Questions Parents Ask
The things people actually want to know
What is this, exactly?
A small box with a handheld QR-code scanner (similar to what you’ve seen at the self-checkout at local stores) that plugs into your TV’s HDMI, plus a wheel of physical printed cards. Each card is one video. Your child picks a card, scans it, the video plays, and when it’s done the screen goes back to a calm, algorithm-free, "next-up"-free screen. Then they pick the next one. The algorithm never gets a vote.
Is this like Tonies?
Same idea, different medium. Tonies solved this for audio — a child puts a figurine on a box and one audiobook or playlist plays. Charms applies the same principle to video. We were inspired by what Tonies did for the audio side of the house, and built the screen-time version of the same idea. Physical object, one piece of content at a time, no scrolling, no autoplay, no algorithmic next-up.
What problem does this actually solve?
Two of them. (1) The swiping problem: a child opens YouTube (or any of the apps like it), watches a video for a few seconds, swipes, watches another for 30 seconds, swipes, and an hour later they’ve consumed 40 videos and absorbed none of them. (2) The rabbit-hole problem: that swiping behavior is the algorithm hunting for what holds attention, and it inevitably lands on stuff that’s weird, unhealthy, or just garbage. Charms ends both. Your child picks one card, watches one thing, and is done.
Who picks the videos?
Charms curates a filtered list of videos into our proprietary library and sends you a pack of cards either monthly or on-demand, per your (and your children’) preferences. Every card is enriched with discussion questions, vocabulary words, a suggested age range, and a knowledge category. No algorithm decides what plays next — your child does.
What ages is this for?
Charms organizes content into three age lanes: 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12. Each card has an age suggestion so your child naturally gravitates toward what fits.
What if my child gets bored of the cards?
New cards arrive each month. Some will be a hit. Some might be a dud. Either way, you and your child decide which cards go into their wheel — and you can toss or archive any Charm cards (video cards) you don’t like. You can also request new topics on your child’s behalf or request videos from particular creators. Themed packs — holiday sets, deep-dives on a topic, creator collections — are coming soon.
Is there screen time I should worry about?
Charms makes screen time intentional. Your child physically picks a card before anything plays. One card, one video. When it ends, it ends. No autoplay, no rabbit holes, no “up next”. It’s also important to manage how long a child watches before they get a break. We call this Wiggle Time, and the Box enforces it by age: under 3s pause after 12 minutes for a 3-minute movement break, 3–5s after 18 minutes (3-minute break), 5–7s after 25 minutes (4-minute break), 7–10s after 30 minutes (5-minute break), and older children after 40–50 minutes (5-minute break). If a video runs past the threshold for the card’s age range, the Box automatically pauses and prompts them to get up and do something physical. Wiggle Time cannot be skipped. It gives children an opportunity to break from the video and find something else to do — playing with siblings, picking up a toy, going outside. It breaks the "zombie" cycle.
Do I need to be technical to set this up?
Plug the Box into your TV’s HDMI, use your phone to scan the setup QR code on screen, follow the simple instructions (the main one is entering your WiFi password), and done. The Box runs itself after that.
What if my child doesn’t like the cards?
The first set covers broadly appealing content — the kind of videos children tend to love. If a card doesn’t land, it goes to the back of the wheel, into your archive drawer, or (it happens) in the recycling bin. Over time, your child’s collection shapes itself around what they actually reach for.
Is this just YouTube with extra steps?
Fewer steps, actually — fewer decisions, fewer distractions, no rabbit holes. The friction is intentional. Picking a physical card takes longer and is calmer than scrolling an infinite feed. Think VHS-era ritual: pop the tape in, rewind it (because the last person ejected it without rewinding), press play, watch the thing, eject. We’ve brought back the ritual of physically getting up, choosing a video, and taking action (scanning) to start it — paired with the convenience of digital playback (no rewinding required, this time).
What happens if a creator takes a video down?
Charms monitors the catalog. If a video disappears from YouTube, the card gets flagged and replaced with something similar. Your child won’t notice — the card just works.
Can my child use this without me?
That’s the point. Once the Box is set up, a child as young as three (even younger — though evidence shows children under two shouldn’t have any screen time at all) can browse their cards, pick one, and scan it. No passwords, no navigation, no asking for help. Independence is a feature.
How does Charms organize content?
Charms organizes cards by category — the way libraries have shelved things for over a century. Science, history, arts, nature. Every card has a Dewey Decimal (the library catalog system) number and a category assigned to it. Your child can learn the system and use it to find what they’re looking for.
Can I add my own videos?
Yes. If there’s a creator or video that for any reason has been filtered out by Charm’s process, you can still get that creator or video delivered as a scannable Charm card. In other words — any YouTube video can become a Charm card. We create an appropriate watercolor thumbnail, parent-child discussion questions, age suggestion, and category. Your family’s collection is yours to fill.
What if I want to cancel?
Cancel or downgrade any time, in two clicks. The Box and every card you’ve received are yours to keep. The Box does need an active Box Connection (€10/mo incl. btw) to scan and play — so families who just want to stop the monthly card mailings usually keep Box Connection on its own, which keeps the whole collection working. If you cancel everything, the Box simply pauses and your cards wait on the Wheel until you reconnect — we never delete or disable a card you’ve received.
If these videos are free on YouTube, what am I paying for?
You’re right — you could track most of these videos down on YouTube for free, and we’ll never pretend otherwise. You’re not paying for the videos. You’re paying for everything that makes them safe and calm to hand to a child: the curation (a curated library, not an algorithm guessing what to autoplay next), the way it plays (one card, one video, then it stops — no recommended sidebar, no autoplay, no rabbit hole), the parental controls (you decide what’s on the Wheel; your child just picks a card), and the work of keeping it all alive (we check links, replace videos that get taken down, and add discussion questions, vocabulary, an age range, and a category to every card). We’re paid by you — not by advertisers or creators — so the only thing we optimize for is your family’s time, not watch-time.
Are there ads?
Videos on your Charms Box play through what’s called an “Embedded Player” via YouTube. While YouTube could serve ads, after months of daily use and testing we’re yet to see a single one. We won’t promise you’ll never see an ad — but so far, they don’t exist.