Earnest turns homework into a quest that earns screen time, and a learning bonus can pay extra for schoolwork. Your child finishes the assignment, you approve it with a PIN, and the earned minutes unlock the apps they want.
The point is not to bribe. It is to make the effort visible and the payoff immediate, so getting started feels less like a wall.
Earnest connects the work to the reward without a lecture. Homework becomes one of the quests that earns time, and you can weight it so effort at the desk pays off more than clearing the table.
Mark a quest as learning and it can earn more minutes and coins, so homework is worth reaching for.
Ask for a quick photo of the finished worksheet, so you can approve with confidence when you were not in the room.
Set homework as a daily quest and it shows up every school day, turning after-school into a predictable rhythm.
Coins from schoolwork can save toward a real reward you set, like a movie night, for the kid who is playing a longer game.
The hard part of homework is often starting, not finishing. When the reward is vague and far away, a ten-year-old has little reason to open the folder now. Earnest makes the trade concrete: finish this, earn that, and the apps you like open sooner. Because you approve the quest, you stay the judge of what counts as done, and you can keep the learning bonus modest so the habit matters more than the payout.
Earnest is an early-access app (version 0.1.0) and Android-only, with no iPhone or iPad version yet. It is not a homework tracker or a tutoring tool, and it does not grade anything. It is a way to attach earned screen time to the work you already ask your child to do.
No. Earnest does not grade work. Your child marks the quest done, adds an optional photo if you want proof, and you decide whether to approve it with your PIN.
Yes. Learning quests can carry a bonus that pays extra minutes and coins, so schoolwork can be worth more than everyday tasks if that fits your family.
That is a personal call, and reasonable parents land in different places. Earnest simply gives you the dial. Our guide on reward systems walks through the trade-offs honestly.
See how quests and rewards work, and read up on reward systems that hold up over time.
Daily and one-off tasks, categories, photo proof, and the learning bonus.
Turn coins into the real rewards your child is working toward.
The loop from assignment to earned screen time.
What works, what backfires, and how to keep it healthy.
Make daily reading a quest that earns real time.
A goal-focused screen for older kids who want the rewards.