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Quiet Time

And why it isn't a punishment

Play this lessonNarrated out loud. No account, works offline.

Also available in Spanish. The app stops after two lessons a day and suggests something to do away from the screen.

What it teaches

These are the lines the lesson comes back to, and the ones a child actually remembers afterwards.

Quiet time is not a punishment. It's a reset.

Take it before you need it, not after.

Noticing you're full is a skill. It takes practice.

How it starts

Story time. This is about a boy called Ade, who hated quiet time, because he thought it was a punishment. It took him a while to work out that it was the opposite.

How the lesson goes

What builds up in a day

  1. Noise, from about seven in the morning
  2. People, asking you things constantly
  3. Choices — hundreds of small ones

How it shows up

  1. Everything is suddenly annoying
  2. You cry about something small
  3. You can't decide anything at all

What counts as quiet time

  1. Lying on your bed doing nothing
  2. Drawing with nobody talking to you
  3. Looking out of a window on purpose

If your brain won't slow down

  1. Breathe in for four, out for six
  2. Name five things you can see
  3. Press your feet into the floor

The question at the end

When is the best time to take quiet time?

For the grown-up

Every lesson ends by handing the child something to do off the screen, and telling you what was taught so you can use the same words.

Try this today: Take ten minutes of quiet right now — no screen, nobody asking you anything. Lie down, draw, or look out of a window.

Then: Tell a grown-up what time of day you think your quiet time should be.

More in Story Time

The whole library is free

Twenty-four narrated lessons for ages 4 to 9, in English and Spanish. No account, no sign-up, no ads, and nothing your child does in the app ever leaves the device — you can check that yourself with the network tab open. Open the lessons.