Slightly off-topic, but as this will require kids to have access to an unlocked phone...
I remember Windows Phone had the feature of "unlocked apps", which you could run without having to unlock the phone: think calculator, browser, games. It was called Kids Corner[1].
Have any other OS (iOS/Androind) copied anything similar to that? This app will (or at least in my case) live in a place like that, where they do not have access to the whole platform.
For Android w/Playstore you can set up a child's account through Google and then use Google Family Link app to control app downloads, block specific apps, and set content restrictions for apps, movies, and games.
You can set down times for the whole phone and lock it remotely which is of huge benefit for bedtimes!
That's parental control, that's not the same. I want to hand my phone to my kids and let them access only one or two apps that I have listed as allowed.
I don't want (yet, but it will come) for them to have their own device that I control as you explained.
Depends on your device then. Some Android Devices allow multiple-user accounts, one of which can be a specially locked-down child account. I think Samsung Galaxy have a proprietary flavour as well.
my android (/e/OS) allows to create multiple accounts that you can switch. i create a second account that only has the apps my kids are allowed to use. they can't switch users as that would require them to log in.
i don't think multiple account is an /e/OS feature, but must be coming from lineage/ASOP so other ROMs should have it too (unless it was intentionally removed)
Android should have a Kiosk mode that's available sometimes that locks it to one app full screen.
Android may have alternate launchers you can install (they are just apps) which you can customize how you need. One of the best features of Android imho.
I tried helping a friend with their kids Amazon tablet and left the experience wanting to wipe it clean and just define what 4 buttons parents can put on the screen.
Other tech:
Apple has a guided access feature which locks it to one app (except it's handed to them).
We're holding off on personal screens for now until the information diet can be tamed and managed. Looking for a smartwatch with a phone with physical buttons and no screen. Seem to be some options.
I still have some nostalgia for Windows Phone. I genuinely liked the platform - even bought an Omnia 7 back in the day, and later a Lumia 1020 (that camera was so good).
I still think the tile based UI was underrated. Live Tiles felt like a smart idea that never quite got the support it needed. It's one of those "what could have been" stories in tech.
Yeah, that's a valid concern. We use an older spare iPhone for this, which worked out well. iOS doesn't have a "Kids Corner" equivalent unfortunately - you'd need to use Screen Time restrictions to lock down the device (block apps/calls/etc) but still need to unlock the phone
Yes, and I do the same. However, Kids Corner was a curated list of apps that you chose to share freely without password/FaceID.
I don't want to lock my browser, photos, maps, etc. behind FaceID. I want to hand my phone knowing they will only use one or two apps and the fun stops when they hand me over the device.
Give the kids a break... let them be free to play. They are only 7 and 10, why do they need daily routines, task completion, accountability, timers? Sheesh.
I run a walled garden. Full freedom of the garden within the confines of the wall.
My kids: wake up - make your bed. Prep breakfast for self or others, play until breakfast. Then clean up, homeschool, then freedom until I get off work. Then a period of quiet time where we do not interact with others unless invited. Then it is "bless another" for an hour where we work on something for someone else.
The only timer is for video games because time passes differently when playing. And video game time is purchased through exercise.
I try to model and build schedules to maximize their ability to balance managing themselves, a business, their time, and their family.
By 7, children should already be practicing some personal disciplines in basic self care (teeth brushing) and managing their personal spaces.
10 years old is a good time to expand self care with additional hygiene (deodorant) ahead of adolescence, but it's also ideal to incorporate a few daily pushups or other calesthenics so this practice will be there during the years when their growth hormone levels will be the highest. And even 2 minutes of musical instrument practice daily can also be transformational.
A modest daily routine at a young age can be life changing.
I have 3 kids (14, 12, 11). I could have used something like this when they were around 10-12 to create some accountability for simple tasks like "pick up your room" or more commonly the dreaded 20 minutes of reading, especially when they ask for extra screen time.
The demo video has more than I would ask my kids to do, but 1-2 minor things that should be done every day isn't a sheesh to me.
The app itself is a great idea, but looking through the demo video I see lots of bad "tiger parent" memes. I don't think that I would want to force a child to do these sorts of tasks in a regimen, or be forced as a child to perform them.
The demo video (which does showcase the app well), includes things like chess and piano and homework. Does the child like doing any of these? Have you vetted the homework as worth the child's time?
Missing from the list are things that translate to adulthood, like physically training every day and performing useful tasks like chores in exchange for something like money.
You have to exercise as an adult even if you don't want to, it's part of the human condition. If you don't become accustomed to conditioning as an adolescent and only exercise through sports, it can be difficult to stay fit as an adult. You have to perform useful work because we live in a world of scarcity, but doing hobbies that don't interest you because they impress people or your parents told you to do them as a child is absolutely nuts.
I should add: I'm not criticizing your parenting decisions, obviously I have none of the relevant context, but I thought I would convey a sentiment that may exist in your market demographic, which you maybe don't share.
>Have you vetted the homework as worth the child's time?
If the homework isn't worth the child's time, what do you suggest? Don't do it and get a bad grade? Parent does it for the child? Ask AI to do it? (That would still take time and thus should probably be on the schedule.) Talk to the teacher to ask it not be done?
I talked to my kids' teachers about their homework and just told them I didn't believe in homework for younger kids and they wouldn't be doing it unless they were falling behind and needed practice. Some teachers were a bit taken aback but I didn't get any real pushback.
The best long term answer is to seek schooling that doesn't assign busy work. If you really want to take your child's education seriously then homeschooling, private schooling, and manipulating the school board all have to be on the table.
If the child is old enough, you could explain that the homework is not useful to them, and try to turn it into a teachable moment about manipulating systems for one's advantage. Then delegate the homework to AI, or lookup the answers online. I would be very cautious about doing that with a young child, there's a lot of nuance. Dishonesty towards friends and family is always bad, towards bureaucracies is okay.
The crucial adult skill is to not tolerate useless work. If you become complacent with doing work that doesn't help anyone, then you considerably increase your risk of losing employment, or being ineffective when working solo. AI is going to force this lesson on the next generations.
Fair points, and I appreciate the candid feedback. The demo tasks were chosen to showcase different task types (timed, photo-proof, etc) rather than being prescriptive about what kids should do. But I can see how it reads as "tiger parent starter pack"
For context: my older son genuinely enjoys chess and piano, and this structured schedule approach was recommended by their child psychologist. We tried paper-based scheduling but it didn't stick, so my wife asked me to build an app to help
Your point about useful adult skills is well taken. The hope is they internalise the habit of planning and following through, so eventually they can set their own schedules. We'll see how it goes
I would study what you're apparently intent on ignoring: that kids and screens do not mix well and reduces their ability to engage with the more complex aspects of reality. Do you want automatons or fundamentally happy beings?
“A growing body of evidence has found that children’s brains can structurally and functionally change due to prolonged media multitasking, such as diminished gray matter in the prefrontal cortex, where attentional control and complex decision making abilities reside, among other really important skills, like the development of empathy and understanding nonverbal social communication,”
There are over 300 studies detailing how early screen use damages children's brains and impairs their ability to reason and relate to others. How engineers ignore this is incredible.
Not to criticize the idea, but do we really need to give our kids yet _more_ screen time, especially young ones? Pedagogically, what is the message for them here? You need a phone for everything?
Task management apps are crutches. If any part of their role is to inspire change in somebody, it's not going to happen. All that you do is make people reliant on them, and everything disappears when the app is no longer around. They're best for reference (day-to-day and team coordination).
The concept of a task management app for children is dystopian. It's treating them like office workers from the beginning, and considering the example given is the typical chess, piano, Chinese lessons, it's just overloading the child for exhaustion.
Parents should be parenting their children. Limiting their exposure to things, including screens and the internet, and disciplining a child to study or work are part of a parents purview. I can't see why people even have children if they delegate all of their parenting responsibilities to screens and software.
some parents have to work a lot to make ends meet, also housework and all that. having children should not be a privilege of the affluent. actually, the more money people have the less likely they already have children. so our future depends on parents who don't have enough time because they are working.
> Task management apps are crutches. [...] All that you do is make people reliant on them, and everything disappears when the app is no longer around.
Welcome to ADHD management. At its core, its an executive function deficit. My wife and I both have it (my case is worse) and so do most of our children. External systems and environments have a huge effect on our ability to manage life, and that's not something that can change. The solution is to learn to work with it and tune our environments.
Not all time spent interacting with a screen is "screen time".
The problematic thing is kids spending endless hours just absorbing rather than playing or interacting or doing stuff. It culminates in kids (and adults) who cannot mentally handle being bored- they must have the screen to relieve the horrors of the idle mind.
If achieving these same goals is easier without an app for you and your kids, then by all means, do that. But an app on a screen is a very powerful tool to structure and organize things. My daughter is still a bit young for this one, but I can see how useful it will be when she's a couple years older.
> The problematic thing is kids spending endless hours just absorbing rather than playing or interacting or doing stuff.
That's totally true, but it's not the only point. Here we are also teaching kids that they need apps for anything they do. They should be able to do that themselves, before using an app to assist them. Otherwise they wont develop capabilities that they wont be able to acquire so easily at a later stage in their lives. If we take this approach to the extreme, why bother learning to write and do maths, when a computer can do it for you?
Correlating reality on 2-D screens is damaging to kids allocentric and egocentric divergences. Kids before 10 shouldn't control screens. Kids until 14 should be limited in portable screens. We know this now.
How about "thoughtful use of tools can help you create structure and systems which help you achieve your goals"
What is screen time any way? Spending 3 hours playing candy crush and 3 hours reading moby dick on the kindle app are both screen time. What's the commonality between them?
There is a thing called „routine cards“ for children which is how we handle morning/evening routines. They are colourful cards that you can velcro on in any order. Similar things are available for weekly routines
Glad that works for you! We tried paper-based routines but they didn't stick for us. The timer helps them realize tasks take less time than they think, and the photo proof solves disputes about task quality when sometimes their "done" meant rushed with minimal effort :D
I think this concept could be adapted to a wider audience. Personally I struggle with routine. Body Doubling (doing something with another human holding you accountable) helps me a ton.
I would definitely use this if instead of the parents as the reviewer it was possible to have a friend/multiple friends approve, rate and comment on tasks and vice versa. Like a sort of social media for mundane routines.
I did consider that early on, but decided against it for now. Adding social features would be a privacy nightmare (especially with kids involved) and would significantly complicate both the UX and codebase
I’m trying some sort of a routine and patterns of habits with my kids, and so far are full of misses. I made a checklist based weekly routine on a spreadsheet with task such as racking the dishwasher, and pushing the right buttons on it, the same goes for clothes — learn to separate clothes based on color, and other characteristics etc.
This a simple printed paper stuck near the kitchen for them to just run their fingers on the checklist to see if they have to do for the day of the week. There is no specific time or a deadline but I’m training them to look at in the morning, after school, and before bed. For instance, the before bed routine makes sure we run the dishwasher while we sleep to have fresh washed dishes the next morning.
Besides the usual rewards of extra game-time, chocolates, etc. we have also introduced a “Daughter of the Month” with special privileges.
You should try Oh Yah! if:
- Your child struggles with daily routines and needs constant reminders
- Mornings and after-school time are stressful battles
- You've tried reward charts and systems that didn't stick
- Your child needs clear structure but gets overwhelmed easily
- You want to build independence without constant nagging
- You need a solution that works for the whole family
This sounds like a household with a lot of ADHD. :)
Wow this is perfect. As a parent who is looking to avoid real interactions with my kid while also getting them started on the smart phone serotonin addiction this is perfect. With this I won't have to actually talk to little margaret when she isn't doing enough calculus.
I wrote up a screen plan for my kids. They get an hour of screentime a day (2 hrs on weekends). They have to write on the whiteboard the time they start, and I have a camera watching the whiteboard (with sound off) if I need to verify they put their devices back afterwards (I've never had to audit them yet).
It has worked wonders. It is not perfect but my two 8 and 10 year old daughters have used it. My 12 year old son, battles me in every way, but I feel like it is a small war instead of WWIII now.
They get a bonus of screen time before school if they get all their chores done. The whiteboard has all those chores. I hate them having screen time before school, but I like that I no longer am fighting with them to get their socks on.
This is a drastic improvement from a few months back.
Ah we're pretty similar in that regard. Officially their screen time is 30min on weekdays (excluding the app usage and chess.com) so the app basically digitise that whiteboard + timer concept
Photo proof actually was my wife's idea. She wanted to verify the task quality when she wasn't at home - similar to your audit capability
I guess the 12year old battles will be coming for me next.. Not exactly looking forward to the puberty haha
Downvote me but: kids shouldn't have phones. No disrespect to the author and congratulations on the launch and all. I just find the entire concept completely dystopian. Like, play, enjoy your life kids! There's plenty of time for entirely unnecessary "tasks"/"work" later in life.
My child started walking to school, alone, at age seven. More importantly he'd start walking home from school in the afternoon a couple of hours before his parents were home.
Having a child be able to call you and say "I'm in the park", "I'm at my friends house", "Can I invite a friend over?" was very good for reassurance.
We still throw him out and say "Go to the park" on a weekend, safe in the knowledge that if we need to know where he is we can call and ask, or he can phone us to say he saw a friend and is going to their place, etc.
I don't love children having screen time, and we set a timer so he's not allowed unfettered access, but giving him a phone? Even a dumb phone? I think its a net positive.
I think I'm heading to the place were you already are. I gave access to phones to my kids, and all the apps that monitor their time fail, when there is no will in them to stop. Also doing any task with the phone makes them navigate away (to instant messaging with their colleagues etc)
But on the other hand - the world is digital now. I have no idea how to make them learn good habits on finding things on the internet while not falling to the infinite well of doomscrolling etc.
We seem to be the only family in my children's school who think under-13s should not have a smart phone. The places they range to are so close they don't even need a dumb phone.
I'm getting quite pissed at the school seemingly assuming every kid has a smart phone that they need to access things for school with.
My partner has severe ADHD since early childhood and while watching parts of the video I said to myself: That would probably help her a lot. She has big problems priorizing tasks that may depend on each other
Thanks! Glad it resonates. The app is designed specifically for kids with a simplified UX and parent mode, so it might feel too basic for adults. However, the core concepts (ordered tasks, focus timer, photo completion) could work. Worth trying the trial to see if it fits :)
So many parental opinions on here. Not every kid is the same. Trying to apply blanket parental strategies speaks of ignorance. I have neurodivergent kids and this could be great for them.
Suggestion for the site: it references “no navigation” a few times, but I am having a hard time understanding what that means. What kind of navigation is meant here? What are the boundaries of the navigation limits?
Various definitions of “navigation” I can think of:
- no switching tasks in the app
- some sort of phone-wide parental control
- maps is disabled ;-)
In this case, navigation means in-app navigation. When a task timer is running, kids can't switch to other tasks, go back to the main screen, or change profiles. They have to complete the current task first
The goal is to keep them focused on one thing at a time without the temptation to jump around :)
Shows a complete lack of understanding of how childrens' skills are developed.
Intelligence is built from various sequences.
1. Path integrations. The ability to test without supervision and coaching movements beyond the scope of eyesight, aided by landmarks, without the use of breadcrumbs or maps.
2. Short-cuts. The ability to use the above to create short-cuts in the unmapped and unsupervised, unaided paths.
3. Vicarious trial-and-error. The ability to learn both from mistakes and idiosyncratic choices that develop unique solutions.
And there are MANY others like this in the motor and cognitive mapping system built from sharp wave ripples.
This software is the equivalent of brainwashing experience into mechanical reproducibility. It's the latests tech horror show.
Narrowing the concept of what a task is at this age is extremely damaging and limiting to experience.
Naming sequences as "tasks" is tantamount to enslavement into an order of roboticism. This sounds like the beginning of a Bradbury story in which children revolt en masse.
Pretty rude? The entire approach here aimed at kids is beyond rude. It's mind-control.
“A growing body of evidence has found that children’s brains can structurally and functionally change due to prolonged media multitasking, such as diminished gray matter in the prefrontal cortex, where attentional control and complex decision making abilities reside, among other really important skills, like the development of empathy and understanding nonverbal social communication,”
Thanks! This was my wife's idea and I thought it's interesting but was skeptical at first. But after we started using it, it actually helped a lot! Much less whining/crying and a lot less stressful for my wife and I
So at least it works for my family, and just like you said, it's a huge win by itself :)
It's fascinating how you've turned a personal challenge into a solution that could help many families! The reduction in stress and whining is a huge win—every parent I know would love that. I'm curious about how the kids responded initially to the photo proof feature—did they find it fun or just another chore? Also, have you considered expanding the app for other routine-based needs, like homework or chores, to make it even more versatile?
I'd rather not include additional screen time for my kids. We have a printed sheet of paper on the fridge. If they don't do what they need to then they have a consequence (no TV, no screen, no desert, no playing w friends).
I’m sorry but starting the video immediately with Chinese, piano, homework, and chess is so stereotypical that it gives off borderline racist vibes. To me it looks like a subtle joke about tiger parenting. If you want this to appeal to people outside your community you need to include activities that more diverse people engage with.
I mean my kids have a hard time with routine management, but that's not going to make anything better unless you gamify the shit out of it.
Show them a counter of how well they're doing and reward them when they're done with some animated crap that's different every time, and maybe they'll use it for more than three days.
Slightly off-topic, but as this will require kids to have access to an unlocked phone...
I remember Windows Phone had the feature of "unlocked apps", which you could run without having to unlock the phone: think calculator, browser, games. It was called Kids Corner[1].
Have any other OS (iOS/Androind) copied anything similar to that? This app will (or at least in my case) live in a place like that, where they do not have access to the whole platform.
[1] https://www.windowscentral.com/kids-corner-windows-phone-8
For Android w/Playstore you can set up a child's account through Google and then use Google Family Link app to control app downloads, block specific apps, and set content restrictions for apps, movies, and games.
You can set down times for the whole phone and lock it remotely which is of huge benefit for bedtimes!
That's parental control, that's not the same. I want to hand my phone to my kids and let them access only one or two apps that I have listed as allowed.
I don't want (yet, but it will come) for them to have their own device that I control as you explained.
Depends on your device then. Some Android Devices allow multiple-user accounts, one of which can be a specially locked-down child account. I think Samsung Galaxy have a proprietary flavour as well.
https://support.google.com/kidsspace/answer/10065701?hl=en
That's app pinning.
https://support.google.com/android/answer/9455138?hl=en
It only let's you pin single app though, as far as I understand.
my android (/e/OS) allows to create multiple accounts that you can switch. i create a second account that only has the apps my kids are allowed to use. they can't switch users as that would require them to log in.
i don't think multiple account is an /e/OS feature, but must be coming from lineage/ASOP so other ROMs should have it too (unless it was intentionally removed)
Android should have a Kiosk mode that's available sometimes that locks it to one app full screen.
Android may have alternate launchers you can install (they are just apps) which you can customize how you need. One of the best features of Android imho.
I tried helping a friend with their kids Amazon tablet and left the experience wanting to wipe it clean and just define what 4 buttons parents can put on the screen.
Other tech:
Apple has a guided access feature which locks it to one app (except it's handed to them).
We're holding off on personal screens for now until the information diet can be tamed and managed. Looking for a smartwatch with a phone with physical buttons and no screen. Seem to be some options.
You can do that using 'Settings -> Accessibility -> Guided Access' in iOS.
I still have some nostalgia for Windows Phone. I genuinely liked the platform - even bought an Omnia 7 back in the day, and later a Lumia 1020 (that camera was so good).
I still think the tile based UI was underrated. Live Tiles felt like a smart idea that never quite got the support it needed. It's one of those "what could have been" stories in tech.
Yeah, that's a valid concern. We use an older spare iPhone for this, which worked out well. iOS doesn't have a "Kids Corner" equivalent unfortunately - you'd need to use Screen Time restrictions to lock down the device (block apps/calls/etc) but still need to unlock the phone
There was an article not long ago about using Apple Configurator to dumb down an iphone : https://stopa.io/post/297
Maybe this could be handy.
Maybe can do basically the same thing with a dumb SMS/MMS-based interface actually, text-adventure style. Then could do it with a dumb phone.
iOS lets you do something very similar with Guided Access: https://support.apple.com/en-us/111795
iOS lets you lock apps behind faceID.
All my communication and banking apps are protected.
Yes, and I do the same. However, Kids Corner was a curated list of apps that you chose to share freely without password/FaceID.
I don't want to lock my browser, photos, maps, etc. behind FaceID. I want to hand my phone knowing they will only use one or two apps and the fun stops when they hand me over the device.
Give the kids a break... let them be free to play. They are only 7 and 10, why do they need daily routines, task completion, accountability, timers? Sheesh.
I run a walled garden. Full freedom of the garden within the confines of the wall. My kids: wake up - make your bed. Prep breakfast for self or others, play until breakfast. Then clean up, homeschool, then freedom until I get off work. Then a period of quiet time where we do not interact with others unless invited. Then it is "bless another" for an hour where we work on something for someone else.
The only timer is for video games because time passes differently when playing. And video game time is purchased through exercise.
I try to model and build schedules to maximize their ability to balance managing themselves, a business, their time, and their family.
By 7, children should already be practicing some personal disciplines in basic self care (teeth brushing) and managing their personal spaces.
10 years old is a good time to expand self care with additional hygiene (deodorant) ahead of adolescence, but it's also ideal to incorporate a few daily pushups or other calesthenics so this practice will be there during the years when their growth hormone levels will be the highest. And even 2 minutes of musical instrument practice daily can also be transformational.
A modest daily routine at a young age can be life changing.
I have 3 kids (14, 12, 11). I could have used something like this when they were around 10-12 to create some accountability for simple tasks like "pick up your room" or more commonly the dreaded 20 minutes of reading, especially when they ask for extra screen time.
The demo video has more than I would ask my kids to do, but 1-2 minor things that should be done every day isn't a sheesh to me.
You could try asking OP instead of sheeshing it off.
Any ways, just because you have some "structure routine" in your day doesn't mean you don't also have many hours of free play time.
> You could try asking OP instead of sheeshing it off.
I'm pretty sure a top level comment is effectively "asking OP". As for sheeshing it off, why can't we have both?
Because saying "this is stupid" is much less likely to get a useful response than "what's your specific use case in your family"?
Or better yet, "how do your decide what the right balance of structured tasks vs free time is for kids of various ages?"
The app itself is a great idea, but looking through the demo video I see lots of bad "tiger parent" memes. I don't think that I would want to force a child to do these sorts of tasks in a regimen, or be forced as a child to perform them.
The demo video (which does showcase the app well), includes things like chess and piano and homework. Does the child like doing any of these? Have you vetted the homework as worth the child's time?
Missing from the list are things that translate to adulthood, like physically training every day and performing useful tasks like chores in exchange for something like money. You have to exercise as an adult even if you don't want to, it's part of the human condition. If you don't become accustomed to conditioning as an adolescent and only exercise through sports, it can be difficult to stay fit as an adult. You have to perform useful work because we live in a world of scarcity, but doing hobbies that don't interest you because they impress people or your parents told you to do them as a child is absolutely nuts.
I should add: I'm not criticizing your parenting decisions, obviously I have none of the relevant context, but I thought I would convey a sentiment that may exist in your market demographic, which you maybe don't share.
>Have you vetted the homework as worth the child's time?
If the homework isn't worth the child's time, what do you suggest? Don't do it and get a bad grade? Parent does it for the child? Ask AI to do it? (That would still take time and thus should probably be on the schedule.) Talk to the teacher to ask it not be done?
I talked to my kids' teachers about their homework and just told them I didn't believe in homework for younger kids and they wouldn't be doing it unless they were falling behind and needed practice. Some teachers were a bit taken aback but I didn't get any real pushback.
The best long term answer is to seek schooling that doesn't assign busy work. If you really want to take your child's education seriously then homeschooling, private schooling, and manipulating the school board all have to be on the table.
If the child is old enough, you could explain that the homework is not useful to them, and try to turn it into a teachable moment about manipulating systems for one's advantage. Then delegate the homework to AI, or lookup the answers online. I would be very cautious about doing that with a young child, there's a lot of nuance. Dishonesty towards friends and family is always bad, towards bureaucracies is okay.
The crucial adult skill is to not tolerate useless work. If you become complacent with doing work that doesn't help anyone, then you considerably increase your risk of losing employment, or being ineffective when working solo. AI is going to force this lesson on the next generations.
Fair points, and I appreciate the candid feedback. The demo tasks were chosen to showcase different task types (timed, photo-proof, etc) rather than being prescriptive about what kids should do. But I can see how it reads as "tiger parent starter pack"
For context: my older son genuinely enjoys chess and piano, and this structured schedule approach was recommended by their child psychologist. We tried paper-based scheduling but it didn't stick, so my wife asked me to build an app to help
Your point about useful adult skills is well taken. The hope is they internalise the habit of planning and following through, so eventually they can set their own schedules. We'll see how it goes
I would study what you're apparently intent on ignoring: that kids and screens do not mix well and reduces their ability to engage with the more complex aspects of reality. Do you want automatons or fundamentally happy beings?
“A growing body of evidence has found that children’s brains can structurally and functionally change due to prolonged media multitasking, such as diminished gray matter in the prefrontal cortex, where attentional control and complex decision making abilities reside, among other really important skills, like the development of empathy and understanding nonverbal social communication,”
There are over 300 studies detailing how early screen use damages children's brains and impairs their ability to reason and relate to others. How engineers ignore this is incredible.
https://www.childrenandscreens.org/learn-explore/research/?t...
The scientific reality of loss of gray matter in children from screen use can't be downvoted away.
Perhaps this is how engineering is forced to change its tune: the irreversible damage to children.
Not to criticize the idea, but do we really need to give our kids yet _more_ screen time, especially young ones? Pedagogically, what is the message for them here? You need a phone for everything?
Gotta get them hooked early. You really shouldn't need apps at any age to keep you on track with tasks.
It's easy to judge, but the alternative might be a kid that's on his phone anyway, but struggles to have a structured routine.
Sure, but why the kid his on his phone?
dad is busy vibe coding a scheduling app
Task management apps are crutches. If any part of their role is to inspire change in somebody, it's not going to happen. All that you do is make people reliant on them, and everything disappears when the app is no longer around. They're best for reference (day-to-day and team coordination).
The concept of a task management app for children is dystopian. It's treating them like office workers from the beginning, and considering the example given is the typical chess, piano, Chinese lessons, it's just overloading the child for exhaustion.
Parents should be parenting their children. Limiting their exposure to things, including screens and the internet, and disciplining a child to study or work are part of a parents purview. I can't see why people even have children if they delegate all of their parenting responsibilities to screens and software.
some parents have to work a lot to make ends meet, also housework and all that. having children should not be a privilege of the affluent. actually, the more money people have the less likely they already have children. so our future depends on parents who don't have enough time because they are working.
> Task management apps are crutches. [...] All that you do is make people reliant on them, and everything disappears when the app is no longer around.
Welcome to ADHD management. At its core, its an executive function deficit. My wife and I both have it (my case is worse) and so do most of our children. External systems and environments have a huge effect on our ability to manage life, and that's not something that can change. The solution is to learn to work with it and tune our environments.
One core component of managing ADHD (at any age) is "externalize", of which an app can be a helpful component.
Not all time spent interacting with a screen is "screen time".
The problematic thing is kids spending endless hours just absorbing rather than playing or interacting or doing stuff. It culminates in kids (and adults) who cannot mentally handle being bored- they must have the screen to relieve the horrors of the idle mind.
If achieving these same goals is easier without an app for you and your kids, then by all means, do that. But an app on a screen is a very powerful tool to structure and organize things. My daughter is still a bit young for this one, but I can see how useful it will be when she's a couple years older.
> The problematic thing is kids spending endless hours just absorbing rather than playing or interacting or doing stuff.
That's totally true, but it's not the only point. Here we are also teaching kids that they need apps for anything they do. They should be able to do that themselves, before using an app to assist them. Otherwise they wont develop capabilities that they wont be able to acquire so easily at a later stage in their lives. If we take this approach to the extreme, why bother learning to write and do maths, when a computer can do it for you?
Correlating reality on 2-D screens is damaging to kids allocentric and egocentric divergences. Kids before 10 shouldn't control screens. Kids until 14 should be limited in portable screens. We know this now.
https://www.childrenandscreens.org/learn-explore/research/?t...
How about "thoughtful use of tools can help you create structure and systems which help you achieve your goals"
What is screen time any way? Spending 3 hours playing candy crush and 3 hours reading moby dick on the kindle app are both screen time. What's the commonality between them?
Both are worse than the non-screen equivalent by many measures?
There is a thing called „routine cards“ for children which is how we handle morning/evening routines. They are colourful cards that you can velcro on in any order. Similar things are available for weekly routines
Glad that works for you! We tried paper-based routines but they didn't stick for us. The timer helps them realize tasks take less time than they think, and the photo proof solves disputes about task quality when sometimes their "done" meant rushed with minimal effort :D
I think this concept could be adapted to a wider audience. Personally I struggle with routine. Body Doubling (doing something with another human holding you accountable) helps me a ton.
I would definitely use this if instead of the parents as the reviewer it was possible to have a friend/multiple friends approve, rate and comment on tasks and vice versa. Like a sort of social media for mundane routines.
Yeah, I think this would work well generally, not just for kids. And ADHD folks in particular.
Looking at it for my ADHD child ha.
I did consider that early on, but decided against it for now. Adding social features would be a privacy nightmare (especially with kids involved) and would significantly complicate both the UX and codebase
Maybe Beeminder.com or one of the peer pressure equivalents?
I’m trying some sort of a routine and patterns of habits with my kids, and so far are full of misses. I made a checklist based weekly routine on a spreadsheet with task such as racking the dishwasher, and pushing the right buttons on it, the same goes for clothes — learn to separate clothes based on color, and other characteristics etc.
This a simple printed paper stuck near the kitchen for them to just run their fingers on the checklist to see if they have to do for the day of the week. There is no specific time or a deadline but I’m training them to look at in the morning, after school, and before bed. For instance, the before bed routine makes sure we run the dishwasher while we sleep to have fresh washed dishes the next morning.
Besides the usual rewards of extra game-time, chocolates, etc. we have also introduced a “Daughter of the Month” with special privileges.
Wow this is perfect. As a parent who is looking to avoid real interactions with my kid while also getting them started on the smart phone serotonin addiction this is perfect. With this I won't have to actually talk to little margaret when she isn't doing enough calculus.
What is your pricing model?
I wrote up a screen plan for my kids. They get an hour of screentime a day (2 hrs on weekends). They have to write on the whiteboard the time they start, and I have a camera watching the whiteboard (with sound off) if I need to verify they put their devices back afterwards (I've never had to audit them yet).
It has worked wonders. It is not perfect but my two 8 and 10 year old daughters have used it. My 12 year old son, battles me in every way, but I feel like it is a small war instead of WWIII now.
They get a bonus of screen time before school if they get all their chores done. The whiteboard has all those chores. I hate them having screen time before school, but I like that I no longer am fighting with them to get their socks on.
This is a drastic improvement from a few months back.
Ah we're pretty similar in that regard. Officially their screen time is 30min on weekdays (excluding the app usage and chess.com) so the app basically digitise that whiteboard + timer concept
Photo proof actually was my wife's idea. She wanted to verify the task quality when she wasn't at home - similar to your audit capability
I guess the 12year old battles will be coming for me next.. Not exactly looking forward to the puberty haha
Preparing them for the future when all of their work will be laid out this way to maximize productivity
Downvote me but: kids shouldn't have phones. No disrespect to the author and congratulations on the launch and all. I just find the entire concept completely dystopian. Like, play, enjoy your life kids! There's plenty of time for entirely unnecessary "tasks"/"work" later in life.
My child started walking to school, alone, at age seven. More importantly he'd start walking home from school in the afternoon a couple of hours before his parents were home.
Having a child be able to call you and say "I'm in the park", "I'm at my friends house", "Can I invite a friend over?" was very good for reassurance.
We still throw him out and say "Go to the park" on a weekend, safe in the knowledge that if we need to know where he is we can call and ask, or he can phone us to say he saw a friend and is going to their place, etc.
I don't love children having screen time, and we set a timer so he's not allowed unfettered access, but giving him a phone? Even a dumb phone? I think its a net positive.
Parent, 100% agree. Even worse, approaching device access like a reward to be earned is a bad idea.
I think I'm heading to the place were you already are. I gave access to phones to my kids, and all the apps that monitor their time fail, when there is no will in them to stop. Also doing any task with the phone makes them navigate away (to instant messaging with their colleagues etc)
But on the other hand - the world is digital now. I have no idea how to make them learn good habits on finding things on the internet while not falling to the infinite well of doomscrolling etc.
We seem to be the only family in my children's school who think under-13s should not have a smart phone. The places they range to are so close they don't even need a dumb phone.
I'm getting quite pissed at the school seemingly assuming every kid has a smart phone that they need to access things for school with.
My partner has severe ADHD since early childhood and while watching parts of the video I said to myself: That would probably help her a lot. She has big problems priorizing tasks that may depend on each other
Thanks! Glad it resonates. The app is designed specifically for kids with a simplified UX and parent mode, so it might feel too basic for adults. However, the core concepts (ordered tasks, focus timer, photo completion) could work. Worth trying the trial to see if it fits :)
So many parental opinions on here. Not every kid is the same. Trying to apply blanket parental strategies speaks of ignorance. I have neurodivergent kids and this could be great for them.
Thanks for this. Our child psychologist recommended structured routines, and paper-based scheduling just didn't work for us hence the app
Suggestion for the site: it references “no navigation” a few times, but I am having a hard time understanding what that means. What kind of navigation is meant here? What are the boundaries of the navigation limits?
Various definitions of “navigation” I can think of: - no switching tasks in the app - some sort of phone-wide parental control - maps is disabled ;-)
In this case, navigation means in-app navigation. When a task timer is running, kids can't switch to other tasks, go back to the main screen, or change profiles. They have to complete the current task first
The goal is to keep them focused on one thing at a time without the temptation to jump around :)
Frederick Taylor approves!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Winslow_Taylor
Shows a complete lack of understanding of how childrens' skills are developed.
Intelligence is built from various sequences.
1. Path integrations. The ability to test without supervision and coaching movements beyond the scope of eyesight, aided by landmarks, without the use of breadcrumbs or maps.
2. Short-cuts. The ability to use the above to create short-cuts in the unmapped and unsupervised, unaided paths.
3. Vicarious trial-and-error. The ability to learn both from mistakes and idiosyncratic choices that develop unique solutions.
And there are MANY others like this in the motor and cognitive mapping system built from sharp wave ripples.
This software is the equivalent of brainwashing experience into mechanical reproducibility. It's the latests tech horror show.
> Intelligence is built from various sequences.
This is not about intelligence or development of children skills, its about task completion.
Your comment sound pretty rude.
Narrowing the concept of what a task is at this age is extremely damaging and limiting to experience.
Naming sequences as "tasks" is tantamount to enslavement into an order of roboticism. This sounds like the beginning of a Bradbury story in which children revolt en masse.
Pretty rude? The entire approach here aimed at kids is beyond rude. It's mind-control.
“A growing body of evidence has found that children’s brains can structurally and functionally change due to prolonged media multitasking, such as diminished gray matter in the prefrontal cortex, where attentional control and complex decision making abilities reside, among other really important skills, like the development of empathy and understanding nonverbal social communication,”
Congrats on the launch! A month of use in your own family is a win in its own right.
What’s been your sons’ reception of the app so far?
Thanks! This was my wife's idea and I thought it's interesting but was skeptical at first. But after we started using it, it actually helped a lot! Much less whining/crying and a lot less stressful for my wife and I
So at least it works for my family, and just like you said, it's a huge win by itself :)
It's fascinating how you've turned a personal challenge into a solution that could help many families! The reduction in stress and whining is a huge win—every parent I know would love that. I'm curious about how the kids responded initially to the photo proof feature—did they find it fun or just another chore? Also, have you considered expanding the app for other routine-based needs, like homework or chores, to make it even more versatile?
Thanks! They actually liked the photo part. Right now just focusing to handle daily routine but could expand later depending on the feedback
I'd rather not include additional screen time for my kids. We have a printed sheet of paper on the fridge. If they don't do what they need to then they have a consequence (no TV, no screen, no desert, no playing w friends).
Not everything needs to be fun and games in life.
this app kinda fits with the asian parents meme
I am indeed an asian haha
nice, my kids are going to have so many fond memories of their childhood thanks to your app
I’m sorry but starting the video immediately with Chinese, piano, homework, and chess is so stereotypical that it gives off borderline racist vibes. To me it looks like a subtle joke about tiger parenting. If you want this to appeal to people outside your community you need to include activities that more diverse people engage with.
Eesh... This feels like a punch clock for kids...
I mean my kids have a hard time with routine management, but that's not going to make anything better unless you gamify the shit out of it.
Show them a counter of how well they're doing and reward them when they're done with some animated crap that's different every time, and maybe they'll use it for more than three days.