Hootkey Get it for iPhone
iPhone & iPad · Kids K–6

Learning first,then play.

Your child's chosen apps stay blocked until they finish a short lesson. Five maths questions or a story — about three minutes — and the apps open for the time you set.

Let's set it up See how it works
  • The block is free, forever
  • Built on Apple's Screen Time
  • No ads, ever
The block screen: Time to earn 30 minutes
Earn 30 minutes: one story, Start
Unlocked until 16:42The Big Dog and the Little Dog · 3 of 3
How it works

Blocked, earn, unlocked. Then blocked again.

You pick the apps. Your child does a short lesson to open them. When the minutes run out, the block comes back on its own.

  1. 1The block

    They open YouTube. iOS shows the shield.

    Built on Apple's own Screen Time controls, so it holds — no uninstalling, no VPN trick, no arguing.

    Shield over the blocked app
  2. 2The lesson

    Five questions, about three minutes.

    Illustrated maths or a short story, pitched a touch above where they are. A wrong answer shows the working and asks again — it never fails them out.

    A story: The Night the Lights Went Out
  3. 3Unlocked

    Thirty minutes, earned. Then the shield returns.

    You set the minutes, a daily cap and quiet hours. When the window ends, the block is back — nothing for you to do.

    Lesson finished, apps unlocked
3 mina typical lesson
30 minearned per lesson — you choose
K–6maths and reading, to US grade standards
0ads or trackers in your child's app
A story: The Big Dog and the Little Dog, with Read it to me
Illustrated maths: how many ducklings?
Read it to me 3 in a row
Lessons

Illustrated maths. Fresh stories. Written for the grade they're actually on.

Placement finds your child's level within a couple of days and eases back on the skill that needs it. Kindergarten and first grade can have every story read aloud.

  • Count, add, round, divideEvery question traceable to a grade-level standard.
  • Stories with three questionsLiteral, inference, vocabulary — each labelled by what it asks for.
  • Never a fail, never a timerA wrong answer shows the working and asks a sibling question. The minutes come either way.
New every monthA fresh pack on the first of the monthAround 30 illustrated maths questions and six new stories, matched to your child's grade. Packs arrive while you subscribe; the free starter set never expires.
For parents

The controls on your phone. The proof every Sunday.

Today

Bonus minutes, a pause for the car, lock it now.

  • Lessons, minutes, accuracyWhat happened today, at a glance.
  • +15 or +30 minutes, remotelyFor a long drive, a reward, or a rainy afternoon.
  • Every rule, in one placeMinutes per lesson, daily cap, quiet hours, lesson mix.
Today dashboard on the parent's phone
The Sunday report

Three minutes to read. One thing to watch.

  • What got betterNamed by skill, traceable to a grade-level standard.
  • The one to watchAnd what the app is already doing about it.
  • Something to ask at dinnerA question about this week's practice, ready to go.
Weekly report on the parent's phone
Pricing

The block is free. Your rules are the subscription.

Your child earns their apps with a lesson whether you pay or not — 30 minutes at a time, three times a day. What a subscription buys is everything that runs while you are not in the room.

  • Quiet hoursNothing unlocks after bedtime, with later hours on Friday and Saturday nights if you want them.
  • Your own limitsChoose the minutes a lesson buys and how many a day, or switch to daily-goal mode.
  • The Sunday report, and your phoneWhat your child actually did, plus bonus minutes and pause from wherever you are.
  • A new pack every monthAround 30 illustrated questions and six new stories, matched to your child's grade.
Free$0foreverThe block, the lessons and the timer, on our defaults. No card, no account, no expiry — so nobody is ever locked out of their own iPad.
Start your free week

Cancel any time in Settings. The block and the lessons carry on; your rules go back to ours and packs stop arriving. Nothing is removed from your child's device and nothing gets stuck. Requires iOS 16 or later and a child account in Family Sharing.

FAQ

Straight answers about how it works on iOS

Not on a child account in Family Sharing. The shield is Apple's own Screen Time control, and only you can remove it — from your phone, or with your grown-up PIN on theirs.