Skylight Digital Calendar Helps Synchronize the Whole Family's Schedule

Families with multiple children often struggle to coordinate everyone's schedules. A family featured in Wired tried out the Skylight digital calendar to simplify this process. They have three kids in different schools, extracurricular activities, and varying work schedules for both parents.

The device they tested is a 15-inch touchscreen that can be placed on a counter or mounted on the wall (10-inch and 27-inch models are also available). Their children, aged 12 and 15, are touchscreen natives, so the 12-year-old immediately started using the calendar. He unboxed it, set it up, and synced it with the family's Google Calendar using the Skylight app.

The calendar can import events from Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Yahoo calendars. Each child got a color-coded section, and household chores (like taking out the trash) also received their own color. The kids enjoyed seeing the entire family schedule – they could check on their own whether a planned activity was feasible without asking their parents.

However, there are some drawbacks. All family members can see personal notes, such as reminders for birthday gifts. Some features, like the meal planning tool and the AI assistant Sidekick, are only available with a Plus subscription ($79 per year). Sidekick can import events from a photo of a paper schedule or a forwarded email, and can scan recipes. But this feature isn't always accurate – for minestrone soup, it added every ingredient, including salt.

Another limitation is that the Skylight has no built-in battery, so it must be plugged into an outlet. The family uses the mobile app more often than the screen itself. The husband added a Skylight widget to his phone's home screen for quick access to the daily schedule.

For comparison, they also tested other apps: Jam Family Calendar and Family Wall. Jam Family Calendar is similar, but Family Wall offers additional tools like a family budget, contact book, location map, and more. The husband particularly liked the countdown feature for birthdays.

Overall, the Skylight calendar helps centralize responsibilities, and the kids have become more active in managing their own schedules. The author admits she still occasionally opens Google Calendar out of habit but hopes to rely on Skylight more over time.