{"id":238808,"date":"2025-11-02T01:57:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T01:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/238808\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T01:57:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T01:57:16","slug":"parents-are-reverting-to-landline-phones-to-stop-their-kids-becoming-smartphone-addicts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/238808\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents are reverting to landline phones to stop their kids becoming smartphone addicts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n

Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n

Remember the days of anxiously waiting for your sibling<\/a> to get off the landline so you could take your turn? Of racking up your parents’ phone bill just to talk to your friend for hours about\u2026 God knows what? Well, turns out those days might not be over, as many parents are reinstating landline phones in their homes to prevent their kids from developing unhealthy screentime habits and strengthen their independence.<\/p>\n

Based in Portland, Maine, an advocacy group called Landline Kids<\/a> is dedicated to \u201creducing screen dependence\u201d and reviving meaningful conversations among children<\/a>. The group helps families<\/a> set up corded landlines at home and create \u201clandline pods\u201d \u2014 networks of households that allow kids to make pre-approved calls to each other, no texting or social media<\/a> required.<\/p>\n

Another business that\u2019s helped revive the landline<\/a> is Tin Can, created by Chet Kittleson, a father of three kids \u2014 ages 10, eight, and five \u2014 based in Seattle, Washington. The idea came to him two years ago, when he and his fellow parents were organizing playdates for their kids and came to a hilarious epiphany: They were executive assistants to eight-year-olds, deciding when, where and how they were going to spend time together. \u201cIt was in the conversation where I had this realization that when we were kids, our first social network was the landline. And our kids did not have that social network,\u201d he tells The Independent. <\/p>\n

Kittleson launched his line of \u201cFlashback\u201d landlines in 2024, described as the \u201cphone of 80s childhood\u201d that\u2019s \u201cusually mounted on a kitchen wall.\u201d The phone \u2014 which is sold in pink, black, and white and costs $75 \u2014 is either plugged into your home internet router or the in-wall ethernet port.<\/p>\n

Tin Can users can choose between two phone plans. The free plan allows calls only to other Tin Can phones or 911, while a $9.99 monthly plan lets kids call any number. In both options, only approved contacts can reach the Tin Can, and parents can set specific hours for when the phone can be used or receive calls.<\/p>\n

\"Tin<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Tin Can\u2019s landline phones for kids only take calls from pre-approved numbers (Tin Can)<\/p>\n

Kittleson\u2019s mission is to give kids more independence and help them feel trusted by their parents from an early age by letting them organize their own playdates. He\u2019s seen the impact firsthand in customer feedback \u2014 including one mother who said her child\u2019s voice initially sounded shy and tentative while recording the Tin Can phone\u2019s voicemail greeting. \u201cThen over the course of a week, she noticed that her child had really found their voice and they were louder and more confident when they were speaking,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Lauren Zemer, a mother of two sons, who are eight and five, has owned a Tin Can landline for the last year. She got the landline after talking to other mothers about their shared parenting realization: They weren\u2019t going to allow their kids to get cell phones before eighth grade, but they still wanted them to be able to communicate with each other remotely.<\/p>\n

\"Tin<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Tin Can founder Chet Kittleson says landlines help his kids connect in a way social media doesn\u2019t (Tin Can)<\/p>\n

Zemer says that with the landline, her children find value in boredom, as it forces them to make their own fun during playdates. For example, her eight-year-old recently said he wanted to make sure two of his friends brought their Pok\u00e9man cards when they came over. \u201cHe calls his friend on the Tin Can phone and they have a conversation about their plans,\u201d she explains. \u201cSo it wasn\u2019t mom managing children\u2019s things. It was the kids managing their things. It\u2019s independence. It\u2019s autonomy. It\u2019s having pro-social communication.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Zemer sees her children taking on responsibility and listening because of the landlines, that doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t have an eye on cellphones. She and her fellow mothers are always having conversations about how long kids should spend on the iPad, keeping them away from technology they don\u2019t need, like smart watches, and barring them from social media.<\/p>\n

A recent census from Common Sense<\/a> Media revealed that children between the ages of zero and eight spent nearly two and a half hours a day looking at screens in 2024. By the age of two, four in 10 children have their own tablet. Meanwhile, one in four kids already had a cellphone by the age of eight.<\/p>\n

\"Parents<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Parents say they\u2019re also becoming closer to other parents because of their kids\u2019 landline phones (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Conversations also feel more genuine without the filter of texting \u2014 something Kittleson was reminded of when his 10-year-old daughter stayed in touch with a friend over the landline. The two girls talked twice a day for two weeks after both switched schools last year. \u201cI don’t know that they would’ve been able to recognize this, but they were each other’s comfort zones. They were able to do that via the Tin Can,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen they’re in this space where they’re a little uncomfortable, they’re meeting new people and don\u2019t feel at home. They were able to follow each other and sort of connect over that experience.\u201d <\/p>\n

Obviously, the two 10-year-olds could have called each other on their iPhone 17s, but with the distractions of modern technology, it seems unlikely they would have spent as much time talking without resorting to texting or social media. \u201cThat\u2019s such a great example to me of her being able to connect with a friend about something important happening in their lives, without it being organized by us or social media,\u201d Kittleson says. \u201cWe call Tin Can a social network because a lot of the same exchanges that would happen online still happen via landline. It\u2019s just not performative.\u201d <\/p>\n

There are potential benefits of using the landline for parents, too. Zemer says having her Tin Can has helped her connect with other parents. During a recent playdate, she and another dad used their landlines to coordinate plans. What started as arranging childcare soon turned into an impromptu family dinner with both families. \u201cI think Tin Can has made my friendships better. The kids are pulling the neighbors in, and then I\u2019m saying, \u2018Well, I\u2019m already cooking for them. You might as well stay too,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI feel like I have a much stronger and deeper relationship with my neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"By<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

By the age of two, four in 10 children have their own tablet, a recent census revealed (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Of course, Zemer and Kittleson are both aware of the fact that their kids will need a cellphone eventually, and once their kids are around 15, they\u2019ll have a conversation about that and social media. However, that doesn\u2019t mean that they\u2019ll be getting rid of their landlines any time soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes families have a phone docked in the kitchen. Or if you\u2019re going somewhere, you can take the family cellphone and go out,\u201d Zemer says. \u201cIn that regard, the equivalent of the Tin Can will still exist. As long as I can keep some kind of guardrails on when the phone rings and who\u2019s calling, I think that will be an integral part of our lives.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[2306,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-238808","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-technology","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}