Raising children has never been easy. While the mobile phone then smartphone in theory makes tracking them down easier, that is not always the case. In order for parents to ascertain the whereabouts and well-being of their children it requires a child to answer calls and texts.
Mom steps up with app idea “Ignore No More”
Enter Sharon Standiford, who got tired of being ignored by her son Bradley. While many parents might just take away their kids phone defeating the purpose of them having it in order to be reached, Standiford went big and unique. She turned to the app development community with her problem, and perhaps more importantly, her solution. She decided that she wanted an app that would essentially brick the kid’s phone until he called home for a password. The phone loses all functionality minus calls to emergency services (911) or a select group of contacts at a parent’s whim.
“As a parent, all I have to do is touch the app, tap his name,” Standifird explained. “To lock Bradley’s device, enter at least a 4-digit unlock code. And now I’m going to press ‘lock Bradley’s phone.’ And if you watch Bradley’s phone, it’s going to go blank. Bradley needs to call me because I’m the person that has the unlock password.”
“It takes away texting, it takes away the gaming, it takes away calling their friends. The child will always be able to call 911,” Standifird said.
It’s not everyday that a parent responds to frustration by becoming and app developer but Standifird is now ordinary parent. She’s both served in the Gulf War and scaled Mount Kilimanjaro.
“Anything she’s ever really set her mind to, she’s done,” explains her husband William.
Ignore No More – You started it young man
And the thing is, it works…at least with Bradley.
“I do have to say that he responds to my texts and my calls a whole lot quicker than he used to,” Standifird said.
If this app takes off, Bradley is likely to become quite hated by kids all over the world and he’s not doing himself any favors when he says, “Um, well I thought it was a good idea, but for other people, not me.” That may very well be the case, but it was his ignoring his mother that has potentially put this tool in millions of mothers hands.
