Earnest replaces the nightly screen-time argument with a simple deal: finish the quest, earn the minutes, spend them on the apps you both agreed on. Because the rules are visible, there is far less to fight about.
Hi, Mia
Today's quests
Most battles come from a rule that feels arbitrary and a shutdown that feels sudden. Earnest removes both. The child can see what earns time, watch the balance count down, and get a warning before anything locks, so the argument has nothing to grab onto.
The terms are written down as quests. Your child chooses to earn, instead of being told no, which takes the heat out of the moment.
A five-minute heads-up and a visible countdown mean time never disappears mid-game without notice.
Bedtime and school windows lock the reward apps on a schedule, so lights-out is the rule doing its job, not you being the bad guy.
Instead of punishment that piles up, tomorrow is a fresh chance to finish quests and earn time again.
The first week is the hardest, because everyone is used to the old script. Once kids learn that finishing a quest reliably turns into minutes, the negotiation fades. They stop asking you for five more minutes and start asking themselves whether they want to do one more task to earn it. You go from being the person who says no to the person who simply approves the work.
Earnest is in early access (version 0.1.0) and Android-only, so it cannot help on an iPhone or iPad today. It is not a monitoring or web-filtering tool. On a normal phone, Basic mode works with no setup, and stronger device locking is an optional Max protection mode you can choose to turn on.
There is much less to argue about because the deal is visible and consistent. Kids can see exactly what earns time and how much they have left, and you still hold the PIN that approves everything.
Earnest gives a five-minute warning, then softly locks the reward apps rather than yanking the screen away mid-moment. The countdown is on the home screen, so it is rarely a surprise.
Yes. You can grant a quick block of minutes or make a today-only adjustment, without changing the everyday deal.
See where the minutes live, how bedtime works, and calmer ways to set the rules.
The visible balance that makes the deal feel fair.
Automatic lock windows with an easy parent override.
The full loop from quest to earned screen time.
Calm, practical ways to change the daily script.
A big, playful screen that early readers understand.
Earning-first versus restriction-first, compared fairly.