“Just one more level”
Stopping mid-game or mid-video turns into a standoff — every single time.
QuestGuard is a family app where you and your child set up screen-time goals side by side — in about 12 minutes. No lecture. A team quest. The same daily battles can become something you actually look forward to.
We're testing with a small group of families. Honest feedback welcome.
Most families don't have a screen-time problem — they have a transition problem. That yucky moment when the game, video, or show has to stop.
Stopping mid-game or mid-video turns into a standoff — every single time.
Timers go off, voices rise, and everyone walks away frustrated.
Kids feel nagged. Parents feel ignored. Nobody's on the same team.
I built QuestGuard after going through the same screen-time battles with my son — the meltdowns, the "one more level," the frustration on both sides. We figured out how to turn those fights into something we could actually enjoy together, and it helped our day-to-day tremendously.
That's what this app is about. Not more rules or lectures — a shared quest where parent and kid are on the same team. If we could make that shift, I think your family can too.
QuestGuard works best when parent and child set it up on the child's device — passing it back and forth, step by step.
Your child picks a character, name, and battle cry. They're part of the story from minute one.
Parent shares their worry. Child shares what's annoying. You're solving both — not parent vs. kid.
Together you write a simple if-then plan for when screen time ends — a script for tired brains.
A team agreement you can update anytime. When things get glitchy, you look at the map — not at each other.
QuestGuard isn't a lock or a lecture. It's a shared system that turns daily friction into a game you play together — with quests, rewards, and a parent promise too.
Inspired by collaborative problem-solving: both concerns matter before any rules are set.
Side quests earn stars. Rewards live in the Vault. Streaks pause — they don't punish. The goal is fun, not fear.
Kids notice when screen limits only apply to them. You pick a reciprocal rule and model it.
QuestGuard isn't a gimmick or a lock screen in disguise. The setup flow is designed around approaches that researchers and clinicians have studied with real families — then translated into language kids actually enjoy.
Before any rules are set, parent and child each name what matters to them. That "both concerns" step comes from Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) — an evidence-based model showing that kids follow plans they help create.
Dr. Ross Greene · Collaborative & Proactive SolutionsYour Family Quest Charter includes a simple script: "When [signal], I will [action], then [next step]." Research on implementation intentions finds these if-then plans help people follow through — especially when brains are tired or overstimulated.
Implementation intentions · Gollwitzer & colleaguesMost meltdowns at log-off aren't defiance — they're a hard switch from an absorbing task. Naming the "Transition Monster" reframes the problem so you're solving a shared challenge, not punishing a kid.
Task-switching & self-regulation researchPure reward-and-punishment approaches can win compliance in the moment but rarely build lasting self-regulation. QuestGuard focuses on communication, planning, and practice — skills that carry into the next battle.
Self-regulation & parenting literatureWe're a family app, not a clinical trial — but every major step in QuestGuard maps to a practice with research behind it. We built it that way on purpose.
We're inviting a small number of families with kids ages 7–11 to try QuestGuard free for two weeks and tell us what works.
No. QuestGuard is a family agreement tool with quests and rewards. It helps you build a plan together — it's not about secretly locking screens or spying.
Yes — that's the point. The first session is designed for you to do together, passing the device back and forth. It takes about 12 minutes.
We're focused on kids 7–11 for this beta. The language and quests are built for that range.
Free during the beta. We'll ask for honest feedback instead of payment.
Your game progress is stored in a private family account. We don't sell data. See the privacy note below for details.
Questions? Email beta@questguard.app (update this address in the page config).