Budge Bedtime Stories and Sounds

$10

Teaches: bedtime routine

CTR Rating: 27.5%

CTR Review

One of Apple's "App of the Day" selections, this "free" app is best described as a bait-and-switch scheme for hurried parents. The bait is a free download and a promise of a smooth bedtime routine. In reality, the app subjects parents to a twelve step customization process that includes turning on device notifications and entering your child's name and interests, before taking you to a dead end interface that forces to you either exit the app and loose your progress, or agree to start a "free trial" that auto renews for $9.99/month, or $120/year. All on the promise of a smooth bedtime. In most homes, the phone or tablet is a multi-use device. Getting it out anytime near bedtime can lead to an unwelcome invitation to play another favorite app, or make a call to a grandparent. Ethical descriptors: Teasing, Time Trap