[HN Gopher] Show HN: Oh Yah - Routine management app I built for...
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Show HN: Oh Yah - Routine management app I built for my sons
Hi HN! I built Oh Yah! to help my sons (age 7 and 10) stick to
daily routines without constant reminders. The core idea: minimal
distractions during tasks by locking navigation when a timer is
running, plus optional photo-based task completion for
accountability Built with React Native/Expo and Firebase. The
trickiest part was designing the UX to be simple enough for kids
with minimal distractions while giving parents enough control -
ended up with a task-definition system that lets parents create
weekly schedules with daily toggles instead of duplicating tasks
across days It's on the App Store now after a few months of
dogfooding with my family. There's a 1-month free trial, then it's
subscription-based. Would love feedback from other parents dealing
with similar challenges
Author : gantengx
Score : 84 points
Date : 2025-10-08 08:15 UTC (14 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (ohyahapp.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (ohyahapp.com)
| ssgodderidge wrote:
| Congrats on the launch! A month of use in your own family is a
| win in its own right.
|
| What's been your sons' reception of the app so far?
| gantengx wrote:
| Thanks! This was my wife's idea and I thought it's interesting
| but was skeptical at first. But after we started using it, it
| actually helped a lot! Much less whining/crying and a lot less
| stressful for my wife and I
|
| So at least it works for my family, and just like you said,
| it's a huge win by itself :)
| curtistyr wrote:
| It's fascinating how you've turned a personal challenge into
| a solution that could help many families! The reduction in
| stress and whining is a huge win--every parent I know would
| love that. I'm curious about how the kids responded initially
| to the photo proof feature--did they find it fun or just
| another chore? Also, have you considered expanding the app
| for other routine-based needs, like homework or chores, to
| make it even more versatile?
| gantengx wrote:
| Thanks! They actually liked the photo part. Right now just
| focusing to handle daily routine but could expand later
| depending on the feedback
| TheSilva wrote:
| Slightly off-topic, but as this will require kids to have access
| to an unlocked phone...
|
| I remember Windows Phone had the feature of "unlocked apps",
| which you could run without having to unlock the phone: think
| calculator, browser, games. It was called Kids Corner[1].
|
| Have any other OS (iOS/Androind) copied anything similar to that?
| This app will (or at least in my case) live in a place like that,
| where they do not have access to the whole platform.
|
| [1] https://www.windowscentral.com/kids-corner-windows-phone-8
| gantengx wrote:
| Yeah, that's a valid concern. We use an older spare iPhone for
| this, which worked out well. iOS doesn't have a "Kids Corner"
| equivalent unfortunately - you'd need to use Screen Time
| restrictions to lock down the device (block apps/calls/etc) but
| still need to unlock the phone
| shlip wrote:
| There was an article not long ago about using Apple
| Configurator to dumb down an iphone :
| https://stopa.io/post/297
|
| Maybe this could be handy.
| piltdownman wrote:
| For Android w/Playstore you can set up a child's account
| through Google and then use Google Family Link app to control
| app downloads, block specific apps, and set content
| restrictions for apps, movies, and games.
|
| You can set down times for the whole phone and lock it remotely
| which is of huge benefit for bedtimes!
| TheSilva wrote:
| That's parental control, that's not the same. I want to hand
| my phone to my kids and let them access only one or two apps
| that I have listed as allowed.
|
| I don't want (yet, but it will come) for them to have their
| own device that I control as you explained.
| mksybr wrote:
| That's app pinning.
|
| https://support.google.com/android/answer/9455138?hl=en
| ankit_mishra wrote:
| It only let's you pin single app though, as far as I
| understand.
| piltdownman wrote:
| Depends on your device then. Some Android Devices allow
| multiple-user accounts, one of which can be a specially
| locked-down child account. I think Samsung Galaxy have a
| proprietary flavour as well.
|
| https://support.google.com/kidsspace/answer/10065701?hl=en
| j45 wrote:
| Android should have a Kiosk mode that's available sometimes
| that locks it to one app full screen.
|
| Android may have alternate launchers you can install (they
| are just apps) which you can customize how you need. One of
| the best features of Android imho.
|
| I tried helping a friend with their kids Amazon tablet and
| left the experience wanting to wipe it clean and just
| define what 4 buttons parents can put on the screen.
|
| Other tech:
|
| Apple has a guided access feature which locks it to one app
| (except it's handed to them).
|
| We're holding off on personal screens for now until the
| information diet can be tamed and managed. Looking for a
| smartwatch with a phone with physical buttons and no
| screen. Seem to be some options.
| em-bee wrote:
| my android (/e/OS) allows to create multiple accounts that
| you can switch. i create a second account that only has the
| apps my kids are allowed to use. they can't switch users as
| that would require them to log in.
|
| i don't think multiple account is an /e/OS feature, but
| must be coming from lineage/ASOP so other ROMs should have
| it too (unless it was intentionally removed)
| itake wrote:
| iOS lets you lock apps behind faceID.
|
| All my communication and banking apps are protected.
| TheSilva wrote:
| Yes, and I do the same. However, Kids Corner was a curated
| list of apps that you chose to share freely without
| password/FaceID.
|
| I don't want to lock my browser, photos, maps, etc. behind
| FaceID. I want to hand my phone knowing they will only use
| one or two apps and the fun stops when they hand me over the
| device.
| presentation wrote:
| Maybe can do basically the same thing with a dumb SMS/MMS-based
| interface actually, text-adventure style. Then could do it with
| a dumb phone.
| darkamaul wrote:
| I still have some nostalgia for Windows Phone. I genuinely
| liked the platform - even bought an Omnia 7 back in the day,
| and later a Lumia 1020 (that camera was so good).
|
| I still think the tile based UI was underrated. Live Tiles felt
| like a smart idea that never quite got the support it needed.
| It's one of those "what could have been" stories in tech.
| port11 wrote:
| iOS lets you do something very similar with Guided Access:
| https://support.apple.com/en-us/111795
| shizcakes wrote:
| Suggestion for the site: it references "no navigation" a few
| times, but I am having a hard time understanding what that means.
| What kind of navigation is meant here? What are the boundaries of
| the navigation limits?
|
| Various definitions of "navigation" I can think of: - no
| switching tasks in the app - some sort of phone-wide parental
| control - maps is disabled ;-)
| gantengx wrote:
| In this case, navigation means in-app navigation. When a task
| timer is running, kids can't switch to other tasks, go back to
| the main screen, or change profiles. They have to complete the
| current task first
|
| The goal is to keep them focused on one thing at a time without
| the temptation to jump around :)
| ale42 wrote:
| Not to criticize the idea, but do we really need to give our kids
| yet _more_ screen time, especially young ones? Pedagogically,
| what is the message for them here? You need a phone for
| everything?
| sjw987 wrote:
| Gotta get them hooked early. You really shouldn't need apps at
| any age to keep you on track with tasks.
| dmos62 wrote:
| It's easy to judge, but the alternative might be a kid that's
| on his phone anyway, but struggles to have a structured
| routine.
| sjw987 wrote:
| Task management apps are crutches. If any part of their
| role is to inspire change in somebody, it's not going to
| happen. All that you do is make people reliant on them, and
| everything disappears when the app is no longer around.
| They're best for reference (day-to-day and team
| coordination).
|
| The concept of a task management app for children is
| dystopian. It's treating them like office workers from the
| beginning, and considering the example given is the typical
| chess, piano, Chinese lessons, it's just overloading the
| child for exhaustion.
|
| Parents should be parenting their children. Limiting their
| exposure to things, including screens and the internet, and
| disciplining a child to study or work are part of a parents
| purview. I can't see why people even have children if they
| delegate all of their parenting responsibilities to screens
| and software.
| TimTheTinker wrote:
| > Task management apps are crutches. [...] All that you
| do is make people reliant on them, and everything
| disappears when the app is no longer around.
|
| Welcome to ADHD management. At its core, its an executive
| function deficit. My wife and I both have it (my case is
| worse) and so do most of our children. External systems
| and environments have a _huge_ effect on our ability to
| manage life, and that 's not something that can change.
| The solution is to learn to work with it and tune our
| environments.
| em-bee wrote:
| some parents have to work a lot to make ends meet, also
| housework and all that. having children should not be a
| privilege of the affluent. actually, the more money
| people have the less likely they already have children.
| so our future depends on parents who don't have enough
| time because they are working.
| ale42 wrote:
| Sure, but why the kid his on his phone?
| mrugge wrote:
| dad is busy vibe coding a scheduling app
| TimTheTinker wrote:
| One core component of managing ADHD (at any age) is
| "externalize", of which an app can be a helpful component.
| mabbo wrote:
| Not all time spent interacting with a screen is "screen time".
|
| The problematic thing is kids spending endless hours just
| absorbing rather than playing or interacting or _doing stuff_.
| It culminates in kids (and adults) who cannot mentally handle
| being _bored_ - they must have the screen to relieve the
| horrors of the idle mind.
|
| If achieving these same goals is easier without an app for you
| and your kids, then by all means, do that. But an app on a
| screen is a very powerful tool to structure and organize
| things. My daughter is still a bit young for this one, but I
| can see how useful it will be when she's a couple years older.
| ale42 wrote:
| > The problematic thing is kids spending endless hours just
| absorbing rather than playing or interacting or doing stuff.
|
| That's totally true, but it's not the only point. Here we are
| also teaching kids that they need apps for anything they do.
| They should be able to do that themselves, _before_ using an
| app to assist them. Otherwise they wont develop capabilities
| that they wont be able to acquire so easily at a later stage
| in their lives. If we take this approach to the extreme, why
| bother learning to write and do maths, when a computer can do
| it for you?
| mallowdram wrote:
| Correlating reality on 2-D screens is damaging to kids
| allocentric and egocentric divergences. Kids before 10
| shouldn't control screens. Kids until 14 should be limited in
| portable screens. We know this now.
|
| https://www.childrenandscreens.org/learn-
| explore/research/?t...
| IncreasePosts wrote:
| How about "thoughtful use of tools can help you create
| structure and systems which help you achieve your goals"
|
| What is screen time any way? Spending 3 hours playing candy
| crush and 3 hours reading moby dick on the kindle app are both
| screen time. What's the commonality between them?
| conception wrote:
| Both are worse than the non-screen equivalent by many
| measures?
| W0lfEagle wrote:
| Downvote me but: kids shouldn't have phones. No disrespect to the
| author and congratulations on the launch and all. I just find the
| entire concept completely dystopian. Like, play, enjoy your life
| kids! There's plenty of time for entirely unnecessary
| "tasks"/"work" later in life.
| p0w3n3d wrote:
| I think I'm heading to the place were you already are. I gave
| access to phones to my kids, and all the apps that monitor
| their time fail, when there is no will in them to stop. Also
| doing any task with the phone makes them navigate away (to
| instant messaging with their colleagues etc)
|
| But on the other hand - the world is digital now. I have no
| idea how to make them learn good habits on finding things on
| the internet while not falling to the infinite well of
| doomscrolling etc.
| subpixel wrote:
| Parent, 100% agree. Even worse, approaching device access like
| a reward to be earned is a bad idea.
| stevekemp wrote:
| My child started walking to school, alone, at age seven. More
| importantly he'd start walking home from school in the
| afternoon a couple of hours before his parents were home.
|
| Having a child be able to call you and say "I'm in the park",
| "I'm at my friends house", "Can I invite a friend over?" was
| very good for reassurance.
|
| We still throw him out and say "Go to the park" on a weekend,
| safe in the knowledge that if we need to know where he is we
| can call and ask, or he can phone us to say he saw a friend and
| is going to their place, etc.
|
| I don't love children having screen time, and we set a timer so
| he's not allowed unfettered access, but giving him a phone?
| Even a dumb phone? I think its a net positive.
| richrichardsson wrote:
| We seem to be the only family in my children's school who think
| under-13s should not have a smart phone. The places they range
| to are so close they don't even need a dumb phone.
|
| I'm getting quite pissed at the school seemingly assuming every
| kid has a smart phone that they need to access things for
| school with.
| aae42 wrote:
| Preparing them for the future when all of their work will be laid
| out this way to maximize productivity
| mcdooglator wrote:
| Wow this is perfect. As a parent who is looking to avoid real
| interactions with my kid while also getting them started on the
| smart phone serotonin addiction this is perfect. With this I
| won't have to actually talk to little margaret when she isn't
| doing enough calculus.
|
| What is your pricing model?
| mallowdram wrote:
| Shows a complete lack of understanding of how childrens' skills
| are developed.
|
| Intelligence is built from various sequences.
|
| 1. Path integrations. The ability to test without supervision and
| coaching movements beyond the scope of eyesight, aided by
| landmarks, without the use of breadcrumbs or maps.
|
| 2. Short-cuts. The ability to use the above to create short-cuts
| in the unmapped and unsupervised, unaided paths.
|
| 3. Vicarious trial-and-error. The ability to learn both from
| mistakes and idiosyncratic choices that develop unique solutions.
|
| And there are MANY others like this in the motor and cognitive
| mapping system built from sharp wave ripples.
|
| This software is the equivalent of brainwashing experience into
| mechanical reproducibility. It's the latests tech horror show.
| entropie wrote:
| > Intelligence is built from various sequences.
|
| This is not about intelligence or development of children
| skills, its about task completion.
|
| Your comment sound pretty rude.
| mallowdram wrote:
| Narrowing the concept of what a task is at this age is
| extremely damaging and limiting to experience.
|
| Naming sequences as "tasks" is tantamount to enslavement into
| an order of roboticism. This sounds like the beginning of a
| Bradbury story in which children revolt en masse.
|
| Pretty rude? The entire approach here aimed at kids is beyond
| rude. It's mind-control.
|
| "A growing body of evidence has found that children's brains
| can structurally and functionally change due to prolonged
| media multitasking, such as diminished gray matter in the
| prefrontal cortex, where attentional control and complex
| decision making abilities reside, among other really
| important skills, like the development of empathy and
| understanding nonverbal social communication,"
| leipert wrote:
| There is a thing called ,,routine cards" for children which is
| how we handle morning/evening routines. They are colourful cards
| that you can velcro on in any order. Similar things are available
| for weekly routines
| gantengx wrote:
| Glad that works for you! We tried paper-based routines but they
| didn't stick for us. The timer helps them realize tasks take
| less time than they think, and the photo proof solves disputes
| about task quality when sometimes their "done" meant rushed
| with minimal effort :D
| entropie wrote:
| My partner has severe ADHD since early childhood and while
| watching parts of the video I said to myself: That would probably
| help her a lot. She has big problems priorizing tasks that may
| depend on each other
| gantengx wrote:
| Thanks! Glad it resonates. The app is designed specifically for
| kids with a simplified UX and parent mode, so it might feel too
| basic for adults. However, the core concepts (ordered tasks,
| focus timer, photo completion) could work. Worth trying the
| trial to see if it fits :)
| conceptme wrote:
| this app kinda fits with the asian parents meme
| gantengx wrote:
| I am indeed an asian haha
| xrd wrote:
| I wrote up a screen plan for my kids. They get an hour of
| screentime a day (2 hrs on weekends). They have to write on the
| whiteboard the time they start, and I have a camera watching the
| whiteboard (with sound off) if I need to verify they put their
| devices back afterwards (I've never had to audit them yet).
|
| It has worked wonders. It is not perfect but my two 8 and 10 year
| old daughters have used it. My 12 year old son, battles me in
| every way, but I feel like it is a small war instead of WWIII
| now.
|
| They get a bonus of screen time before school if they get all
| their chores done. The whiteboard has all those chores. I hate
| them having screen time before school, but I like that I no
| longer am fighting with them to get their socks on.
|
| This is a drastic improvement from a few months back.
| gantengx wrote:
| Ah we're pretty similar in that regard. Officially their screen
| time is 30min on weekdays (excluding the app usage and
| chess.com) so the app basically digitise that whiteboard +
| timer concept
|
| Photo proof actually was my wife's idea. She wanted to verify
| the task quality when she wasn't at home - similar to your
| audit capability
|
| I guess the 12year old battles will be coming for me next.. Not
| exactly looking forward to the puberty haha
| alphazard wrote:
| The app itself is a great idea, but looking through the demo
| video I see lots of bad "tiger parent" memes. I don't think that
| I would want to force a child to do these sorts of tasks in a
| regimen, or be forced as a child to perform them.
|
| The demo video (which does showcase the app well), includes
| things like chess and piano and homework. Does the child like
| doing any of these? Have you vetted the homework as worth the
| child's time?
|
| Missing from the list are things that translate to adulthood,
| like physically training every day and performing useful tasks
| like chores _in exchange for something_ like money. You have to
| exercise as an adult even if you don 't want to, it's part of the
| human condition. If you don't become accustomed to conditioning
| as an adolescent and only exercise through sports, it can be
| difficult to stay fit as an adult. You have to perform useful
| work because we live in a world of scarcity, but doing hobbies
| that don't interest you because they impress people or your
| parents told you to do them as a child is absolutely nuts.
|
| I should add: I'm not criticizing your parenting decisions,
| obviously I have none of the relevant context, but I thought I
| would convey a sentiment that may exist in your market
| demographic, which you maybe don't share.
| Thorrez wrote:
| >Have you vetted the homework as worth the child's time?
|
| If the homework isn't worth the child's time, what do you
| suggest? Don't do it and get a bad grade? Parent does it for
| the child? Ask AI to do it? (That would still take time and
| thus should probably be on the schedule.) Talk to the teacher
| to ask it not be done?
| alphazard wrote:
| The best long term answer is to seek schooling that doesn't
| assign busy work. If you really want to take your child's
| education seriously then homeschooling, private schooling,
| and manipulating the school board all have to be on the
| table.
|
| If the child is old enough, you could explain that the
| homework is not useful to them, and try to turn it into a
| teachable moment about manipulating systems for one's
| advantage. Then delegate the homework to AI, or lookup the
| answers online. I would be very cautious about doing that
| with a young child, there's a lot of nuance. Dishonesty
| towards friends and family is always bad, towards
| bureaucracies is okay.
|
| The crucial adult skill is to not tolerate useless work. If
| you become complacent with doing work that doesn't help
| anyone, then you considerably increase your risk of losing
| employment, or being ineffective when working solo. AI is
| going to force this lesson on the next generations.
| MattGrommes wrote:
| I talked to my kids' teachers about their homework and just
| told them I didn't believe in homework for younger kids and
| they wouldn't be doing it unless they were falling behind and
| needed practice. Some teachers were a bit taken aback but I
| didn't get any real pushback.
| gantengx wrote:
| Fair points, and I appreciate the candid feedback. The demo
| tasks were chosen to showcase different task types (timed,
| photo-proof, etc) rather than being prescriptive about what
| kids should do. But I can see how it reads as "tiger parent
| starter pack"
|
| For context: my older son genuinely enjoys chess and piano, and
| this structured schedule approach was recommended by their
| child psychologist. We tried paper-based scheduling but it
| didn't stick, so my wife asked me to build an app to help
|
| Your point about useful adult skills is well taken. The hope is
| they internalise the habit of planning and following through,
| so eventually they can set their own schedules. We'll see how
| it goes
| mallowdram wrote:
| I would study what you're apparently intent on ignoring: that
| kids and screens do not mix well and reduces their ability to
| engage with the more complex aspects of reality. Do you want
| automatons or fundamentally happy beings?
|
| "A growing body of evidence has found that children's brains
| can structurally and functionally change due to prolonged
| media multitasking, such as diminished gray matter in the
| prefrontal cortex, where attentional control and complex
| decision making abilities reside, among other really
| important skills, like the development of empathy and
| understanding nonverbal social communication,"
|
| There are over 300 studies detailing how early screen use
| damages children's brains and impairs their ability to reason
| and relate to others. How engineers ignore this is
| incredible.
|
| https://www.childrenandscreens.org/learn-
| explore/research/?t...
| mallowdram wrote:
| The scientific reality of loss of gray matter in children
| from screen use can't be downvoted away.
|
| Perhaps this is how engineering is forced to change its
| tune: the irreversible damage to children.
| d--b wrote:
| Eesh... This feels like a punch clock for kids...
|
| I mean my kids have a hard time with routine management, but
| that's not going to make anything better unless you gamify the
| shit out of it.
|
| Show them a counter of how well they're doing and reward them
| when they're done with some animated crap that's different every
| time, and maybe they'll use it for more than three days.
| havaloc wrote:
| Frederick Taylor approves!
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Winslow_Taylor
| Brajeshwar wrote:
| I'm trying some sort of a routine and patterns of habits with my
| kids, and so far are full of misses. I made a checklist based
| weekly routine on a spreadsheet with task such as racking the
| dishwasher, and pushing the right buttons on it, the same goes
| for clothes -- learn to separate clothes based on color, and
| other characteristics etc.
|
| This a simple printed paper stuck near the kitchen for them to
| just run their fingers on the checklist to see if they have to do
| for the day of the week. There is no specific time or a deadline
| but I'm training them to look at in the morning, after school,
| and before bed. For instance, the before bed routine makes sure
| we run the dishwasher while we sleep to have fresh washed dishes
| the next morning.
|
| Besides the usual rewards of extra game-time, chocolates, etc. we
| have also introduced a "Daughter of the Month" with special
| privileges.
| explorigin wrote:
| So many parental opinions on here. Not every kid is the same.
| Trying to apply blanket parental strategies speaks of ignorance.
| I have neurodivergent kids and this could be great for them.
| Dxtros wrote:
| I think this concept could be adapted to a wider audience.
| Personally I struggle with routine. Body Doubling (doing
| something with another human holding you accountable) helps me a
| ton.
|
| I would definitely use this if instead of the parents as the
| reviewer it was possible to have a friend/multiple friends
| approve, rate and comment on tasks and vice versa. Like a sort of
| social media for mundane routines.
| tummler wrote:
| Yeah, I think this would work well generally, not just for
| kids. And ADHD folks in particular.
| czbond wrote:
| Looking at it for my ADHD child ha.
| port11 wrote:
| Maybe Beeminder.com or one of the peer pressure equivalents?
| jonapro wrote:
| I'd rather not include additional screen time for my kids. We
| have a printed sheet of paper on the fridge. If they don't do
| what they need to then they have a consequence (no TV, no screen,
| no desert, no playing w friends).
|
| Not everything needs to be fun and games in life.
| samteeeee wrote:
| Give the kids a break... let them be free to play. They are only
| 7 and 10, why do they need daily routines, task completion,
| accountability, timers? Sheesh.
| IncreasePosts wrote:
| You could try asking OP instead of sheeshing it off.
|
| Any ways, just because you have some "structure routine" in
| your day doesn't mean you don't also have many hours of free
| play time.
| stronglikedan wrote:
| > You could try asking OP instead of sheeshing it off.
|
| I'm pretty sure a top level comment is effectively "asking
| OP". As for sheeshing it off, why can't we have both?
| IncreasePosts wrote:
| Because saying "this is stupid" is much less likely to get
| a useful response than "what's your specific use case in
| your family"?
| quantumgarbage wrote:
| nice, my kids are going to have so many fond memories of their
| childhood thanks to your app
| asdf0000 wrote:
| I'm sorry but starting the video immediately with Chinese, piano,
| homework, and chess is so stereotypical that it gives off
| borderline racist vibes. To me it looks like a subtle joke about
| tiger parenting. If you want this to appeal to people outside
| your community you need to include activities that more diverse
| people engage with.
| TimTheTinker wrote:
| You should try Oh Yah! if: - Your child struggles with
| daily routines and needs constant reminders - Mornings
| and after-school time are stressful battles - You've
| tried reward charts and systems that didn't stick - Your
| child needs clear structure but gets overwhelmed easily -
| You want to build independence without constant nagging -
| You need a solution that works for the whole family
|
| This sounds like a household with a lot of ADHD. :)
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(page generated 2025-10-08 23:01 UTC)