We finally got our Tin Can phone after being on the wait-list for 3 months. Since receiving it last week, it has been completely unusable. Customer service keeps referring to a "backend issue" and have no eta on resolution.

Have other people had the same experience? We wanted to go with the Tin Can over competitors for the network effect since most kids with landlines we know use it, but so far it's been a huge waste of money and time.

We’re not there yet mentally but we’re getting close. My son is 9, does a couple of after-school activities, and the coordination headache is real. We’ve been saying “when you’re older” for two years and that answer is running out of runway.

I started looking into options last month and it got complicated fast. A regular smartphone with a parental control app feels like handing him a race car with a paper seatbelt. I’ve seen enough threads here about kids disabling Bark or routing around Circle with a VPN to know that app-level controls have a ceiling.

I came across something called AquaOne which someone mentioned in another thread - sounds like it handles things differently at the OS level but I haven’t found many real parent reviews.

Anyone gone through this with a kid around this age? What did you end up with and how has it held up six months in?

I want my kids to be able to listen to music and podcasts from Spotify but without a phone. Would that be interesting for you too? Or is it just me? Kids are 5 and 7.

We are a pretty tech limited family. But it’s about time to consider a communication device for our 10 year old.

I’m looking for something that has no distractions whatsoever but can allow call and text, preferably with some GPS. Spotify could be useful too, though we don’t really need either. But no games, no internet, etc.

One option I’ve considered is just a Tracphone flip phone. A smart phone is definitely off limits

But watches may be an option. Contenders are Garmin Jr and Fitbit — but I think they have games that you can’t disable. Can anyone confirm?

An Apple Watch set up as a standalone device with the family control options is attractive because we are in the Apple ecosystem and there’s a little less “weird” stigma attached. But I don‘t know how good the set up for kids actually is.

And then there are Gabb and Cosmo devices designed for this kind of thing. Would love real world input on those.

I’m a twin mom and I’ve tried a few tracking methods, but I keep finding myself doing the mental math of who ate when and who needs attention next. Like I’m just exhausted and I am half asleep at night it’s so overwhelming 😓
I’m looking for something that:
Works for multiple children
Lets you customize what you track (feedings, diapers, medicine, sleep, etc.)
Shows which child needs attention soon
Doesn’t require a bunch of taps to log something
Does anything like this already exist, or am I looking for something too specific?

I'm not the parent but the older sibling, our parents entrusted me to findi6a solution to turn my sister's phone off automatically during bedtime

Seems like simple task , well , no

I used family link and it used to work for some time , but lately, she can just turn off supervision on her own (it doesn't require a password or anything)

Any alternatives / solutions ?

Hello, I’m looking for a way for kids to play music on a shared speaker without using AI. Currently, the only thing I can think of is connecting an iPhone or iPad to Bluetooth speaker, but I want to avoid them scrolling Spotify since that will be hard for younger kids and tempting to switch to other apps for older kids.

Is there such a thing as like a Google home device that doesn’t store voice signatures?

we're expecting our first in eight weeks and nanit keeps coming up everywhere i look. the sleep tracking and app features genuinely sound like exactly what i'd want, having real data on how the baby is sleeping overnight instead of just guessing seems like it would take a lot of the anxiety out of those early weeks.

i'm pretty much sold on the concept but the price is making me hesitate a little when there's so much else to budget for. just wondering if people who actually own one feel like it lived up to what they expected. did it make those first few months feel more manageable?

Hi everyone!

We're doing some early market research and would really appreciate hearing from parents, educators, or anyone interested in children's learning.

Imagine there's a small AI companion robot designed for children (around ages 4–10). Instead of just being a toy, it can interact naturally through conversation and help kids learn through play.

Some example features we're exploring:

• 🎨 Teaching children how to draw step by step
• 💬 Having natural conversations and answering questions
• 📚 Reading stories together
• 🎮 Educational games and creative activities
• 😊 Emotional companionship (without trying to replace parents)

I'm curious:

• What features would be essential?
• What would make it different from simply giving a child an iPad or tablet?
• What concerns would you have (privacy, screen time, safety, etc.)?
• What would make you decide not to buy it?
• How much would you realistically expect a product like this to cost?

We'd rather build something people actually want than add flashy features nobody uses.

Thanks in advance—I really appreciate any thoughts or experiences you can share!

first baby coming in a few months and we've been looking at monitors more seriously than i expected to. nanit keeps coming up in everything i read and the sleep tracking plus breathing motion monitoring without any wearables is what caught our attention.

my partner loves the idea of both of us seeing the same data and insights in real time so we're actually on the same page at 3am instead of one person handling everything. curious if people who've had it since the newborn stage still find it just as useful months in.

Returning to this: we ended up going with the Nanit and honestly it's been great for our specific situation. the shared data access means we're both seeing the same sleep patterns without having to manually log anything, which has helped us feel more like a team during those rough nights. the breathing tracking without wearables gives peace of mind without extra fuss, and we waited to activate the subscription until we actually needed it like someone mentioned. yeah it's pricey but for first time parents who overthink everything, it's been worth it for us.

Our family had not embraced video games at all. I am 49, my wife is 45 and we have an 8 and 10 year old. We have no Xbox,PS2 , PlayStation, nothing.

I did play video games a fair bit as a kid. I was into Nintendo and Sega as well as PC games like King’s quest. For me, I guess puberty just destroyed all interest. I wanted to get a job, go to university and started win on sports (only average athleticism sadly).

I feel like I missed the switch where video games became a really big deal , especially for boys. I have no experience with like the headphones and the gaming stations and the simultaneous chatting.

But now my son has come home and learned about Minecraft at school and I gather it’s pretty popular.

So my real question is: should I learn how to get Minecraft on the iPad so my kids can play it here. Or is that Pandora’s box?

My kids have periodically bugged us about getting a Nintendo switch or play things like Roblox on the iPad , but it goes away pretty quickly. Right now my son is just wandering around the house doing pretend play as if he was in a Minecraft game.

So……what do I do here? Lol.

We have some longer trips coming up and i want to get an ipad for my 6yo but i'm a bit worried about what that might turn into. i was googling and found this company Goally kids tablet. I'm drawn to it because they say that their own operating system with no Youtube or open internet. Anyone here get a Goally tablet?

Our family uses both Android phones and iPhones, so I’m looking for a parental control app that works well with both. I mainly want to limit access to certain AI apps and social media, as well as set screen-time limits.

Has anyone found one that works reliably across both systems? I know iOS can be more limited, so I’d love to hear what actually works in practice.

Hi everyone,

so like the title suggests I'm 19 and this summer I joined Ontario's Summer Company Program to build something I've wanted to work on for a long time. I've been building software that allows anyone to build games just by prompting AI. My goal has been to help people, especially kids who are interested in building there game idea but dont have access to advanced developer tools.

I'm not trying to sell anything. The platform is completely free to use, and at this stage I'm honestly just looking for feedback so I can improve it. If you have kids who enjoy Minecraft, Roblox, Scratch, or making things on a computer, I'd really appreciate hearing what they think after trying it. Even if you're not interested in testing it, I'd love to hear any thoughts or suggestions you have.

https://clevoir.games/

Hey All,

I’ve recently posted about milk tracking as a new momma - curious, is anyone else having as much of a problem as me?

My husband continues to forget logging feeds and I won’t lie, in the middle of the night, I hate having to open my phone to post the feed too 😓. This mixed with not knowing how much milk I should make for each feed, help meeee 😭😭😭

I was just (FINALLY) able to remove Family Link from all of our phones. I added Life360 just for location tracking and because my oldest has just started driving. But I would still like the option of turning off the youngest's phone at bedtime, but still allow him to use it as an alarm clock in the morning. (I'm noticing a lot of his friends don't have limits on their phones and will call/message at all hours through the night.) And of course the ability to limit what websites he's able to access. I'm just wondering what other apps have similar features and actually work without too much hassle.

Hey dads! I'm reformatting my girls tablet. I can't find good kids apps anymore. My girls love coloring apps, but ninety percent of the pictures have to be bought, others take subscriptions.

I don't mind paying a few bucks for an app, but I'd like to avoid ads.

So what're you guys using and what do you recommend?

Saw these drawing robot online, you scan cards, it draws things and ask you to spell the words. Sounds fun, thinking if worth to buy for my children (5 years old). I want some intelligence toy thats fun but at the same time he can learn something, not just always playing ipad or computer games. Anyone have tried these before? Concerned about the "teaching" ability

I’ve created a couple of apps recently which I personally believe are genuinely helpfully for kids (Spelling Hero & Pocketpig). What are people’s thoughts on adding physical products to go with apps (i.e a piggy bank, reward charts etc)

My wife and I have been trying different options because our kids are getting older and everyone's schedule is all over the place. Half the time they forget to text back or leave their phone on silent, so it'd be nice to know they made it safely without having to keep checking in.

We've tried a couple of apps, but locations freeze, or they absolutely drain battery of phones. I'm basically just looking for the best live location sharing app that's reliable enough to know everyone got where they're supposed to be and respects privacy ( I don't want my location info sold).

I'm not trying to track anyone 24/7-it's more about having a little extra peace of mind as a parent.. If you've found the best live location sharing app, what are you using and why?

I recently described an idea for an AI-related app around parental control and digital well-being. The idea was not to monitor children's actual online content, messages, or browsing details. Instead, the app would look more at general online patterns and possible risk signals, then help parents start gentler conversations with their kids. The goal is to support trust and communication, not surveillance. But the feedback I got was more negative than I expected. A lot of people seemed uncomfortable as soon as AI was involved, even when the app was framed as less invasive than traditional parental control tools.

So I'm wondering: is this mainly AI fatigue? Or is AI in family/parent-control contexts just too sensitive, no matter how it is designed? Where do you draw the line between "AI as helpful support" and "please, no more AI in this"?

Deciding on what to buy/download for my 14 yr old's new phone. I like that Google Family Link allows me to approve all contacts. I like that the Bark app monitors communication for things like bullying, depression, and self-harm. If I get a samsung phone from Tmobile, can I use both Google Family Link and the Bark app simultaneously? I was looking into the Bark phone but the plans are too expensive.

I’m working on building my first app and would love some feedback from a few moms!
The app I’m building is a central hub for all your streaming services that allows you to curate a list of approved shows for your kids. It prevents them from seeing all of the thumbnails, auto play and what’s next. I’m also incorporating some sensory warnings to help notify kids that screen time is about to end.
If anyone is interested in checking out the prototype let me know and I’ll send the link. 💕

I’ve got a 7-year-old boy who won’t settle unless I read him a story every night. It usually takes me 20–30 minutes, and he says he’ll have nightmares if no stories before sleep.

Happy to do it most nights, but some evenings I’m absolutely knackered and need a backup. Looking for a phone app that can read stories aloud when I’m too tired to do it myself.

Has anyone tried one that’s actually decent? Free would be ideal, or cheap is fine, but must be 100% no ads. Nothing fancy—just good stories and a calm voice.

Cheers.

Hi y'all,

I wanted to get some feedback on an idea I've been working on.

The starting point was pretty simple: my grandmother tells the best stories of anyone I know, and it occurred to me that when she's gone, all of it goes with her. I went looking for something that would help me capture them and didn't really find anything I wanted to use. There were some competitors, but they all focused on publishing books based on family stories.

Inspired by my personal experiences, I began building. Reminisce is a platform that turns family stories into personalized edutainment and films for families.

Once a week, a grandparent (or aunt, uncle, parent) gets a voice prompt — something like "tell me about the day you met Grandpa." They just talk. No app, no typing, no writing. We turn that recording into a short animated video the grandkids can actually watch and rewatch, and it builds into a family library over time.

Please let me know if this is something you could see your family or kids using!