Parents turn back to landline phones to keep kids off smartphones

PARENTS revive landline phones to give kids screen-free independence.

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PARENTS revive landline phones to give kids screen-free independence. Gemini AI

(Gemini AI)

THERE were eight children among the four close-knit families in their Seattle neighbourhood, and by last fall, the oldest child - who was almost 9 - had already started asking for a smartphone.

But the group of parents had made a communal agreement: They would keep their children away from smartphones for as long as possible.

There was strength in that solidarity, said Lauren Zemer, a Seattle-area therapist and mom of two: "We had agreed that we were going to share these values." But she and her neighbours also wanted their children to feel connected to their peers and to develop a sense of social independence. So in October 2024, when one of the parents heard about a local father who had built a prototype for a kid-specific, adult-controlled landline phone - and had created a waitlist for families who wanted one - Zemer and her friends were ecstatic.

Within days, they were among the first parents to acquire an early model of what has now become a virally popular phone for kids - the Tin Can, a wi-fi-enabled, curly-corded landline that allows parents to control the hours when it is in use and which phone numbers are approved to call in to (or be called from) the closed network.

In the year since then, Zemer said, the Tin Can has been transformative for her children, ages 5 and 8. Her 8-year-old son has autonomy to call his friends when he wants to talk; the neighbourhood kids often work out their own playdates, without their parents having to text one another. The landline has also been a boon for the children's relationship with their grandparents.

Among the parents in their neighbourhood community, she added, there is a unanimous sense of gratitude for their landline phones.