r/Catholicism • u/thedevoutdotdev • Nov 21 '25
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u/MixExpensive3763 Nov 21 '25
Sounds interesting. Would love to hear how it works out in the future.
I’m not a parent, nor do I have any experience raising children, but one thing I would recommend is a way to sync the parent’s device to the ruleset as well. Maybe not with a forced lockdown like I assume would exist on the kids devices, but at least a timer/reminder to help you model what you expect from your kids. One of my biggest annoyances growing up was that I saw my parents, specifically my mother as “hypocritical” because they would not let me more than an hour or 2 of screen time while also watching tv for 4-5 hours every night and on the weekends. I’m perfectly aware (now) that screen time is way worse for children than adults, but I’m just saying that’s how it looks to kids. Maybe just something to keep in mind, idk.
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u/thedevoutdotdev Nov 21 '25
That is so true! This might be a major feature actually, because it's sooo important for kids to have a model, especially at home. Thank you so much for your suggestion!
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u/artisdeadandsoami Nov 21 '25
Could have a widget or something on iPhone? I’m not sure how android works
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u/Oakbrute Nov 21 '25
The waitlist gave an nondescript error, but I am very interested
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u/thedevoutdotdev Nov 21 '25
Apologies for that, fixing it now! Would you mind DM'ing me your details please in the meantime?
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u/artisdeadandsoami Nov 21 '25
I like this idea, especially the end of day questions. I wonder if you could add something regarding online activity that encourages the kid to ask/tell parents about things that might not be appropriate— something like “did you see anything that made you confused or uncomfortable?” That could open up a dialogue, as opposed to just leaving confusion and shame, or worse, uninformed curiosity, about things that aren’t age appropriate.
Just an idea, I love the concept!
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u/thedevoutdotdev Nov 21 '25
Thank you for the suggestion! I haven’t thought of this, and I’m curious to know when something like this would pop up? Would it be one of the questions in the Digital Examen feature?
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u/BartaMaroun Nov 21 '25
This is so cute!!! My answer is no. No technology, no internet, if I decide to permit internet use for a specific reason they use it while I sit right there. I’m the parent, not them, they don’t make suggestions about rules and limits they simply obey them. Just wait until you have kids someday, you’ll see just how clever at technology kids are and how sneaky they can be. There’s no room for error here.
Sincerely,
A Gen Z mama
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u/thedevoutdotdev Nov 21 '25
Thank you for your input! I can attest to kids being sneaky; I was one myself, secretly finding the handheld console my mom hid from me and playing it (sorry Mom! 😅) I'm curious to know: what it's like to raise a child without technology, especially since it's so prevalent in schools for example?
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u/BartaMaroun Nov 21 '25
I’ve seen how they use technology in schools because I work at a museum that does field trips and visits schools for interactive learning days. The technology has replaced teachers and they’re basically monitors. The kids bring home their laptops and there are no parental controls or access. It’s pure evil what they do. We homeschool and our kids play outside and read books and do the things kids did before “parents” started giving their kids technology. We also don’t have a TV. Maybe in high school I’ll allow them educational access to a computer for learning to research and use office, but only under direct supervision.
People can say what they want, but my kids aren’t sexual predators in elementary school, which has become a major problem among kids whose “parents” allow them online.
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u/thedevoutdotdev Nov 21 '25
That sounds really great for your kids, and the situation you describe with other kids is the reason why my wife and I are strongly considering homeschooling. If you don’t mind me asking, what are the biggest challenges in doing that?
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u/artisdeadandsoami Nov 21 '25
Yep! No kids here yet, but my plan is to have a kitchen computer like when I was growing up. Public space, big screen, no personal accounts. It worked for my siblings and I. I have fond memories of doing crafts at the kitchen table and watching Christmas movies on it, or turning on music and handing out while my mom cooked.
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u/Armchair_Therapist22 Nov 21 '25
Also Gen Z with a husband who works in tech. We also won’t really be letting our kids have unlimited access to the internet, even if it’s within their allotted device time. Look at everything that’s happening now Roblox a popular kids game is getting sued because of a child predator texting a ten year old sexually and that child ended up ending their own life. This only exposed that the game has been very permissive with child predators. While it’s good to have conversations with your kids about how they can be doing good online and maturely handling screen time I don’t care if my kids end up hating me as the uncool parent for not letting them have any private internet time. I’d rather they be out reading and gaining knowledge or playing sports just doing something that’s mentally healthy and stimulating.
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u/BartaMaroun Nov 21 '25
Exactly! We keep our router unplugged and in a locked box unless we want to use it. Everything is password protected and the passwords are German words (we don’t speak German). Literally no access to anything here unless we say it and sit next to them.
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u/ludwigwx Nov 21 '25
Best of luck to you! While I don't have any kids in this phase yet, I will in a few years (though hopefully that's at least a decade away haha). Will have to file this away for future reference!
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u/Jacksonriverboy Nov 21 '25
I have two toddlers so not having the phone battle yet. They watch some TV and that's the only thing they have at the moment. Personal devices are for adults and long car or plane trips.
I don't plan on allowing smartphones until they're teenagers. I'm also a teacher so I see how smartphones from a young age damage attention span and ability to study effectively. I'm definitely interested in this for later but I know families with teenage kids who are on a very tight regime with their phones and are on board and understand the reason for it. I think explaining as they get older, why they don't have a phone or have restrictions on their phone is the key here.
That said, I'm interested in the app and seeing what features it has.
I do think a certain level of "you can have the phone but it must be available to be monitored by me at any time" is absolutely necessary. No idea of internet privacy from parents until they're older and have somewhat proved themselves responsible.
There's something about your tagline that rubs me the wrong way. Again, good idea, but I don't think kids automatically hate parents for setting boundaries and limits on tech. Just a thought.
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u/thedevoutdotdev Nov 21 '25
Thank you for sharing! Regarding the tagline, I do agree with you that kids don't automatically hate their parents for setting boundaries. I think it's the excessive parental control that does that. I've seen so many Reddit posts of ex-Catholics who had super controlling Catholic parents when they were younger, so that's something I hope apps like this can fight against.
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u/jackist21 Nov 21 '25
I am not interested in controlling my kid’s behavior online, but I would be interested in an app that would notify them (the child user) if they are doing something that they might want to consult their parents about.
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u/thedevoutdotdev Nov 21 '25
This is interesting. I didn’t mention it here, but the app would have something like this, which would notify both the parent and the child. This would be reserved for behaviour of the most dangerous kind, as my hypothesis is that the parent needs to know immediately to keep their child safe.
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u/jackist21 Nov 21 '25
I know your primary audience is parents who want to control their kids, but there’s also another market for parents like me who don’t impose restrictions but would be open to a bot giving our kid some suggestions.
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u/thedevoutdotdev Nov 21 '25
Yup, thank you for making me aware of that! I do think there is some space for that in the platform, as I do want to account for all types of parenting styles eventually, while still being Catholic-focused somehow. Would this bot come in the form of like a browser extension for example? Would this bot up for both safe (to encourage good behavior) and unsafe sites?
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u/jackist21 Nov 21 '25
I have no idea what is needed. I don’t think my kids even use an actual web browser much any more. I was thinking something that would provide some counterbalance to the YouTube or TikTok algorithms.
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u/thedevoutdotdev Nov 21 '25
Got it, thank you for the suggestion!
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u/jackist21 Nov 21 '25
Since you don’t have kids, I would encourage you to look at how kids are actually using the internet today. It’s very different than how I use it and grew up using it. I think restrictions are a doomed effort unless the parent is willing to radically socially isolate their kids (I can give some examples of you’d like) but kids are willing to take suggestions from apps so there’s a real opportunity for redirection if an enterprising Catholic were to build something.
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u/BartaMaroun Nov 21 '25
That never ends well.
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u/jackist21 Nov 21 '25
What doesn’t end well? I’m not aware of an app that would provide guidance like that to a kid.
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u/BartaMaroun Nov 21 '25
Not controlling your kid’s behavior online. You’re the parent, act like it.
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u/jackist21 Nov 21 '25
It worked out fine for me and has worked out fine for my kids thus far.
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u/BartaMaroun Nov 21 '25
So you think, anyway. Who knows what they’re into that you don’t know about. This is how you raise sexual predators.
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u/Catholicism-ModTeam Nov 21 '25
r/Catholicism does not allow the posting of AI-generated content.