When schools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, entrepreneur and father Roger Egan noticed something troubling: while his kids’ lessons in math and reading continued, their development of key life skills like resilience, creativity, and critical thinking, stalled.
It sparked a realization that traditional education, focused largely on academics, often overlooks the competencies children need to thrive in a fast-changing world.
That insight led Egan to create Nurture, the first educational app designed specifically to help kids ages 4 to 7 build real-world, future-proof life skills through story-driven play. Launched in mid-2025, the app combines immersive, research-backed gameplay with a focus on social-emotional, cognitive and practical development.
Built by a team of learning scientists, educators, and Emmy-winning children’s content creators, Nurture offers a new way to engage digital-native kids in active learning. Children progress through interactive adventures that encourage problem-solving, self-reflection, and decision-making, all while navigating scenarios inspired by real-life challenges.
The app’s framework is designed to foster a range of core competencies, teaching concepts including growth mindset, resilience, self-regulation, mindfulness, empathy, collaboration, communication, creative problem-solving, critical thinking, financial literacy, healthy habits and digital wellbeing.
By solving real-world challenges in a game-like environment, children are encouraged to build confidence and adaptability in an age-appropriate way.
Unlike many digital tools aimed at children, Nurture emphasizes active rather than passive screen time. Kids aren’t just watching or tapping, they’re engaging in choices, solving puzzles, and reflecting on the outcomes of their decisions.
Nurture’s curriculum is grounded in research and draws on original stories as well as, soon, third-party intellectual property, allowing kids to learn alongside familiar characters. Through these immersive adventures, young users are guided to reflect on their choices and develop self-awareness and independent thinking.
As the demands of the modern world (parenting) continue to evolve, so must the way we prepare the next generation. With Nurture, Roger Egan and his team are reimagining early childhood education by blending research-backed learning with the kind of play kids naturally gravitate toward. Nurture is a tool that empowers families to fill the gaps left by traditional education and equips young minds with the tools they’ll need for the future, one story-driven adventure at a time.
