Why I Created a Screen-Free “Parenting App” For Kids Activities (And Need Your Feedback)
It’s 9:17 a.m. on a rainy Saturday, and I’m leaning against the kitchen counter stirring oatmeal while my two kids, 7 and 4, alternate between tugging my sweatshirt and begging for YouTube. I’ve already pulled out the crayons, the bin of dinosaur figurines, and the puzzle that’s been missing one edge piece for three months, and all of it holds their attention for a combined 12 minutes. My phone died overnight anyway, so I can’t pull up any of those “100 screen-free activities” pins I saved on Pinterest last month. I stare at the kids, they stare back, and I can feel the whine building again. That’s the moment I knew I needed something that didn’t exist.
A week later, after the kids were in bed, I cut up 50 index cards and started writing. The idea I had was a screen-free “app” for parenting: a physical deck of cards, each with a single kids activity, sorted by the things I actually care about when I’m desperate for something to do. All activities use only supplies most people already have at home—no special craft kits, no last-minute Amazon orders for things like neon pipe cleaners or edible glitter. On the back of each card, I noted how long it takes, how messy it is, and how many kids it works for.
I tucked the rubber-banded deck into my junk drawer, and the first time I used it was the next Saturday, when the whine started up again. I pulled out the deck and told the kids to each pick a card. My 4-year-old pulled “Build a tower out of plastic cups and see how high it can get” and my 7-year-old pulled “Draw a map of your bedroom, hiding three treasures on the map for someone else to find.” They played for 45 minutes without a single ask for screen time. What surprised me most wasn’t how well the activities worked—it was that picking a card turned into a small game itself. The kids didn’t argue about what to do, because the card picked for them. No more “I don’t want to do that” “but you said you wanted to color” back and forth.
A month later, my best friend came over for a playdate with her two kids, and she spotted the deck sticking out of the junk drawer when I grabbed napkins. She flipped through a few cards, then looked at me and said, “I would buy this right now. I’m so tired of scrolling my phone for activity ideas just to have my kids crowd over my shoulder asking for a turn.” That’s when I stopped thinking of this as just my weird homemade trick for bored afternoons, and started wondering if it would work for other parents too.
I think a lot of us miss that most screen-free advice skips this part: if you’re limiting screen time for your kids, you still end up using your own screen to figure out what they should do instead. It’s a weird loop. You spend 15 minutes scrolling Instagram or Pinterest looking for a quick activity, and by the time you find one that doesn’t require special supplies, your kids are already hyped from watching you use your phone and more determined than ever to get their own screen time. I work part time from home, and on the days I’m wrapping up work before dinner, I don’t have 15 minutes to scroll. I need something I can grab in 10 seconds that just works.
I’ve changed the deck a lot over the past three months. I took out any activity that required more than three supplies, or anything that most people don’t just have lying around. I added activities for all contexts: things like “play I Spy with colors while you wait in the car” for on-the-go, “write a silly story with one sentence from each person” for playdates, and “hunt for something that’s each color of the rainbow” for quick indoor days when everyone’s cooped up. I added blank cards at the end, so parents can write in their own family’s go-to activities that I might not think of. Right now I’m testing two versions: a standard deck that fits in a junk drawer or diaper bag, and a thinner magnetic set that sticks to the fridge for easy access.
That’s why I’m putting this out here to get your take. I know every family is different. Some of you do all your activity planning on Sundays, and don’t need something like this. Some of you are like me, though—tired of decision fatigue, tired of pulling out your phone just to solve a 10-minute boredom problem, tired of the whine that hits right when you’re trying to get dinner on the table.
Does this sound like something you’d keep in your house? Would you rather have a deck of cards or a magnetic set for the fridge? What’s one thing I’m missing? I’ve had a few parents tell me they want more activities for kids over 10, which I’m working on adding, but I don’t know how much demand there is for that. I’ve heard most local parents I’ve tested this with say they’d pay between $10 and $15 for a finished, sturdy deck, but that’s just a small group of people I know, so I don’t know if that’s reasonable for most.
Right now, my little homemade deck works for my family. It gets us through rainy Saturdays and 20-minute waits before dinner when I can’t entertain the kids and cook at the same time. It’s not anything fancy, it just solves a small annoying problem that I run into every week. I don’t know if it’s something a lot of other people need, but that’s why I’m asking. I’m still tweaking, still collecting feedback, and for now, that’s enough.
Please indicate: Thinking In Educating » Why I Created a Screen-Free “Parenting App” For Kids Activities (And Need Your Feedback)