Ren provides a range of resources to support your parenting journey. Here’s what you can expect:  
As parents, we want what’s best for our little ones. But sometimes it’s hard to figure out what that looks like. That’s where Ren comes in. Ren is an app that offers trustworthy and easy-to-understand parenting guidance, backed by gold standard research. Our mission is to empower all parents with knowledge and tools to help their children develop a secure attachment style, positive self-esteem, and healthy emotional and social wellbeing.

Raising children really does take a village. But these days, our villages are filled with online strangers…and all their opinions. Ren is designed to be a trusted and reliable resource, providing clarity amongst all the confusion.

While physical development shapes our bodies and abilities, and cognitive development sharpens our thinking and practical skills, social and emotional development forms the foundation of our lifelong mental health. It includes our ability to express, recognize, and regulate our emotions which, in turn, inform our capacity to create and sustain healthy relationships.

After many years working as a psychologist, our founder realized something important. Parents were craving reliable information to help them navigate the ups and downs of raising young children. They wanted practical guidance without needing to dig through textbooks, endlessly search the internet, or sacrifice precious time attending lengthy parenting courses. That’s when we knew we had to create something different.

Ren offers easy-to-understand information alongside on-demand access to parenting experts for tailored advice, in the one app. No more second-guessing or feeling overwhelmed!

By helping parents understand their child’s emotions and behaviors, as well as knowing how to respond effectively, we aim to safeguard children’s mental health. For life.

Ren was founded by Dr. Jo Dennison, an Australian-registered psychologist. She recognized the impact of early childhood experiences and parenting styles on long-term mental health, but through her training in various evidence-based parenting frameworks, also saw that the research available to professionals wasn’t reaching parents. And so, Ren was born.

At Ren, we embrace the belief that there is no such thing as perfect parenting. We understand that every parenting journey is unique, just like each child. However, research shows that parenting approaches have a lifelong impact on a child’s social and relationship skills, mental health, and even intellectual abilities. That’s why we’re dedicated to providing guidance based on reputable research into social and emotional wellbeing, and the profound influence parenting has. When we say Ren offers ‘evidence-based’ recommendations and support, that’s what we mean.

Ren is designed to help people on their parenting journey – be they mothers, fathers, stepparents, adoptive parents, legal guardians, foster parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, godparents, healthcare professionals, educators, nannies… Anyone who is invested in a child’s wellbeing and development, really!

Mental health is important for our quality of life. But as caregivers, it also has a significant impact on how we interact with our children. Research suggests that our own mental health influences the overall wellbeing of our children, as they experience and respond to us.

Our name is a nod to Renenutet, an ancient Egyptian goddess of nourishment and protector of children and their families. The word ‘ren’ is also associated with humanity, goodness and love in the ancient Chinese belief system, Confucianism.

Today, it continues to hold meaning across the globe. In both Mandarin and Cantonese, Ren translates as ‘person’, while in Ireland, it’s known as a gender-neutral name meaning ‘small and strong’.

The universal themes of nature and nurture embodied by the name Ren make it a fitting and meaningful choice for a product that aims to support families. Just as ancient Egyptians believed that children were blessed with the presence of Renenutet from birth, we aspire for Ren to be a guiding resource for children and parents right from day one.

Ren provides a range of resources to support your parenting journey. Here’s what you can expect:  
Ren offers evidence-based guidance tailored to each family’s needs. We provide:

We cover more than 50 social and emotional development topics, and growing. These range from everyday parenting topics such as attachment, spontaneity and play, stranger danger, realistic limits, transitioning to childcare, navigating anger and frustration, sibling rivalry, and weighing up screen time, to behavioral challenges and psychological concerns, as well as parental mental health and relationships.

Whilst Ren’s parenting experts are trained in various evidence-based parenting approaches, they primarily advocate for attachment-focused, emotion-focussed, and co-regulation approaches to parenting.

Ren believes behavioral principles have their place. We’re conscious of the research that suggests certain behavioral-focussed parenting approaches can lead to changes in behavior that can make life somewhat easier for caregivers. That being said, we’re also mindful of the abundance of research that suggests these approaches don’t always support healthy attachment and emotional wellbeing of children. We believe behavioral approaches should only be used when they don’t come at the potential expense of a child developing and maintaining a secure attachment style, positive self-esteem and healthy emotion self-regulation skills.

Ren offers access to psychometric questionnaires. These are created by professional researchers (eg. psychologists who conduct research within universities). They are often used by psychologists in their general practice to help identify a person’s personality traits, social and emotional wellbeing and development. 

On the Ren app, questionnaires can be used as a check-in, to help parents get a sense of:

Questionnaire results should not be considered to confirm any issues (or the absence of any issues), or provide a diagnosis.

If results fall outside the typical range, it can serve as a valuable prompt to explore things further with an appropriately qualified healthcare professional. On the other hand, even if all results fall within the typical range, but you still suspect you or your child may have developmental, health, or overall wellbeing issues, you should consult an appropriately qualified healthcare professional. (Ren doesn’t provide this service.)

While the team at Ren consists of professionals with psychology qualifications and extensive experience, we do not conduct assessments or offer diagnoses, nor do we provide any form of treatment or therapy. Our primary focus is on offering evidence-based information and coaching through our parenting expert messaging platform, in relation to parenting, and social and emotional wellbeing and development.

Ren does not provide prescriptions for medication, nor medication management/advice. If you or your child need medication or advice regarding medication, please consult with an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.

At Ren, our mission is to enhance lifelong mental health in children and their families. Our initial focus is on children aged 0-5. This is because the first five years of life are the most impactful on brain development. During this time, our brains lay the foundations for our emotional wellbeing, mental health, and our ability to form and sustain relationships. By prioritizing children’s early years, we hope to safeguard their future.In the future, we plan to expand Ren’s services to support parents of older children too. Stay tuned!

We strongly recommend you consult an appropriately qualified healthcare professional, who will assess you or your child. Ren is unable to provide this service.

If you think you have a medical or mental health emergency (ie. you think you or someone else may be at risk of harm, or harm has already been caused), please call emergency services without delay.

USA & Canada: 911
UK & Ireland: 999
Australia: 000
New Zealand: 111

If you need mental health support, 24/7 telephone support is available via the following services: 
Lifeline (USA): 988
Talk Suicide (Canada): 1 833 456 4566
Lifeline (Australia): 13 11 14
Lifeline (NZ): 0800 543 354
Samaritans (UK & Ireland): 116 123

While our parenting experts bring a wealth of experience and qualifications in fields like psychology, family therapy and social work, national and state laws dictate that they are unable to practice under their licenses while in their role at Ren. This means that under no circumstances will they offer or provide any type of assessment, diagnosis, treatment, or therapy.

What they do provide to our community of parents and caregivers, though, is coaching, evidence-based guidance, and support.

While our parenting experts bring a wealth of experience and qualifications in fields like psychology, family therapy and social work, national and state laws dictate that they are unable to practice under their licenses while in their role at Ren. This means that under no circumstances will they offer or provide any type of assessment, diagnosis, treatment, or therapy.

What they do provide to our community of parents and caregivers, though, is coaching, evidence-based guidance, and support.

You can chat to our parenting experts for answers and advice on all things related to your child’s social, emotional and behavioral development. Whether you’re wondering why your little one has suddenly decided their sibling is their enemy or how to handle tantrums, our experts are here to help. They’ll provide practical insights, offer strategies that work, and help you understand how your actions can shape your child’s overall wellbeing.

Ren’s parenting experts are real, flesh-and-blood professionals with years of experience and expertise in their field. When you reach out to us through the Ren app, the instant responses you receive are automated. But behind the scenes, your questions are carefully reviewed by our team of (human) parenting experts who will then reply (usually within 24-28 hours) with answers tailored just for you.

At Ren, our parenting experts work together as a team to provide support and guidance. While you won’t have a specific expert assigned to you, any expert you engage with will have access to your previous questions and answers.

If you reach out to Ren on more than one occasion, it’s likely you’ll connect with different parenting experts based on their availability. But rest assured, our team collaborates closely and communicates with one another. This means that any parenting expert you engage with will be aware of your previous conversations and able to provide you with continuing support.

Absolutely. At Ren, your privacy and confidentiality are of utmost importance to us. You can learn more about how we handle your personal information and ensure data security via our Privacy Policy.

We should flag, though, that if we believe there is a concern for the safety and wellbeing of either yourself or others, we may be required to disclose relevant information that could prevent that harm from happening.

Unfortunately, phone and video chats with parenting experts aren’t available at this time.

While we don’t offer the option to choose a specific parenting expert, the entire team of experts is trained to support people from all walks of life, including the LGBTQIA community, economically disadvantaged individuals, and diverse racial and ethnic groups. We’re committed to fostering diversity and inclusivity, and our team consists of people from various cultural, gender, and ethnic backgrounds.

At Ren, our parenting experts operate on an asynchronous basis, which means there might be a delay between when you submit a question on the Ren app and when we respond. Our goal is to provide you with a response within (or around) 24 hours, although during times of high demand, it may take a bit longer.

When we do respond, we’ll try to provide you with the answer to your question. However, in some cases, we may need more information from you to offer a more meaningful and helpful response.

Please note that Ren doesn’t provide mental health or crisis support. If you need mental health support, 24/7 telephone support is available via the following services:

If you think you have a medical or mental health emergency (ie. you think you or someone else may be at risk of harm, or harm has already been caused), please call emergency services without delay.

If you think you have a medical or mental health emergency (ie. you think you or someone else may be at risk of harm, or harm has already been caused), please call emergency services without delay.

Please note that Ren doesn’t provide mental health or crisis support. If you need mental health support, 24/7 telephone support is available via the following services:

Ren provides a range of resources to support your parenting journey. Here’s what you can expect:  
At this stage, Ren is only available in English. We do have plans to make the app available in other languages in the future though.

Ren offers a free 7-day trial, giving you access to the complete app, including content, messaging with parenting experts, and evidence-based questionnaires.

After the trial, you can continue to use all Ren’s features through an ongoing subscription. Subscriptions are charged to your App Store or Google Play account.

Send us an email at support@ren.app

To cancel your subscription, you’ll have to visit the App Store or Google Play. We don’t have the ability to cancel your subscription on your behalf.

If you purchased your subscription through the App Store:
Open Settings on your Apple device Tap your name
Tap Subscriptions
Tap the subscription that you want to manage
Tap Cancel Subscription. (If you don’t see Cancel, the subscription is already canceled and won't renew.)

If you purchased your subscription through Google Play:
Open Google Play on your Android device
Make sure you’re signed into the correct Google Account
Tap Menu Subscriptions
Select the subscription you want to cancel
Tap Cancel Subscription
Follow the instructions

You can change your password in the Ren app. Simply go to your profile, navigate to the account section, then tap on ‘Change password’. 

If you’ve forgotten your password, select the ‘Forgot password’ prompt on the Ren home screen, then just follow the instructions.

If you wish to close your Ren account, please get in touch via the ‘contact us’ section in the app, or send us an email (ideally from the email address that you used to sign up to Ren), so we can discuss next steps. After contacting us, please keep an eye out for a reply message/email (and ensure we’re added to your contacts, to ensure we don’t land in your spam email folder).

If you have a paid subscription to Ren, don’t forget to cancel it to stop further charges (Ren cannot perform this action on your behalf). For detailed instructions, see ‘How do I cancel my Ren subscription?’ under these FAQs.

Ren is not currently offered through any insurance providers.

Because you pay for your Ren subscription through the App Store or Google Play, they’re also responsible for issuing receipts. Please visit the App Store or Google Play.

Data security is a top priority at Ren. We use state-of-the-art technologies and industry-standard safeguards to protect your information, and ensure your experience is fast and secure. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.

Sure! You have the right to request a copy of your data whenever you like. Simply go to the Profile section of the Ren app and initiate the data request. Within a few days, we’ll provide you with a link to download your data and any conversations with Ren.

The answer to this depends on where you reside.

If you downloaded Ren from Google Play or the App Store in the United States, we can delete most of your data upon request (after ensuring the request is coming from you or your authorized representative). You can see more information regarding this in our Privacy Policy. Please contact us if you’d like to initiate deleting your information and data.

For users who downloaded Ren through Google Play or the App Store in Australia, Australian law requires Ren to save all your data for at least 7 years after you stop using Ren.

Data is only shared if you choose ‘Opt in’ after completing a Ren questionnaire. Even then, your data is de-identified to protect your privacy.

If you do opt in, we may provide your data to select research institutes (eg. Universities), with the aim of progressing parenting and social and emotional development research.

What is de-identified data?

De-identified data refers to information that cannot be used to identify an individual. To achieve de-identification, personally identifiable information is removed or obscured, including details such as personal names, residential addresses, emails, or phone numbers.