Why We Built Koodos

The problem

My wife was away at a Backstreet Boys concert, so I had the kids to myself for a few days. While working long hours from home, I realized they were spending nearly seven hours a day on screens. Many of the apps and games they used were deliberately designed to hold their attention and keep them coming back, one reward after another. Many used gambling mechanics, such as randomized rewards, to encourage repeated play. That much screen time didn’t feel healthy for their developing minds. Once I saw this critical problem, I couldn’t ignore it. I had to do something about it.

Needed a simple solution

As a family, we compared and tried the popular parental control apps. They were hard to set up and use, and often took more time to manage than simply setting rules on my home router. Some apps would also scan texts, monitor social apps, and then upload it all to their servers. I get why, because the internet is a dangerous place for kids. But security breaches happen all the time, and I didn’t want my kids’ private conversations leaked on the dark web for anyone to see…forever.

We just needed the screens to stop automatically when the time limits were reached, while still allowing the kids to use them during homework time.

Two birds, one stone

Another problem that kept coming up at home was the constant disconnect over what homework needed to be done: the parents had one list, while the kids had another (usually missing or incomplete).

Having worked professionally for decades at Fortune 500 companies, I knew how critical it was for teams to be on the same page about what needed to get done. “Clarity is kindness” was a phrase I kept close to my heart. Managing expectations was important for keeping everyone on the same page.

So why were we still tracking homework on paper? Let’s add it to the app!

The Magic of clear expectations

While alpha testing Koodos at home and with family and friends, we discovered that if we made homework and chores due before they got screen time, kids now complete tasks regularly. There was less nagging, "Did you do this yet?" and no more having to do homework on the weekends to catch up. Less yelling and crying because everyone was happier when Koodos kept everyone on the same page, and kids completed their work on time.

The screens in learning epidemic

In January 2026, neuroscientist Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath told the U.S. Senate something deeply disturbing: for more than a century, every generation measured was more cognitively capable than the one before it, until now. Memory, attention, executive function, literacy, and math began to trend downward around 2010, when screens entered classrooms. His testimony has been watched millions of times because it touches the future of our children.

The data he presented show a correlation between heavier classroom screen exposure and weaker learning outcomes. The reason is simple: screens distracted children from what they should be focusing on.

Recorded Senate hearing

Written testimony

Where this is going

As parents, we built Koodos because we understand the daily challenges of keeping kids on track while managing our own busy schedules. We studied and also personally felt the frustrations with today’s parental control solutions.

We’ll continue improving Koodos to help children and their parents. It has made a huge difference for our families, and we hope it does the same for yours. We care deeply about protecting the critical years of child development while guiding them to build healthy, lifelong habits.