Grovetime
Everyone gets a say
Choose together
Pass the phone around and everyone answers two quick questions: how much energy, and what they fancy. Or a grown-up picks in two taps. Or it’s a kid’s turn to spin the wheel of their favourites.
Time together, without the planning.
Grovetime suggests one small thing your family can do today, morning or evening, matched to how much energy and time you have. Then the phone goes away.
Join the beta Free while we test it with a few families.
Sound familiar?
An ordinary weekday evening.
Pickup, dinner, a lost gym bag. Someone is crying because it’s the wrong pasta.
Dinner’s done. Everyone drifts off to their own screen. You too.
We should do something together.
But what? You’re too tired to think of anything, so nothing happens.The kids are asleep, and the guilt shows up. Another evening gone.
It’s not that you don’t care. Deciding is just the hardest part at the end of a long day. Grovetime guides you to one good idea, and everyone gets a say.
It won’t teach you anything new. It reminds you of what you already know, right when you need it.
Watch a grove grow
What Grovetime does
Kids don’t remember perfect evenings. They remember that you played with them. Grovetime helps you do that, ten minutes at a time.
Nothing to prepare
One idea, ready to go
Grovetime suggests one activity that fits right now: 10, 20 or 45 minutes, with things you already have at home. Tap “Read aloud” and a warm voice reads the steps, so even the youngest can follow.
Seasons, not streaks
A grove that grows
Everyone in the family has their own tree. Time together makes the grove grow, every memory hangs there as a little lantern, and kids collect stickers for each kind of activity. In a quiet week, the grove simply rests. Nothing ever wilts.
Today you could…
Three ideas straight from the app. Nothing to prepare, nothing to buy.
Worst invention ever
- Lie on the floor together.
- Take turns making up the most useless invention ever.
- Everyone asks the inventor one question about it.
Drawing on backs
- Draw a shape or a letter on someone’s back with one finger.
- They guess what it is.
- Swap, and make it a bit harder each round.
Lie and look up
- Lie on a blanket outside, or by a window.
- Find shapes in the clouds or the stars.
- Make up the story of one shape.
The app has many more, and picks the one that fits your family right now. Join the beta
The research behind it
Grovetime is built on what research tells us about families: what really helps, and what doesn’t.
Small rituals matter
Regular family routines and rituals are linked to children’s well-being and to parents feeling more confident.
So Grovetime is one small moment you can repeat.
Fiese et al. (2002), Journal of Family PsychologyIt’s not about the hours
A large US study found that the sheer number of hours parents spent with young children mattered less than many parents fear.
So ten minutes counts.
Milkie, Nomaguchi & Denny (2015), Journal of Marriage and FamilyFewer choices, more doing
Faced with too many options, people are less likely to choose anything at all.
So you get one idea, not a list.
Iyengar & Lepper (2000), Journal of Personality and Social PsychologyNo prizes, no streaks
Rewards for doing something can weaken children’s own wish to do it.
So the grove grows, but there are no points or prizes.
Deci, Koestner & Ryan (1999), Psychological BulletinBack and forth
Responsive back-and-forth between children and adults helps build the foundations of the brain.
So the activities are about talking, taking turns and playing.
Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University: “Serve and return”Start with the good moments
The Swedish parenting programme Komet starts with pleasant time together. In a randomised trial, children’s behaviour problems decreased.
So Grovetime is only about the good moments.
Kling, Forster, Sundell & Melin (2010), Behavior Therapy
What we promise
- No ads
- No streaks or guilt
- No sign-up needed
- Made for every kind of family
- Svenska, English, Italiano
Grovetime is for any family: one grown-up or several, whatever the kids call you. It only asks for first names and the kids’ ages, and your family’s data is never sold or used for advertising. Read the privacy policy.
Why I made Grovetime
I have two kids, aged 7 and 10, and I made Grovetime for myself first.
Playing with your kids is something you learn, and I’m still learning. One day, I’d like mine to remember that we played together.
But between work that keeps pulling at my attention and a home that is mostly chaos by six o’clock, the evenings just slipped away.
I didn’t need another parenting book about everything I should be doing. I needed someone to say: tonight, try this. Ten minutes. That’s enough.
So that’s what Grovetime does. No streaks, no scores, no guilt. Just one small idea, and a grove that grows a little every time we actually do it.
Stefania TarditoFounder of Grovetime
Free while we test
Grovetime is in a small beta. Families who join now use it for free and help shape it.
- iPhone app via Apple TestFlight
- Android and other phones: the web app
- Swedish, English and Italian
- No ads, no outside trackers, no sign-up
FreeJoin the beta
Questions
What does it cost?
Nothing during the beta. We’ll tell beta families well ahead of any change, and there will never be ads.
Which ages is it for?
Families with kids from toddlers to about twelve. Little ones join in with a grown-up’s help; from around seven, kids can use their own phone.
Which phones does it work on?
The iPhone app is in beta through Apple’s TestFlight. On Android and other phones, the web app works in the browser and can be added to the home screen.
Do we need an account?
No. Your family shares a family code instead. No email address, no passwords.
What happens to our data?
Grovetime only keeps what you type in, like first names, kids’ ages and the memories you add, so your phones can share it. It’s never sold or used for ads, and you can delete it in the app. Read the privacy policy.
Can I hand it to my child?
Yes. No feed, no ads, no surprises: just one idea at a time, made to do together. You can pass the phone round without worrying about what comes up next.
Do we need to buy or prepare anything?
No. Every activity uses things most homes already have: paper, socks, a torch, a blanket.