Most homes have a tablet in a drawer that’s been quietly demoted: an old iPad, a kids’ tablet from a few birthdays ago, the one with the cracked corner. Give it a second life as the family hub, and the whole household can see the week at a glance.
It takes about ten minutes.
What you need
- A tablet with a modern web browser
- A stand or wall mount: a cheap tablet stand, or an adhesive mount on the wall
- Power nearby, with a long cable so it stays charged
- A family app that shows the calendar, meals and lists in one place
Step by step
- Update the tablet and connect it to your home Wi-Fi.
- Sign in to your family app and add it to the home screen, so it opens like an app.
- Keep the screen on while it’s docked. In the display settings, set auto-lock to the longest time, or to never while charging.
- Lock it to one app, if you like. On an iPad, Guided Access keeps the tablet on one app. On Android, app pinning does the same. Handy if small fingers like to wander. [verify]
- Turn the brightness down at night, so it doesn’t light up the kitchen like a runway.
- Mount it where the family looks: near the fridge, by the back door, or next to the kettle.
What to show on it
- Today: meals, who’s where and chores due
- The week’s calendar, colour-coded by person
- The shopping list, so anyone can add “we’re out of milk” the moment it happens
- The chore chart, so the kids can see their token tally
A word on privacy
A kitchen tablet can be seen by anyone who visits. Think about what’s on screen: calendars, children’s names and your Wi-Fi password. Keep sensitive things behind a sign-in, and share a guest Wi-Fi network, not your main one.
Tablet or smart wall calendar?
Dedicated smart calendars look lovely, but they can cost hundreds of dollars before the subscription. If you already own a tablet, you’re most of the way there. We’ve written a whole post on the $1,000 question.
Where My Tomte helps
My Tomte runs in any browser, so any tablet will do. It shows the family calendar (Google, iCloud and Microsoft 365), the week’s meals, the shopping list and the chore chart, all in one place. The Family plan is $19.99 a year for up to six people.