Is this app built to hook them?
Ten questions to ask of any children’s app while you try it, each answered in about a minute. Answer all ten and the card rates how well the app lets a child stop, from very good to very poor.
We make a children’s app ourselves, so further down we hold it up against the same card.
Ten questions, while you try it
How well it lets them stop
- Very good
- Good
- Fair
- Poor
- Very poor
Answer all ten and your rating appears here.
Count each yes as 1 and each not sure as ½. 0 is very good, ½ to 2 good, 2½ to 4 fair, 4½ to 6 poor, and 6½ or more very poor.
Rates hooks only, not content, chat or data.
shoshinkids.com/is-this-app-built-to-hook-them
Your answers stay on this page. Nothing is saved or sent.
The notes behind the card
None of these is a crime on its own. Each one works on a young child for a reason, and that reason is worth knowing before you decide how much of it you mind.
It rewards coming back every day
- What you’ll see
- A count of days in a row, a gift for opening it, a calendar of prizes still to collect.
- Why it works on a young child
- A young child can’t weigh “I’ll lose my streak” against anything else. The fear of breaking it does the inviting.
- Check it in a minute
- Look for a number of days, or anything promised for opening it tomorrow.
A clock hurries them
- What you’ll see
- Countdowns, draining bars, “beat the clock”, bonuses for being quick.
- Why it works on a young child
- Hurry turns exploring into a test, and a wrong answer into a small panic.
- Check it in a minute
- Play one round slowly, on purpose. Does anything run out?
There are surprise boxes or spins
- What you’ll see
- Chests, eggs, wheels or card packs that give a random prize.
- Why it works on a young child
- Not knowing what’s inside is the pull. It is the same pull a slot machine uses, and it works on small children too.
- Check it in a minute
- Is anything opened “to see what you get”?
It pays them in coins or gems
- What you’ll see
- A number that goes up during play and gets spent in a shop.
- Why it works on a young child
- Collecting becomes the point of playing, and the shop becomes the thing to want.
- Check it in a minute
- Is there a number going up that isn’t about the game itself?
Things are for sale where your child plays
- What you’ll see
- Prices, padlocks, “unlock the full world”, characters holding something to buy.
- Why it works on a young child
- A child can’t tell a purchase from a game, and asking them puts you in the position of saying no.
- Check it in a minute
- Find any price or padlock, and see whether a child can reach it without you.
It shows ads, or “watch this to continue”
- What you’ll see
- Banners, videos between rounds, extra lives in exchange for an ad.
- Why it works on a young child
- Your child becomes the audience being sold to, and waiting for an ad to end is time the app chose for them.
- Check it in a minute
- Play for five minutes with the internet on.
Someone minds when they leave
- What you’ll see
- A sad face, a pet that gets hungry, “Don’t go!”, messages from a character.
- Why it works on a young child
- A kind child will come back to look after it. The app is borrowing their kindness.
- Check it in a minute
- Close it mid-game. Open it again the next day. Is anyone upset, or has anything wilted?
They can lose, or run out of lives
- What you’ll see
- Hearts or lives, a game-over screen, waiting or paying to try again.
- Why it works on a young child
- Losing turns a mistake into something to avoid. Lives that refill later are also a reason to come back.
- Check it in a minute
- Get an answer wrong on purpose, three times in a row.
There is no natural place to stop
- What you’ll see
- The next level starts on its own, videos autoplay, the feed never ends.
- Why it works on a young child
- Stopping becomes your job, and your argument, instead of the game’s natural end.
- Check it in a minute
- Finish one game. Does it end, or does the next one begin by itself?
It compares them with other children
- What you’ll see
- Leaderboards, ranks, “you beat 80% of players”.
- Why it works on a young child
- A young child has no way to put a ranking in perspective. They only learn where they stand.
- Check it in a minute
- Look for other players’ names, ranks or scores.
Little Meadow, on its own card
We wrote this checklist, and we make an app, so it would be odd not to use it on ourselves. Eight of the ten aren’t in Little Meadow at all. Two are there in part, and we’ve taped those down where you can see them. We scored it the way you would score any app, with each “partly” as a not sure. The result is at the foot of the card.
See the eleven games- Not in Little Meadow.
It rewards coming back every day No streaks and no daily gifts. Missing a day costs nothing.
- partly
A clock hurries them One game has a clock: Sound Garden is a fifteen-second song, with a bar that empties and a count of bubbles popped. No other game is timed.
- Not in Little Meadow.
There are surprise boxes or spins No random prizes, and nothing is opened in hope.
- Not in Little Meadow.
It pays them in coins or gems No coins, gems or shop. There are stars, up to three a game, but they can’t be spent, and they reset every night.
- Not in Little Meadow.
Things are for sale where your child plays Nothing is for sale in this version, anywhere in the app.
- Not in Little Meadow.
It shows ads, or “watch this to continue” No ads of any kind.
- Not in Little Meadow.
Someone minds when they leave Put it down and the game simply pauses. Nobody sulks, and the app sends no notifications.
- Not in Little Meadow.
They can lose, or run out of lives No lives and no losing screen. A wrong try is answered with a spoken hint, and nothing turns red.
- partly
There is no natural place to stop Every game ends on a finished screen and nothing starts by itself, but that screen does offer another game. A daily limit, if you set one, lets the current game finish and then says goodnight.
- Not in Little Meadow.
It compares them with other children No leaderboards. No child is measured against another.
How well it lets them stop
- Very good
- Good
- Fair
- Poor
- Very poor
A hook or two. It mostly lets them stop on their own; notice whether the one you found is why they ask for it.
No to 8, partly on 2, each counted as a not sure: a score of 1 out of 10.
What this card can’t tell you
It only looks for one thing: whether an app is built to keep a child playing longer than they, or you, would choose. It can’t tell you whether an app teaches well, whether it suits your child, or how much screen time is right for your family.
It also isn’t about data. Little Meadow, for one, sends usage and crash reports to Google Firebase, which no question here would catch. Exactly what it sends is in the privacy notice.
Little Meadow isn’t out yet.
When it is, you can hold it up against the card yourself.