Famstarz helps children take charge of their own routines, from getting dressed to lights out. You repeat yourself less, the house runs calmer, and what they earn is time together.
Works with Alexa on Echo Show. No Echo Show? Your phone becomes the kitchen screen, hands-free.
Pick your scene
Why Famstarz
What we want to change
For you
Fewer reminders
The screen shows what's next, so you aren't the one repeating "teeth, shoes, coat" every morning.
Calmer mornings and bedtimes
Everyone can see what's happening and how long is left, before school and before bed.
More time together
Points add up to days out and evenings in, not more things.
Everyone on the same page
Both parents, grandparents and carers see the same routines and the same pot.
For your children
Doing it themselves
Their own list, ticked off by them. Picture lists help children who can't read yet.
Confidence
Helping at home is linked to confidence and self-control. The research
A steady bedtime
The more nights a family keeps a bedtime routine, the better children tend to sleep. The research
Part of a team
One family pot, so brothers and sisters work together instead of competing.
Try it
Tap Arlo's jobs
On the Echo, a child taps their job or just says it: "Alexa, Arlo brushed his teeth." Their own character pops up to celebrate, and the points go into the family pot.
Arlo
Family pot 380
10 points a job. Tap one to tick it off.
+10
Recorded from the Echo screen. Sound on.
Their own character
Make a character that looks just like your child
Have a go: this is the real builder from the app. Pick their age, then their face, hair and clothes. In the app, their character is on the kitchen screen every day.
Their character can star in their own greeting cards too: see Famstarz Cards.
Age
Getting the paints out…
Hooray!
Age 3 to 16They grow taller every birthday
9 faces, 10 skin tonesFreckles and eyelashes too
37 hairstylesIn 10 colours, from buzz cuts to braids
9 outfitsSchool uniform, football kit, coat and more
7 kinds of shoesLight-up trainers and wellies included
ExtrasGlasses, hats, clips and bows
Getting aboutWalking, a wheelchair or crutches
Or something magicAn animal or magic character instead
Then their character is part of the day
Their face on their listWaving good morningCheering a job donePyjamas at bedtime
A day with Famstarz
A real school day, from breakfast to bedtime
The screen changes by itself as the day goes on, and only ever shows what matters now. Swipe through a school day with Evie (9) and Arlo (5).
Before school 7:52am
Just this morning's jobs, with a countdown to leaving. Arlo taps "Teeth", his character jumps up and cheers, and Alexa says "Arlo, Teeth!"
During school 11:00am
While they're at school, the screen works for the grown-ups: the family list, today's clubs, and whether you'll need an umbrella at pick-up.
After school 4:10pm
Home again: shoes and coats away, lunchbox out, reading and homework. Swimming bag packed for the club.
Dinner time 5:55pm
Early evening: wash hands, lay the table, clear your plate, and tell us about your day. Bedtime countdowns appear for each child.
Getting ready for bed 7:20pm
Half an hour before bed the screen turns to night. A chime says it's time to get ready, a moon moves towards bedtime, and Alexa speaks softly.
Bedtime 9:30pm
Everyone's asleep under tonight's real moon. The family's points and the next reward wait for the morning.
The real sky outside
Rain on the screen means coats on
The kitchen screen shows the weather where you live, right now. When it's raining outside, it rains on the screen. Snow falls when it snows, the sun comes up at your real sunrise, and it warns you when you'll need an umbrella at pick-up.
Recorded from the Echo screen. Pick the weather to see it change.
And tonight's real moon
At night the moon on the screen is the moon in the sky, phase by phase. It's a gentle way for children to notice the month go round.
Why we built it
Built on what research says about routines, sleep and praise
We're parents first. Before building anything we read the research on how children build habits. Here is what it supports, and where its limits are.
Routines
Decades of research link regular family routines to calmer homes and better-adjusted children.
Famstarz hasn't been tested in a trial, so we don't promise better behaviour, sleep or school results. We support routines that research links to them.
Reward charts don't work for every child, and points shouldn't last for ever.
Children often love toys as much as days out. We put time together first because it's what families remember.
Your family, your rules
Routines and rewards that match what your family values
Every family is different, so Famstarz doesn't come with a rulebook. You choose the jobs, the times, the points and the rewards, and it rewards what matters in your house.
Routines you set
Arlo · Bedtime
School nights6:30 to 7:00pm
Bath or wash10
Pyjamas on10
Teeth10
Story time5
Lights off5
How a routine looks in the parent app (example)
Pick each job from 94 pictures, or take your own photo.
Different routines for school days, weekends and holidays.
You decide what each job is worth.
Change the jobs as they grow: "Teeth" at 4, "Pack your PE kit" at 9.
One-off jobs for today, and a weekend job board: whoever does it gets the points.
Alexa, give Evie 10 points for helping Arlo.
Kindness, sharing and being brave count too. Notice the good stuff as it happens.
Rewards that say what you value
Choose from 122 reward pictures or use your own photo, and set the price in points. Leave out anything that isn't right for your family, such as sweets or extra screen time.
Time outdoors
Days outside cost little and are what children remember.
Rock poolingFamily bike rideDen in the woods
Together at home
Simple things that make a night feel special.
Film nightPancakesChoose dinner
Trying new things
Something they've never done before.
Climbing wallPotteryMuseum
Time with you
Often the reward they want most.
One-to-one timeStay up lateTorch walk
1
One family pot
Every child's points go into the same pot, so a brother's teeth help his sister's day out. A team, not a leaderboard.
✓
Whoever does it gets the points
Weekend jobs like emptying the dishwasher are on a shared board. Anyone can step up.
☾
Moderation
No rules about screens or sweets, just balance. Sleep, play outside and family time come first.
Local partners
Rewards that turn into real days out
When a family is saving for swimming, a climbing wall or a farm visit, Famstarz can show parents a good local option nearby. Leisure centres, clubs, farms and events can join as partners.
Offers are shown to parents only, in the parent app, and every one is labelled "Ad".
Never on the children's screen, and never spoken by a character.
A free idea always sits alongside a paid one.
We don't share a family's details with partners. Families contact them directly.
Your family on the screen, and friends who drop by
Each child's own character, at their own height. By day they wave and cheer; at bedtime they're in pyjamas, hugging a teddy.
EvieArloRosieFinn
Friends who drop by
Through the day a blue tit peeks in and a squirrel scampers past. After dark, a fox trots by. Visitors change with where you live.
Blue tit
Robin
Squirrel
Rabbit
Hedgehog
Fox
Trust, built in
Led by parents, calm at bedtime
A family noticeboard, not a gadget
Grown-ups set it up and lead it. Children tick their jobs with you, in the kitchen.
Screens off at bedtime
Before bed the screen goes dark and calm, and its moon counts down to time for a story.
First names only
No surnames, no photos of your children, no location shared.
No adverts for children
Partner offers are for parents, in the parent app, always labelled.
No Echo Show?
Your phone can be the kitchen screen
Stand your phone up in the kitchen and the Famstarz app shows the same screen as an Echo Show. Children tap their jobs. Turn on hands-free and just say it, like you would to Alexa: "Famstarz, Arlo brushed his teeth" or "Famstarz, add milk to the list".
ADWant the big screen?Famstarz works with Echo Show 8, 10 and 15. Link to come.
"Famstarz, Arlo brushed his teeth"
Price
One simple price for the whole family
Less than a cup of coffee a month, and you don't need to buy anything else: Famstarz works with the Echo Show you already have, or your phone or tablet.
Famstarz Family
£2.99 a month
or £30 a year, two months free
All your children, each with their own character
Every routine, from before school to lights out
The Echo Show and the kitchen screen on your phone
Famstarz is in its test phase: everything you've seen on this page is working with real families now. Ask for a testing slot to try it at home and help shape it, or register your interest and we'll tell you when it opens.
Testing families use it free during the test and tell us what works. Schools, clubs and local businesses: tell us who you are and we'll be in touch.
Arlo
Waving good morning
Cheering a job done
Pyjamas at bedtime
Bath or wash10
Pyjamas on10
Teeth10
Story time5
Lights off5
Rock pooling
Family bike ride
Den in the woods
Film night
Pancakes
Choose dinner
Climbing wall
Pottery
Museum
One-to-one time
Stay up late
Torch walk
Blue tit
Robin
Squirrel
Rabbit
Hedgehog
Fox