Small steps · Big humans

Teach them the thing
you keep meaning to —
three minutes at a time.

Pick a skill your child doesn't have yet — falling asleep alone, leaving the park without a fight, getting dressed, using the potty. We break it into small steps, find the one they're already on, and give you one short activity a day with the words to say.

★★★★★ Rated 5 stars · Built for the skills that take weeks
9:41
M T
Tuesday · May 20
Teaching Maya
to tie her shoes.
Step 4 of 9 Today's step
Pull both laces tight
Mastered · she does this alone
Cross one lace over the other
Mastered · 2 clean runs
Make the first loop
Today · 3 min · with a script
Wrap the second lace around
Next up
Guides, summaries & plans in one app
Backed by gentle parenting research
★★★★★ · App Store & Google Play
A note to you

You are not failing.
You're doing the hardest job
with the loudest critics
and the smallest paychecks.

Skill Sprouts isn't here to give you a longer to-do list. There is nothing to tick off and no streak to protect. There is one thing to teach, broken small enough that today's piece takes three minutes — and a record of what your child can do now that they couldn't a month ago. Small steps. Soft landings. A little bit of memory keeping.

— with love, the Skill Sprouts team

The plans

Pick what to
teach them next.

Each plan is one skill your child doesn't have yet, broken into an ordered ladder of steps. We find the rung they're already on, then give you a single short activity a day — with the words to say — and move up only once they've done a step unaided twice.

Tantrums &
Big Emotions

Handle frustration without melting down.

Leaving &
Transitions

Leave the park without a fight.

Potty Training

Use the potty independently.

Sleep & Bedtime

Fall asleep on their own.

Independence
& Self-Care

Get dressed on their own.

School Readiness

Write their own name.
How it works

Three steps.
That's the whole app.

No guilt loops. No notification bombardment. No streak to break. Just one short activity a day and a ladder that only ever moves up.

Plans
What will they
learn next?
Big Emotions
Leaving
Potty
Sleep
step one

Pick a plan.

Tie their shoes, use the potty, fall asleep alone, leave the park calmly — one skill at a time.

Big Emotions
The ladder
Name the feeling afterwards
Mastered · she does this alone
Choose her own calm-down move
Mastered · 2 clean runs
Ask for help before it boils over
Today · 3 min · with a script
Wait out a small no
Next up
step two

Start where they are.

A quick check finds the rung they can already do, so nothing you practise is busywork.

She can do
something new.
Step 4 mastered · ladder moves up
step three

Say how it went.

Two good runs and the step is theirs. A hard one just makes tomorrow easier. Miss a day and nothing is lost.

The journal

The memory-keeping
you'll never find time for,
made small.

A daily prompt — different every day, always about your kid — and a place to write two sentences. That's it. No baby book guilt. No scrapbooking weekend. Just little moments, saved.

Six months from now, on the day you forget your kid said "mommy you're my best friend" — it'll be in here. We promise.

She got so frustrated trying to tie her shoes — but instead of melting down, she took a big breath and said "I need a minute." Where did she even learn that? Maya's mom · May 19
9:41
The Journal
Small moments,
saved.
May 2026 5
19
Tue
MAbout Maya💛 Proud
"What did Maya feel today that surprised you?"
She got so frustrated trying to tie her shoes — but instead of melting down, she took a big breath and said "I need a minute."
18
Mon
TAbout Theo🌿 Tender
"A small moment you don't want to forget?"
Sat on the potty for the FIRST time without asking. No win in the bowl but he clapped for himself anyway.
16
Sat
MAbout Maya
"Where did you feel stretched today?"
Dinner was a battle. New pasta sauce, three rounds of "I don't like it." I held the line.
From real, tired parents

Stories from
the group chat.

Mom of 2
I deleted three other parenting apps because they made me feel like a project manager. Skill Sprouts feels like a friend texting me reminders. The two-minute thing actually works.
S
Sarah K.
Kids: 4 & 1.5
Single dad
The journal is what got me. Six months in I have 80 entries I would have completely forgotten otherwise. One sentence at bedtime. That's all it takes.
D
Daniel R.
Daughter, 6
Therapist + mom
As a child therapist, I recommend this to half my families. Breaking a skill into rungs is exactly how we teach — and the tone never shames. Rare combo.
N
Dr. Nina P.
Twins, 3
Honest answers

Things parents actually ask.

Is this another app that's going to make me feel guilty?

No red badges. No "you missed yesterday" shame spiral. Skip a day, skip a week — your sprout just naps and waits for you. The whole point is to lower the stakes, not raise them.

How are the plans and their steps chosen?

Each plan breaks one skill into rungs small enough that the next is genuinely within reach — the same task-analysis approach used in early-years teaching and occupational therapy. The tone and the scripts come from modern gentle-parenting research: Dr. Becky, Dr. Markham, Hand in Hand Parenting, and the broader connection-based literature. Warm, simple, and doable on a chaotic Tuesday morning. No flashcard nonsense.

Does it work with multiple kids?

Yes. Each child gets their own profile, sprout, plans, and journal. Switch between them with a tap. Co-parent sharing is coming soon — so both adults can stay in sync.

Is it just an iOS app?

We're on iOS and Android — same features, same prices. Web version is coming.

Can Skill Sprouts read my notes?

Technically, yes — but we don't. Your notes are stored encrypted on our servers, and your private key is also stored there so your content stays accessible across all your devices. That means we have the ability to decrypt your data, but we have a strict policy of never accessing user content. It's the same trust model as most cloud services.

Does Skill Sprouts store our photos for photos attached to notes?

No — all photos live on your device, because we care about privacy. If you switch devices, we're working on a feature to restore those photos on the new one.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. No emails to send, no "are you sure" loops. Where you cancel depends on where you subscribed — see the next question. The free tier stays free for as long as you want it.

How do I manage or cancel my subscription?

Wherever you bought it is where you manage it. That's the rule the app stores enforce, and it means we can't change or cancel a store subscription on your behalf from our side.

  • Subscribed inside the iPhone or iPad app? Apple handles the billing. Open Settings → your name → Subscriptions on your device, or go straight to your App Store subscriptions (Apple's step-by-step guide).
  • Subscribed inside the Android app? Google Play handles the billing. Open Play Store → profile icon → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions, or go straight to your Play Store subscriptions (Google's step-by-step guide).
  • Subscribed here on the web? We bill through Stripe. Open your billing portal to switch plans, update your card, or cancel — it takes effect immediately and you keep access through the period you've already paid for.

Not sure which one you used? Start at the billing portal — sign in with the same email or Google account you subscribed with, and it will either open your Stripe billing page or tell you that Apple or Google is handling it instead.

Plant your
first sprout.

Three minutes. One step. One thing they'll be able to do that they can't today.