So thankful for Jonathon Haidt! I hope his message and others like it continue to catch on with parents. My husband and I are planning to host a round-table discussion for our homeschool community to address the topic of teens and phones. I hear so many parents struggling to decide what to do, fearing alienating their kids but . Hopefully it will be a good discussion!
Thanks, I'll have a read! Yes, I'm grateful for him, too. ...My gut feeling is that I get not wanting to alienate kids, too, but I'm wondering why we don't just switch kids to dumbphones? They can still text and call each other.
I'm with you... there is an easy middle ground! The dumb phone I got can handle group texts, so once I found that, I knew my last excuse to hang onto my smartphone was gone, haha. I think it's the perfect solution for teens. Also, parents are going to need to have the courage to make the healthiest choice for their kids for a dumb phone trend to catch on, and I think it's really important to have a very honest dialogue with kids and teens about this stuff.
I got the Orchid model from Sunbeam Wireless. https://sunbeamwireless.com/ It's a really awesome company. This model has navigation (though I have been just looking up directions before I go places, it's been nice to have as backup since I have little ones), weather, group texting, and the screen is touchscreen, which I don't use much but is handy sometimes. No browser or downloadable apps though! Just the standard notes, calendar, etc. I do miss having podcasts at the ready, but I have just been occasionally downloading one onto my old smartphone and bringing it if I know I'll be on a longer drive. It has made me more intentional about which one I want to listen to, since my time is so limited right now. Anyway, worth checking out!
This week’s poll made me pause and imagine each sound and almost all of them brought up happy memories. So thanks for that.
In the end I selected birdsong because it’s so beautiful (except for those poor crows) and in hard seasons of life, it has reminded me to look to Jesus.
Lawn mowers were a close second though because I associate that sound with sunshine, the freedom of summer vacation as a child, the smell of freshly cut grass and my wonderful Dad who I miss dearly.
I would love to live in a friendly suburb with a coffee shop that's walkable! Also, thanks for sharing that movie list, would love to see yours!!
Come move here and be my neighbor! 😉 ...Also, I *should* come up with a movie list. Hmm...
So thankful for Jonathon Haidt! I hope his message and others like it continue to catch on with parents. My husband and I are planning to host a round-table discussion for our homeschool community to address the topic of teens and phones. I hear so many parents struggling to decide what to do, fearing alienating their kids but . Hopefully it will be a good discussion!
By the way, I published a post on switching to a dumb phone, if anyone is into that kind of thing around here ;) https://open.substack.com/pub/comehavebreakfast/p/goodbye-smart-phone?r=1vnjw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thanks, I'll have a read! Yes, I'm grateful for him, too. ...My gut feeling is that I get not wanting to alienate kids, too, but I'm wondering why we don't just switch kids to dumbphones? They can still text and call each other.
I'm with you... there is an easy middle ground! The dumb phone I got can handle group texts, so once I found that, I knew my last excuse to hang onto my smartphone was gone, haha. I think it's the perfect solution for teens. Also, parents are going to need to have the courage to make the healthiest choice for their kids for a dumb phone trend to catch on, and I think it's really important to have a very honest dialogue with kids and teens about this stuff.
100% agreed! I'm curious which phone you went with? I'm on the waiting list for the latest Wisephone...
I got the Orchid model from Sunbeam Wireless. https://sunbeamwireless.com/ It's a really awesome company. This model has navigation (though I have been just looking up directions before I go places, it's been nice to have as backup since I have little ones), weather, group texting, and the screen is touchscreen, which I don't use much but is handy sometimes. No browser or downloadable apps though! Just the standard notes, calendar, etc. I do miss having podcasts at the ready, but I have just been occasionally downloading one onto my old smartphone and bringing it if I know I'll be on a longer drive. It has made me more intentional about which one I want to listen to, since my time is so limited right now. Anyway, worth checking out!
Ah don't tempt me!! :)
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/were-mad-to-give-our-children-smartphones-dzm8sg7gz This op-ed was published this week here in the UK on kids and phones. It's rather forthright, and I appreciate that she questions how attached we as adults are to our phones—reminded me of your recent podcast on dumbphones.
This week’s poll made me pause and imagine each sound and almost all of them brought up happy memories. So thanks for that.
In the end I selected birdsong because it’s so beautiful (except for those poor crows) and in hard seasons of life, it has reminded me to look to Jesus.
Lawn mowers were a close second though because I associate that sound with sunshine, the freedom of summer vacation as a child, the smell of freshly cut grass and my wonderful Dad who I miss dearly.
Thanks for the happy memories!