Fed-Up Dad Creates App That Forces Kids to Respond to Parents’ Texts

Parenting has always been a tough gig, and each generation has had its own unique challenges.

For millennial parents, the challenges come from the realm of technology. We’re faced with the dilemma of how much screen time is too much for our young ones. That said, we also live in an age where kids need cell phones at a certain point. Sadly, while cell phones were supposed to be a way for us to stay in constant contact with our kids, they’ve become yet another way for our kids to ignore us altogether.

As a parent, few things are more frustrating than your kid refusing to respond to your texts.

So, one dad decided to do something about it.

Nick Herbert couldn’t stand it when his son continually failed to reply to his texts.

“My son has an iPhone, but I still can’t get hold of him very easily as it’s always on silent because he is playing games or has been at school and forgotten to turn the sound back on. There didn’t seem to be a solution out there that allowed me to send a message to him, that would override the silent function, appear over whatever he was doing and tell me when he had seen it.”

He created an app in response to this problem, calling it ReplyASAP. It works by taking over your iPhone when you get a message, not allowing you to ignore it or go back to playing a game or using social media. It also sounds an alarm, and tells the person who sent the text that it has been read.

Your child might be resistant to it at first, but chances are they’ll eventually see the use for it – it helps them remember that their parents are wondering whether they’re still alive.

In Herbert’s experience, this works out well.

“It is key to discuss with the child that they understand the reason for having it. It is not a punishment or a tool for tracking them, nor will it remotely lock or freeze their phone. It is simply a means of allowing them to carry on using their phone however they want, but giving a means of getting them an important message when you need to.”

You’ll probably want to also come to an agreement with your child on when and how you’ll use the app. For instance, it shouldn’t be something you employ every single time you send a text (especially if you know they’re in the middle of class). They should learn to associated ReplyASAP messages with something important and/or timely.

The post Fed-Up Dad Creates App That Forces Kids to Respond to Parents’ Texts appeared first on UberFacts.