This morning I was invited back to FOX 5 San Diego Morning News to talk about a company that invented a new landline phone that is supposed to replace a smartphone. Parents are trying this phone system for their children because it’s a safe way to communicate with each other with no apps, no games, and no texting. Here is what we talked about LIVE on the air in more detail.
What Is This New Phone and How Does It Work?
This new phone invention is from a company called Tin Can. It’s a genius concept really. It’s an old school landline phone reimagined for the modern generation that’s used in lieu of a smartphone. This phone connects to Wi-Fi, but the unique aspect is that it has parental controls to only allow approved contacts where parents can also set up a quiet hours schedule or enable Do Not Disturb within the app. It’s traditional active communication between two human beings, not digital exchanges that takes places passively behind a screen. A lot of parents that are raising children in our current parenting climate who would want this type of phone were raised in a generation without a smartphone, and are desperately wanting to go back to the basics and protect their children from what they know is out there online.
Is This Like The Phones Parents Grew Up With in the 80’s and 90’s?
Yes! More recently, parents are craving and resorting back to simplicity. Parents are realizing that by having a smartphone kids are being exposed to inappropriate content, cyberbullying in text threads, and are being absorbed by the phone, which is in turn creating an addiction that is lowering attention spans, lowering grades, and increasing things like anxiety and depression among our youth. It’s not even so much about the content they are absorbing, it’s about the amount of time they are spending on a screen.
What Are The Positives and Negatives About This Phone?
I love the concept, practically, and safety of this phone, however, I know there is a lot of pressure out there for parents to keep up with the Jones’ and for older children to have smartphone because most of their friends have one. I get that this may potentially cause some power struggles between a tween and their parent, but if it’s our job as a parent to protect her children and do what’s in their best interest despite some pushback, then we aren’t doing our job as a parent. Our children won’t like everything we do and every decision we make on their behalf, but I definitely see a movement to go in a more conservative direction and I am loving it! If a parent is going to give their child a smartphone, there is a lot of responsibility behind that in which requires a lot of boundaries and limits, and some parents aren’t willing to give those, hence causing a free-for-all mentality that leads to bigger issues down the line.
Have Our Children Forgotten How To Communicate Without Texting?
Because so many children have smartphones these days they are lacking the communication and social skills that they should have at this developmental level because they depend so much on texting and social media apps that don’t support traditional back-and-forth conversations. Thus, children are lacking “real” dialogue with one another, which hurts their ability to problem solve a difficult situation if one arises.
You Have A Chapter In Your Book On This – Tell Us More!
Yes I do have a chapter in my new book, Parenting Through Play called “Put Your Media Away and Play” where I go into more depth about media and screen time and how they affect our children. My book is officially on pre-order now (linked above) and it will be released and on bookshelves on May 5, 2026. BUT you can order a copy today wherever books are sold – Amazon, Barnes and Noble – I have a variety of vendors to purchase from on my website, theparentologist.com/book!
FOX 5 Full Segment
To watch the full studio segment, please watch here!
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