Carrots&Cake, a Kuala Lumpur-based startup, is revolutionizing the way parents approach their children’s screen time. With the release of their iOS app, Carrots&Cake aims to provide parents with a tool to create a beneficial and less addictive screen time experience for their kids. By allowing parents to design a specific schedule, the app helps prioritize educational apps and encourages a balanced approach to technology use.
Key Takeaway
Carrots&Cake is a Kuala Lumpur–based startup that aims to help parents manage their children’s screen time in a beneficial and less addictive manner. Their iOS app allows parents to create a specific schedule and prioritize educational apps, promoting self-control and delayed gratification. Unlike other parental control apps, Carrots&Cake emphasizes improving the quality of screen time rather than simply limiting it. With plans to introduce subscription tiers and an Android version, Carrots&Cake is set to make a significant impact in the field of screen time management.
The Inspiration Behind Carrots&Cake
Founded by Yale graduate Meredith DePaolo and Cambridge graduate Hamel Shah in 2020, Carrots&Cake was born out of their volunteer work with refugee children in Burma and Malaysia. Faced with limited access to formal education, the duo introduced tablets as a means to teach and educate the children. However, they soon realized that the children were not utilizing the educational apps as intended.
Curious about this behavior, DePaolo began researching the reasons behind kids’ inclination towards fun and easy activities. This research led them to understand that children are naturally drawn to these activities due to the underdevelopment of the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for self-control. Inspired by this, Carrots&Cake was conceived as a platform that prioritizes learning before free time.
A Different Approach to Screen Time Management
Unlike traditional parental control apps that focus solely on limiting screen time, Carrots&Cake takes a more holistic approach. The app empowers parents to select a curated list of educational apps from the App Store, which their child can access upon turning on their iPad. The child is required to spend a designated amount of time on these selected apps before gaining access to other apps for free time.
The reasoning behind this approach lies in the concept of delayed gratification and self-control. Carrots&Cake aims to help children balance their dopamine levels by fostering a sense of discipline and responsibility in managing their screen time.
Carrots&Cake Features and Benefits
With Carrots&Cake, parents can enjoy the following features:
- Automated screen time management
- Specific app selection
- Designated learning time
- Encouragement of delayed gratification
- Promotion of self-control
Unlike other parental control apps, Carrots&Cake does not allow children to request extra screen time or override the set time limits. This ensures that children adhere to the designated learning tasks and make the most out of their screen time experience.
Subscription Plans and Future Developments
Carrots&Cake is currently available for free, but the company plans to introduce three subscription tiers in the future to enhance the app’s capabilities. These tiers include a $9.99 monthly subscription, a three-month $24.99 subscription, and an annual $99.99 subscription.
While the app is currently only available for iOS, Carrots&Cake has plans to launch an Android version in the near future, extending its reach to a wider audience of parents and children.
