Lumosity is the brain training app that everyone's heard of, and it's...fine. The games are well-designed, science-backed (sort of), and genuinely exercise cognitive skills like memory and attention. Over 100 million people use it, and Common Sense Media gives it a thumbs up for older kids.

But here's the thing: it's boring. Like, really boring for most kids. Unless your child is unusually motivated by self-improvement metrics and daily brain workouts, they'll play it twice and forget about it. The freemium model doesn't help—constant nudges to upgrade to premium can feel pushy.

Also worth knowing: the FTC slapped Lumosity with a $2 million fine in 2016 for overstating what brain training can actually do. The claims are more careful now, but the jury's still out on whether getting better at these games translates to real-world cognitive gains or just makes you better at...these games.

If your teen is genuinely into optimizing their brain and tracking progress, great. Otherwise, they'd probably get more cognitive benefit from reading a challenging book, learning an instrument, or picking up a new language. Lumosity isn't harmful, but it's also not the mental workout miracle it sometimes pretends to be.