➗ Math apps and platforms · 🧸 Early learning (ages 2-6)
Bedtime Math
By Bedtime Math Foundation (nonprofit). Visit Bedtime Math
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
A free daily math problem for parents and kids to do together, on the website and in an iPhone and iPad app. Each post is a short story on a fun topic, like pillow forts or flamingos, followed by questions at three levels: Wee Ones, Little Kids and Big Kids, plus a harder bonus. A parent reads it aloud and the family talks through the answer. There are over 1,000 past problems to search by skill or topic. Made for ages 3 to 9.
Our take: A good pick for parents of 3-9 year olds who want a five-minute math chat at bedtime; families looking for an app a child can use alone should skip it.
Checked in a browser
A browser check on 2026-10-25: what loads, the ads and trackers we saw, and what a child meets first. Not a hands-on test.
| Child safety: 4 out of 5 | No ads were shown and there is no chat; the footer links out to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. |
|---|---|
| Data: 2 out of 5 | Google's ad tags (ad.doubleclick.net, googleads.g.doubleclick.net, googleadservices.com) and the Facebook pixel loaded before consent alongside Google Analytics, though no ad was shown. |
| Ease: 3 out of 5 | The page is a menu of school and family programs aimed at adults (Fun Factor, Math Libs, Crazy 8s), with no single place for a child to start. |
| Cost honesty: 5 out of 5 | Free nonprofit resources; no upgrade or pay prompts were seen. |
What we found
- Contacted 10 third-party sites, including 2 Google ad hosts (doubleclick.net, googleadservices.com) and Facebook's tracking pixel.
- 6 cookies set before consent, one of them from doubleclick.net.
- No ad frames were shown on the page.
- The first screen is a list of programs for schools and parents; the daily math problems are meant to be read aloud by a parent.
From the test: An ad-free nonprofit page for parents and teachers, but it loads Google ad and Facebook tracking tags on the first visit.
| Ages it suits | about 3-9 |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | The terms say you must be 13 or older to use the foundation's offerings; children under 13 may use them only with adult supervision, and 13-17 year olds need a parent to review the terms and give permission. The app is meant to be used by a parent with the child. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Free website and free iPhone/iPad app (Oct 2026); no Android app is listed. |
| Works on | Web, iPhone and iPad |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI |
What's good
- Built for a parent and child to do together, not solo screen time
- Three difficulty levels in every problem, so siblings can share one
- Backed by a published University of Chicago study
- Free, with no ads or purchases
Watch for
- Works only if a grown-up reads it aloud and talks it through
- App is iPhone/iPad only; the App Store shows the last big update in Sept 2023
- Study gains were tied to how often families used it, not just having it
- English only
Data and privacy
The children's privacy policy says the foundation does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 and that any personal information must come from someone over 13. The App Store label lists only analytics, usage and crash data not linked to the user. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
A University of Chicago study of first graders, published in Science in 2015, found that the more often families used the app, the higher the children's year-end math scores, with the largest gains for kids of math-anxious parents; a 2018 follow-up in the Journal of Experimental Psychology reported lasting effects. Gains depended on how much families used it, and some coverage notes the overall group difference was modest.
In the Big Index
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AoPS Online
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Where these facts come from
- https://bedtimemath.org/
- https://bedtimemath.org/bedtime-math-app/
- https://bedtimemath.org/daily-math/
- https://bedtimemath.org/impact/
- https://bedtimemath.org/terms-conditions/
- https://bedtimemath.org/privacy-policy/
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bedtime-math/id637910701
- https://www.scienceupdate.com/2015/10/math-3/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedtime_Math
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.