Parenting Automation

We’ve had the kids on a point system for years now. They earn points by completing daily responsibilities, which they can use to “buy” rewards. So far, it’s mostly been Nintendo Switch games and PC accessories.

This all started with the Wake Up Light, originally designed to keep our oldest in bed while the rest of the house was asleep. He’d often wake up in the middle of the night and end up in the living room, scared of the dark and the silence. Later on, I modified the light to also function at bedtime. It turns red at 20:30, and if they’re not in bed by then, they don’t earn their point.

The system worked well, but they were constantly asking, “How many points do we have now?” Instead of keeping track in my head, I built a points site where they could check their status. The problem was that every morning, I had to remember whether they earned a point the night before and manually update the HTML. It was incredibly tedious, but at least I could answer their questions with a simple, “Go check the site.”

Now that they’re older and have more responsibilities - homework, cleaning their rooms, etc. - it was time for an upgrade. And ideally, one that removes me from the equation.

So, I built a site that tracks their tasks dynamically. Every day includes the usual chores like brushing teeth and changing for ninite, but there are also tasks that only show up on specific days. Bedtime is the most crucial. If they don’t check in by 20:31, no point for that day.

We also introduced a special star they can earn by going above and beyond. Right now, we’re focusing on areas they each need to improve - trying new foods for her, and reading more for him. Once they rack up enough special points, they get a much bigger reward than what the daily points provide.

As a bonus, we created a personalized bookmark page that gives them easy access to everything they use daily. They’ve set it as the homepage on their laptops and tablets, so they’re never far from the stuff they need!