Write a 150-word "critic's review" of the last show/movie you watched
Opinion piece, feels grown-up
WritingOnlineAll agesMediumShort written answer
For parents of 13–16 year olds
Daily challenges a teenager won't roll their eyes at
Teenagers spot an 'educational app' instantly. They want autonomy, they want to be taken seriously, and they definitely don't want something that looks like it was made for their little brother.
Tandomo gives older kids a daily set of short challenges that feel grown-up: a critic's review of the show they just watched, a money puzzle that breaks everyone's intuition, a logical fallacy to debunk. Most they do on their own, on their own phone; one a day is a together quest where you're the opponent, like a game of chess. In Challenger mode (12–16) the look is calm and grown-up, and the challenges practice Thinking, Body, Heart and Voice rather than school subjects.
Writing+20
Write a 150-word "critic's review" of the last show/movie you watched
Opinion piece, feels grown-up
Online · All ages · Medium
Sound familiar?
The teenage version of the problem
With teens, the difficulty is rarely ability. It's motivation, ownership and the sense that someone else is running their time.
Anything you suggest is automatically uncool
A book, a puzzle, a hobby: if it comes from a parent, it starts with a disadvantage, no matter how good it is.
School already fills the 'learning' slot
After a full day of lessons and homework, more of the same is a hard sell, and pushing it can sour the subject altogether.
Free time drifts into endless scrolling
Not because they're unable to do anything else, but because the feed is always there and asks nothing of them.
How Tandomo helps
How Tandomo works for older kids
For teens the set is a little longer, a little harder and more open-ended. The tone is less cartoon, more challenge.
Tasks that respect their age
Opinion pieces, real-world money and probability problems, deduction puzzles, planning a road trip. The kind of thing an adult might enjoy too, never a worksheet.
Their music, games and heroes as material
Find two metaphors in the lyrics of a song they like. Chart a video's views doubling. The AI writes the day's quests around the interests and idols they choose in the quiz.
Autonomy built in
There's no fixed schedule. They pick the order, skip what doesn't suit the day (a skipped quest takes nothing away), and can leave a short note on any task. Points reward every quest they do, not perfect answers, and you can link them to privileges or pocket money.
You stay informed without hovering
The parent dashboard shows what they did and how quizzes went, and lets you add goals or feedback that quietly shape future tasks. No need to ask "what did you do today?"
Example quests
Quests a 13–16 year old might get
Real templates from our starter library. On the day, the AI fills in the specifics, such as the show, the numbers or the argument, to fit your teen.
+20
$1 doubling daily vs $100 a day — which wins, and when?
The classic that breaks everyone's intuition
MathOnlineAll agesMediumAuto-checked quiz
Spot the logical fallacy in this short argument
Feels like debunking, not grammar
Logic & PuzzlesOnlineAll agesHardAuto-checked quiz
Design a logo for an imaginary brand on paper
Designer for a day
Creative & MakingOff-screenAll agesMediumTick off when done
Why the framing matters for teens
A teenager will happily spend an hour arguing about whether a film was overrated. Ask them to write a 150-word review and call it a critic's piece, and it's writing practice they don't resent. The same goes for math: compound interest is dull on a worksheet and fascinating when it's their own savings.
We built Tandomo for our own family, including a 16-year-old who writes for hours but only about things she chooses. That's why the older-kid sets lean on opinion, real money, deduction and making things, with plenty of room for their own voice.
Classic games still matter at this age. A chess puzzle, a game of Nim or a Rubik's cube layer shows up regularly, because they're satisfying, social and completely screen-free.
Questions parents ask
Will my 15-year-old find it childish?
Older kids get a different tone and harder, more open tasks than younger ones. You can also tell the dashboard what landed and what didn't, and future sets adjust.
Does it help with school subjects?
You can add current school topics and goals, and quizzes will draw on them. It's designed as practice that doesn't feel like school, not as exam preparation.
Can my teen use it without me checking every day?
Yes. The set is waiting each day and they can work through it on their own. You can look at the dashboard whenever you like.
Is there a social feed or chat?
No. It's one private family account with no ads, no feed and no contact with strangers.
What does it cost?
You can start with a free 7-day plan from the onboarding quiz and decide after that whether it's worth continuing.
Keep exploring
Get a free 7-day plan for your teen
Tell us what they're into and what you'd like them to stretch, then hand them a week of challenges that feel like theirs.
Get a free 7-day plan