services including the English and Chinese congregations, Children’s Church and Dialect Church, Hu had many people telling her that they were blessed by her music. “I have always liked playing music but it was only through serving that I discovered the joy and fulfilment of composing. It was then that I realized that the music I composed could actually minister to people as well.”
A free album that also works as a teaching aid, Ora Musical Box helps to develop a child’s learning ability, imagination and cognitive skills. Given the good response for her first album, Hu is now working on a Christmas carol album for the upcoming festive season.
Asked if she has any plans to train her little girl to be a musician, this young mother chuckles, “Ora’s a musically-inclined girl. Whenever I play music, she’ll run to the room and dance. However, I wouldn’t want to pressure her so I have no plans for her to learn music now, but I do realize that she loves to dance so this may be an area she could develop in.”
