1-minute plank
Beat the clock
PhysicalOff-screenAll agesEasyTimed
ADHD and attention
Short, active quests for kids whose attention runs its own way
If your child has ADHD, or simply finds it hard to start things, stay with them or sit still, you have probably noticed that the same task can be impossible at 4pm and easy at 10am — and that a long list of instructions is often lost after step one.
This page collects the ways of setting up activities that many families find helpful: one short step at a time, a visible timer, movement first, and a parent playing along rather than checking up. They are ideas for everyday family life, for any child, not a program or a therapy.
Physical+5
1-minute plank
Beat the clock
Off-screen · All ages · Easy
Tandomo is not a treatment for ADHD
Tandomo is a family activity app. It is not a medical device, it has not been designed or tested as a therapy, and we make no claims about symptoms, attention or behavior. Nothing on this page is medical advice.
If you have concerns about your child's attention, learning or behavior, please talk to your child's doctor, a psychologist or the school's support staff. Activities like these can sit alongside whatever plan you agree with them; they are not a replacement for it.
Sound familiar?
What parents of busy minds often describe
None of this is a diagnosis, and plenty of children without ADHD do all of it too. These are just the everyday moments that make 'go and do something' harder than it sounds.
Getting started is the hardest part
The activity itself might be fun, but the gap between 'let's do it' and actually starting can feel enormous — for them and for you.
Instructions get lost after step one
Three steps given at once often become one step done and two forgotten. That is not defiance; it is a lot to hold in mind.
Sitting still first rarely works
Asking for a calm, seated task straight after school can go badly. Many kids need to move before they can settle.
Long tasks end in a fight
Anything that feels open-ended — 'tidy your room', 'read for a while' — is easy to avoid and hard to finish.
How Tandomo helps
Ways to set up activities that tend to work
These are practical patterns, not rules. Try one at a time and keep what works for your child.
One step at a time
Give one short step, wait for it to happen, then give the next. Write the steps on a card if that helps. Every Tandomo quest has a single clear goal, and you can lower the number of quests per day from the parent dashboard.
A visible timer
'Plank for one minute', 'skip for five minutes', 'build the tallest tower in ten minutes'. A short, visible countdown turns an open-ended task into a game with an end — and the end is in sight from the start.
Movement first, calm second
Start with something physical (skipping, a plank, hopscotch, ten push-ups), then move to a seated puzzle or reading. You can tell Tandomo to keep a child's set mostly off-screen, and movement quests are part of the mix.
Play it together
Being the opponent, the quizmaster or the timekeeper keeps you involved without becoming the checker. It also makes starting easier: 'let's do the first one together' is a smaller ask than 'go and do this'.
Reward the doing, not the score
In Tandomo, points come from doing the quest, not from getting every answer right. At home the same idea works: notice that they started and finished, not how perfect it was.
Short, and then stop
Most of these activities take 5–15 minutes. Stopping while it is still fun is better than pushing for one more round that ends in tears.
Example quests
Short, active quests from the library
These come from the Tandomo starter library. All of them have a clear finish line, and most take under fifteen minutes.
+5
Build the tallest free-standing paper tower in 10 min, measure it
Engineering mini-game
Physics & ScienceOff-screenAll agesMediumTimed
Guess my number 1–1000 in 10 yes/no questions
Binary search disguised as a game
Logic & PuzzlesOff-screenAll agesMediumTick off when done
Elastic jump or jump rope — 5 minutes
Old-school yard game
PhysicalOff-screenAll agesEasyTimed
A short after-school routine you could try
Start with five minutes of movement: skipping rope, a plank contest with you, or a lap of the garden. Then one short 'brain' quest at the table, like a guess-my-number game or a ten-minute paper-tower challenge with a timer on. Finish with something calm and open, such as drawing their mood as a monster or reading anything they choose for a few minutes.
Three small things, each with a clear end, is often more than one long thing ever gets done. If one part does not work, swap it rather than pushing through. Some days the movement part will be the only one that happens, and that is fine.
If you use Tandomo, you can shape a day's set in the same direction: fewer quests, mostly off-screen, and feedback on any quest that was too long or too hard so that later sets adjust. The free activity pages by age and the what-to-do-today picker work without the app.
This page was written by a parent, not by a clinician. If something here does not fit your child, trust your own knowledge of them and the advice of the professionals who know them.
Questions parents ask
Is Tandomo a treatment for ADHD?
No. Tandomo is a family activity app, not a treatment, a therapy or a medical device, and we make no claims about symptoms or behavior. If you have concerns about your child's attention, talk to your child's doctor or a psychologist.
Is Tandomo only for children with ADHD?
No. It is built for all kids from 6 to 16. This page just collects ways of setting things up that many families of busy, distractible or restless kids find useful.
How long should activities be for a child with ADHD?
There is no single right length, and it varies a lot by child and by day. Many families find that short activities of 5–15 minutes with a clear end and a visible timer work better than long ones. Your child's doctor or psychologist can give advice for your child.
Can I make the daily set smaller?
Yes. The number of quests per day, the online/offline balance and the time budget are set per child in the parent dashboard, and you can leave feedback on any quest that was too long or too hard.
Does Tandomo use timers?
Some quests are timed, such as a one-minute plank, five minutes of skipping or fifteen minutes of reading. Not every quest has a timer.
Will it add more screen time?
The app hands out the quest, and about half of the quests happen away from the screen by default. You can set a child's mix to mostly off-screen.
Keep exploring
Try a small, active week
The quick quiz takes about a minute. Choose the shortest time option and 'mostly offline', and the free 7-day plan keeps each day short.
Get a free 7-day plan