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Penalties

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tempus2016 edited this page Mar 25, 2026 · 2 revisions

The Penalties card lets parents apply named point deductions to children for unwanted behaviour — consistently and in one tap.

Unlike the remove_points service which requires entering an amount each time, penalties are named reusable definitions (e.g. "Not going to bed — 10 Stars") that can be applied instantly without guessing an amount.

Penalties Card

type: custom:taskmate-penalties-card
entity: sensor.taskmate_overview
title: Penalties

Config options:

Option Default Description
entity required sensor.taskmate_overview
title Penalties Card header title

Using the Card

Applying a Penalty

  1. If there are multiple children, tap the child's name tab at the top to select who to apply the penalty to
  2. Each penalty row shows its icon, name, description, and point cost
  3. Tap Apply — points are deducted immediately and a toast confirms the action
  4. The bottom of the card shows which child is currently selected

Penalties respect assigned_to — if a penalty is assigned to specific children, it only appears for those children's tabs.

Managing Penalties (Edit Mode)

Tap the pencil icon (top right) to enter edit mode:

  • Add — tap New Penalty to open an inline form with name, points, description, and icon fields
  • Edit — tap the edit icon on any penalty row to edit it inline
  • Delete — tap the trash icon to remove a penalty definition

Changes are saved to the integration immediately — no separate save step.

Penalty Fields

Field Required Default Description
name Yes — Display name shown on the card
points Yes — Points to deduct when applied
description No — Optional explanation shown below the name
icon No mdi:alert-circle-outline MDI icon slug
assigned_to No All children List of child IDs — leave empty to show for all children

Services

Penalties can also be managed and applied from automations, scripts, or Developer Tools.

taskmate.add_penalty

Create a new penalty definition.

Parameter Required Description
name Yes Display name
points Yes Points to deduct when applied
description No Optional explanation
icon No MDI icon slug (e.g. mdi:bed-clock) 
service: taskmate.add_penalty
data:
  name: "Not going to bed"
  points: 10
  description: "Refused bedtime after two warnings"
  icon: mdi:bed-clock

taskmate.update_penalty

Update an existing penalty. Only provided fields are changed.

Parameter Required Description
penalty_id Yes ID of the penalty to update
name No New name
points No New point value
description No New description
icon No New MDI icon 
service: taskmate.update_penalty
data:
  penalty_id: abc12345
  points: 15

taskmate.remove_penalty

Delete a penalty definition.

Parameter Required Description
penalty_id Yes ID of the penalty to delete 
service: taskmate.remove_penalty
data:
  penalty_id: abc12345

taskmate.apply_penalty

Apply a penalty to a child. Points are deducted immediately and logged in the activity feed.

Parameter Required Description
penalty_id Yes ID of the penalty to apply
child_id Yes ID of the child to deduct from 
service: taskmate.apply_penalty
data:
  penalty_id: abc12345
  child_id: a8c8376a

Finding Penalty IDs

Penalty IDs are in sensor.taskmate_overview under the penalties attribute:

  1. Go to Developer Tools → States
  2. Find sensor.taskmate_overview
  3. Expand the attributes and look for penalties
  4. Each entry has an id field — 8-character alphanumeric string

Activity Log

Every penalty application appears in the Activity Card with:

  • Icon: red shield
  • Label: Penalty name
  • Points: shown as a negative value (e.g. −10)

Automation Example

Apply a penalty automatically — for example when a motion sensor triggers after bedtime:

automation:
  trigger:
    platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.bedroom_door
    to: "on"
  condition:
    condition: time
    after: "21:00:00"
  action:
    service: taskmate.apply_penalty
    data:
      penalty_id: abc12345
      child_id: a8c8376a

Tips

  • Keep penalties consistent — named penalties mean the same behaviour always costs the same, which feels fairer to kids
  • Use descriptions — add context like "After three warnings" so there's no ambiguity about when the penalty applies
  • Use assigned_to — if you have children of different ages, assign age-appropriate penalties to specific children rather than showing all penalties for all children

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