Born from a Birthday Dinner &
Three Bored Kids

It all started at a restaurant, celebrating Arnaud's birthday.

We were there with friends, enjoying the celebration, but as any parent knows, a long dinner is a ticking time bomb for kids. The three children at the table were getting restless. The food was taking a while, the coloring sheets were used up, and the "I'm bored" chants were starting to rise.

The easy solution would have been to hand over a phone. But we wanted to stay connected, to keep them present with us. So, we looked at what we had on the table.

We pooled these random items together and challenged ourselves: "What game can we make with just this?"

We invented a simple game on the spot. To our surprise, the kids didn't just play it—they loved it. They laughed, they focused, and they played together. When that game finished, they asked, "What else can we play?" So we invented another one, using the exact same items.

That dinner was the spark. We realized that fun doesn't require batteries, screens, or expensive toys. It just requires a little imagination and the things you already have lying around.

But it wasn't just for groups. We soon discovered it worked magic for solo play too.

Just before flying back to France for Christmas, we were in the chaos of packing up our NYC apartment. Cleaning, organizing, stressing—you know the drill. Our 10-year-old son, Gabriel, was pacing around, nagging us, and repeating the universal kid mantra: "I'm bored."

We needed 45 minutes of focus to finish packing. So, we pulled up the development version of the app. We asked Gabriel to enter his name, select "Home" as the location, and pick two random objects he saw around him.

Keep'em Busy suggested a "Treasure Hunt".

He immediately got to work. For the next 45 minutes, he was completely absorbed in creating clues and hiding "treasures" around the apartment while we finished our packing in peace.

The best part? Before we left for the airport, we actually played the treasure hunt he created. It turned a stressful moving day into a fun family memory. That's when we realized: this app isn't just about killing time—it's about creating memorable moments, whether for a group of rowdy cousins or one bored kid on a rainy afternoon.

Judy and Arnaud created Keep'em Busy to give every parent that same superpower: the ability to turn "nothing" into "something fun" in seconds.