Your child's view, on your phone

Q: Is what I check off in Act as saved?

Yes. Act as is your child's real view, so check-offs, rewards and mood answers are saved. Steps you check off show "by you" on your home screen. If you tap a checked-off step again, today's check-off is removed.

Q: How do I get back to my own view?

Tap Leave child view on the far right of the child view's menu. If you're inside a routine, first go back to your child's home screen.

Q: Can my child leave Act as on their own?

Yes. There's no code, so anyone who taps Leave child view ends up in your view. Don't leave your child alone with the phone if they shouldn't be able to change things in the app.

Q: Can I switch between several children?

Yes, one child at a time. Leave the child view, open Act as again and choose the next child.

Q: Does Act as work if my child has their own device?

Yes. Both can be open at the same time, and what you check off shows up right away on your child's device.

Q: Do I see exactly what my child sees?

Almost. The routines, pictures, timer and your child's settings are the same. The differences are that the menu has Leave child view, theme and language follow your phone, and your child's reminders don't come to you.

Q: Does Act as cost anything extra?

No. Act as is included in the subscription, as are your children's own devices. You can try Routined free for 14 days.

On the Act as tab, choose a child, and the app shows that child's own view: the same routines, the same pictures and the same timer.

Use it to see what today's routines look like for your child, or when your child checks off steps on your phone because they don't have one of their own.

The child's home screen in Routined, opened with Act as on the parent's phone

How Act as works

You stay signed in as yourself the whole time. No extra account and no extra cost.

A routine with large picture cards in the child view, opened with Act as

Your child's real view

The same view your child sees

Act as shows your child's home screen and routines with your child's own settings: display mode, timer style and celebrations. It isn't a preview, but the same data as on your child's own device.

Recently completed on the parent's home screen, with check-offs marked by you and by Mom

For real

What you check off counts

Check-offs, rewards and mood answers are saved just as when your child does it. On your home screen, they're marked "by you" under Recently completed. If you check something off by mistake, tap the step again to undo it.

The child's morning routine with the mood question How are you feeling? on the parent's phone

Borrowed phone

When your child doesn't have a phone

Your child needs neither a phone nor an account. Open Act as, let your child follow their morning routine and leave the child view when you're done. The mood question, the timer and rewards work as usual.

The Act as tab in Routined with two child profiles to choose from

Choose a child

One child at a time

The Act as tab lists all child profiles. Tap the child you want to see. To switch children, leave the child view and choose the next one.

Leave child view

Back with one tap

In the child view's menu, Leave child view is on the far right. One tap takes you back to your own home screen. There's no code, so a child who taps the button gets out too.

The difference between looking and experiencing

A step list in edit mode doesn't tell you what the routine feels like to follow. In Act as you see the pictures at full size, the timer counting down and the steps in the order your child meets them. It's easier to spot an unclear picture, a step in the wrong order or a timer that's too short.

How Act as differs from your child's own phone

The menu has Leave child view instead of Settings.
What you check off is marked "by you" under Recently completed on your home screen.
Your child's reminders only go to your child's own device, never to your phone.
Theme and language follow your phone.
If you fully restart the app, it opens in your own view again.

When Act as is useful

After you've changed a routine

Changes show up for your child right away. There's no draft mode. Take a look in Act as after bigger changes to check that everything works as a whole. It shows today's routines, meaning the ones that are active and scheduled for today.

When your child doesn't have their own device

Many families start with the child using a parent's phone. Then Act as becomes the everyday tool: open the child view, let your child check off steps and leave the child view afterward. Without their own device, your child gets no reminders, so you're the one who says when it's time.

When you check off steps together

If you're helping your child step by step, you can check off steps on your phone. If your partner has notifications turned on, they'll find out, just as when your child checks off steps on their own.

What to look for

Order: are the steps in the order your child actually does them?
Pictures: in Visual support the picture is large, in Standard it's a small round image. Does it work in your child's mode?
Text: is the step's name short and clear to your child?
Timer: is the time reasonable? Try it yourself.
Reward: is it on the right step?

Not a test mode

Act as is your child's real view. If you check off a step, it counts, rewards are recorded and mood answers are saved. If you only want to look, scroll without tapping. If you check something off by accident, tap the step again and today's check-off and reward are removed.

Tip: walk through the routine together

Let older children go through the routine in Act as and say what they think. "That picture is weird" or "Why does this come first?" are valuable comments, and your child gets a say in their own routine.

When someone else is helping out

Is Grandma or a babysitter looking after your child for a while? Invite a temporary helper instead of lending out your phone. The helper connects with a code on their own phone and can follow today's routines, but can't change anything.