You read it before they hear it.
Every story is read by a parent before a child can listen. Here is exactly what stands between an idea and your child, and how we keep every story right for their age.
Nothing reaches your child without you.
Four checks stand between an idea and your child's shelf, and every one has to pass. The last one is you: you read the whole story, change anything you like, and nothing is recorded until you press approve.
Gently Told isn't an open prompt box for kids. It's a guided story-making tool for parents. Children never type into it, never talk to it, and never hear a word you haven't read.
Between an idea and their ears.
- 01A guided startStories never start from a blank page. You choose from 45 hand-built story seeds across 5 research tiers, each with its own themes and boundaries: Big Feelings & Big Changes, Learning Through Story, Imagine & Create, Together Time, Neurodiversity & Calm.
- 02Written to a frameworkEvery story follows a specific piece of child development research (the guide that comes with it names the studies) and age-specific language rules. The vocabulary matches your child's age; the tone is always encouraging.
- 03Checked before a word is writtenWhat you type is checked for anything that doesn't belong in a children's story before the story is written. Violence and adult themes never get as far as a draft.
- 04You read it firstThe promiseRead the full text. Change anything, or reject it and get your credit back. Your child can't listen until you press approve, and a rejected story is deleted for good.
What a story can and can't contain.
Never
- Violence or weapons
- Scary content or nightmares
- Adult themes
- Shame or punishment
- Dangerous activities
Handled carefully
- Mild fears, and only to help with them
- Challenges like potty training and starting school
- Every emotion, all of them valid
- Fantasy: dragons are fine if they're friendly
Encouraged
- Kindness and empathy
- Problem-solving
- A growth mindset
- Family
- Curiosity
Your family's data stays your family's.
What we do
- Encrypt everything, in transit and at rest.
- Clean up unused story data automatically.
- Keep it in one place: Google Cloud and Firebase, nowhere else.
What we don't
- Sell data to advertisers
- Track your location
- Offer social features or contact with strangers
- Take photos or video
The full detail is in the privacy policy. We're a New Zealand company, so the Privacy Act 2020 applies, and we follow COPPA for families elsewhere.
If something isn't right, tell us.
If a story ever contains something it shouldn't, tell us straight away. We read every report ourselves, and a story you reject is deleted for good.
Common questions are answered on the FAQ; the research behind each kind of story is on the research page.
The first story is free.
Make one for a real moment in your child's life and read it yourself before they hear a word.