“After our son moved out, we lifted restrictions. He got caught in some dark corners of the internet. We weren’t prepared — and neither was he.”
Smartphone Ready helps your kids build healthy phone habits and self-control, with tools that do the hard work for you.
Join our Kickstarter waitlist for early beta access and lifetime use — free for life.
You’ve heard the headlines — cyberbullying, anxiety, harmful content, and phone addiction are rising. But the problem isn’t just screens. It’s how we manage them.
Current apps rely on filters, timers, and constant surveillance. That leads to:
“We gave up on screen time. It always ended in screaming matches.”
— Real feedback from one of 100+ parents we interviewed
“As a researcher, I knew the risks. As a mom, I knew there had to be a better way”
— Hailey Holmgren, Co-Founder
From chaos to coaching — a structured, adaptive path to digital self-mastery
Take the 2-minute quiz
Parents answer a few questions about their child’s age, current phone use, personality, and screen habits.
We build a screen plan for you
Based on your responses, we create a tailored screen-time progression path — selecting the right level and starter limits.
One tap = auto setup
Settings are pushed directly to the child’s phone. No tech expertise or micromanaging required.
Your child uses their phone as usual
They get warnings as they near their limits — and coaching when they go over.
Built-in consequences & rewards
Hit the limit? Cutoff triggers, parent gets notified, and tomorrow’s time shrinks. Stay under? Win the day, build a streak, and earn screen-time growth.
System adapts automatically
Over time, the system learns from your child’s usage and recommends smarter limit adjustments.
Clear milestone-based progression
Children graduate through 4 stages
Challenges = unlocks
Each stage includes a challenge (e.g. 15/30/60 days with good habits). Beat the challenge, unlock more freedom — and ultimately graduate from the app.
The Smartphone Ready Challenge
Once kids complete the 60-day challenge in the “Ready” level, they unlock Smartphone Freedom — and get the app free for life.
Always-on safety net
The app stays in the background. If overuse returns, it nudges users or recommends dropping back to a more supportive level.
Self-regulation = the win
The goal isn’t control. It’s coaching them into self-mastery — and letting go.
Hi, we’re Johnny and Hailey — a husband-and-wife team with three kids of our own. Hailey is a researcher who has spent nearly a decade studying how smartphones affect families. Her work has been cited over 1,400 times since 2020 alone.
Through our research, interviews, and personal parenting journey, we saw the same thing again and again:
So we asked: What if screen time taught responsibility instead of enforcing control?
That’s when Smartphone Ready was born — an app that does the hard part for you and gives families a system to build independence, not just obedience.
No more digging through confusing settings. No more battles. Just a clear, research-backed system that works.
There are over 30 apps in the App Store aimed at screen time — but none do what Smartphone Ready does: prepare your kids for independence.
Automated Setup
Adaptive Limits
Teaches Self-Regulation
Challenge-Based Growth
Works for Kids + Adults
Regresses After Overuse
Parent Dashboard
Lifetime Access Option
Want the only app that teaches your kids how to manage screen time — not just when?
To get Smartphone Ready free for life
Your child can’t control what they don’t understand. Our built-in online course teaches:
Quizzes and challenges bring learning into practice — and unlock privileges along the way
“After our son moved out, we lifted restrictions. He got caught in some dark corners of the internet. We weren’t prepared — and neither was he.”
“We tried every app. This is the only one that actually helps instead of just locking everything down.”
“We thought she was ready. The restrictions were off for 3 days before we had to turn them back on.”
We’re Johnny and Hailey Holmgren. Hailey is a PhD-level researcher who has spent nearly a decade studying the impact of media on families. Since 2020, her work has been cited nearly 1,500 times — much of it focused on smartphones, youth, and digital wellbeing.
We tried building solutions the traditional way — an online course to teach self-control. While helpful, it was hard to implement. We needed something families could actually use every day.
That’s when we built Smartphone Ready — a system that automates screen time decisions, teaches self-regulation, and grows with your child. We’re still parents learning as we go. But this tool changed how we parent — and we believe it can change your home too.
Join the Waitlist for
This offer is exclusive to our Kickstarter backers. After launch, all plans will be paid subscriptions.