Skip to content

Help Requests

Sometimes a child can't finish a job: the bin is too heavy, the hoover won't start, they can't reach the shelf. Rather than giving up or leaving it, they tap I'm stuck on the chore. You get a push on your phone, and their card tells them help is on its way. Nothing is completed or skipped; the chore just waits until you've helped.

I'm stuck and Help is on its way on the child card

New in v7.0.0

On the Child Card

Every chore the child still has to do today shows a small 🙋 I'm stuck button. Tapping it:

  1. sends the parents the Asked for help notification: "🙋 Vaiha needs help with 'Empty the dishwasher'"
  2. changes the button to 🙋 Help is on its way

The request stays open until a parent marks it answered, or for two hours, whichever comes first. A second tap on the same chore within ten minutes doesn't buzz you again.

The button is hidden on chores that are already done, and on cards in pre-reader mode. To hide it on a card:

type: custom:taskmate-child-card
entity: sensor.taskmate_overview
child_id: 8e16ad66b23f404e
show_help_button: false

In the editor it's Show the "I'm stuck" button.

Answering on the Today Page

Open requests appear at the top of the panel's Today page under Asked for help, with the child, the chore, any message and how long ago they asked.

Asked for help on the Today page

Tap On my way to mark the request answered, so the child's card stops saying help is on its way.

The Notification

Asked for help is on by default, for new installs and upgrades alike: a help button that reaches nobody is worse than no button. It goes to parents; change who gets it, or switch it off, under Notifications.

🙋 Vaiha needs help with 'Take the bins out' — “The bin is too heavy”

The message part only appears when the request includes one (the message field of the service; the card button sends none).

The notification fires the taskmate_help_requested event whether or not it's switched on, with child_id, child_name, chore_id, chore_name, message and request_id. On the child's event entity it shows as Help requested, which makes it easy to, say, flash a light in the kitchen when someone's stuck.

Services

Service Fields Description
taskmate.request_help child_id, chore_id, message (optional, up to 120 characters) Ask for help with a chore. Refused with "Help is already on its way" if the same child asked about the same chore in the last ten minutes
taskmate.answer_help request_id Mark a request answered

Each child's entry in sensor.taskmate_overview's children attribute lists the chores with an open request under help.