I built a free site that puts a new illustrated bedtime story up every night. Would this survive YOUR bedtime?

[DailyStoryItay]

Hello MN. Fee paid, first time here.

I'm Itay. I left my tech job a while back and now build free kids' games and stories on my own. For the past year my evenings have gone into dailybedtimestory.com. It's a free website. No app, no sign-up, no ads. Every night there's one new short story with pictures, gentle narration and a little song at the end. You open it at bedtime and it takes about 5 minutes.

To be straight about how it's made: I use AI tools to create the stories and pictures. That's what lets one person publish a new story every day for free. I know a lot of parents are sick of AI content, and that's partly why I'm here. If it doesn't feel warm enough for bedtime, I'd rather find out now than after another year of building.

Money side: there's nothing to buy. No premium tier, no card details, nothing hidden.

If you're willing to try it at bedtime once or twice this week, I'd love to know:

1. Did your kids ask for it again the next night? This is the only thing I really care about.
2. What made you wince? Story, pictures, voice, anything. Be blunt.
3. Could you see it becoming part of your actual bedtime routine, or is it a "nice once" thing?

Everyone who comes back and answers by Sunday goes into a draw for a £25 Amazon voucher (I'll PM the winner).

The site: dailybedtimestory.com

I'll read and reply to everything myself. Be as brutal as you like.

The OP was clearly an AI bot.
Like most of these "I have a fantastic new idea for an app" posts.

Doubt. For most of these threads that are advertising an app or a website and posting their link, like this thread or the other week about what to teach teenagers (where the op posted it on every reply post)

They’re not actually wanting feedback. It’s just a very cheap way to advertise and get some backlinks, far cheaper to spend £30 on a “feedback” thread that stays permanently on mumsnet, than pay far more for advertising which is temporary.

it surprises me mumsnet doesn’t crack down on it.

Just what is the point of them?

Is it sensible, though? Yes, they have their website name online permanently in the thread, but if it's followed by a load of universally negative comments about it, is that going to help encourage new customers?! Businesses that have a load of 1 and 2-star reviews on Google, Trustpilot or wherever don't usually see it as a good thing that their business name is prominently displayed there at the top of the page!

And how do they actually make money from it anyway?

The whole site looks so obviously fake - which, to be fair, as OP has admitted with the AI, it very much is. The graphics are so horrible and even the titles sound like they've been auto-translated through about 8 different languages. How many children are genuinely going to prefer 'Cat Loaf Bakery Row' (yes, that really is today's offering) on a screen to a skilfully written and illustrated actual book - by talented human people - and read with love by their parent who reacts and involves them all through their enjoyment of it?

The most positive thing I can think to say about this is that it's like a kind of bedtime story equivalent of a chemical cosh. If you have a massive family, with 20 children all screaming and refusing to go to sleep whilst you just want to relax downstairs in peace in front of Love Island with a can of Special Brew, this is probably perfect for you.

Think they’re wanting it more for the backlinking from a high ranking website like mumsnet, not perfect but no where else on the internet can you get a year long backlink for 30 quid, Later on they will probably put Google ads on the website or affiliate links and the like to get £.

Yes, I've seen several of these lately.

It's odd, isn't it? Like you would 'just make an app' the same as you might 'just make a cup of tea'. Like they had a bit of a dabble when they had 5 spare minutes and are astonished by how it ends up a full-blown (albeit possibly not especially popular) app!

Yes!! This!!

I believe the answer to that question is to be found at the square root of fuck all.

There’s just no point. People are either happily reading their children books at bedtime or they are not and the kids are putting themselves to bed. There isn’t a gap where parents are thinking ’if only I could not read a book and use an iPad instead’

Books are the last thing that children want a new one of every day, they like the same thing again.

I’ve had a look at cat loaf bakery row now.

What a load of tosh. It doesn’t make sense and it’s like someone spilled a jar or full stops all over it. It’s total bollocks. Kids aren’t stupid, they know when things don’t make sense. Cat loaf bakery row is beyond rubbish.

'Cat Loaf Bakery' sounds more like a W3W code rather than an actual coherent phrase!

Or a ‘what three words’ address.

I don’t know if the row is an argument between the cat and the loaf or a river based activity.