Mom designs app that forces kids to call their parents back

(CBS/YouTube capture)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

HOUSTON — A Texas mom frustrated that her son never returns her texts has designed an app that takes control of a child's phone until they text or call their parent back.

The app, called Ignore No More, was designed by Sharon Standifird, a Gulf War veteran. She texted her son one evening to take the garbage out, and he never responded. She told ABC13 in Houston she was "livid" knowing he always had his phone on him, so she came up with a plan to solve the problem. Standifird, 47, just needed a way to be able to control her son's phone.

“The more I talked about it with friends, the more it seemed like a good idea,” she told NBC News. “So, I literally Googled how to make an app and each step I needed to take after that.”

Standifird worked with Mountaineer Technology Ventures to bring her idea to fruition. After five months of development, “Ignore No More” was ready for the market.

"When you lock your child's phone with Ignore No More your child has only two options — he or she can call you back, or call for an emergency responder. No calls to friends, no text, no games, notta' until they call you back."
"When you lock your child's phone with Ignore No More your child has only two options — he or she can call you back, or call for an emergency responder. No calls to friends, no text, no games, notta' until they call you back." (Photo: Ignore No More App website)

"When you lock your child’s phone with Ignore No More your child has only two options — he or she can call you back, or call for an emergency responder,” reads a description on the app's website. “No calls to friends, no text, no games, notta' until they call you back."

It works like this: parents download and install the app on their phone and their kid's phone. Parents then go into the app on their phone, pick their kid's name and type in a four-digit code. The child then can only call or text the parent back and can get back into their phone when their parent gives them the code.

And don't worry if you think your kid can just delete it: the phone locks up if someone attempts to remove it from the child's phone.

Some critics say the app is “going too far” and is “too invasive,” reports the Huffington Post, and say parents should just work with their kids to get them to respond better and faster.

The app is available for Android devices and costs $1.99. The iPhone version is set to come out soon, Standiford said.

Related links

Related stories

Most recent Family stories

Related topics

FamilyScienceU.S.
Tracie Snowder

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast