Norm & Kristina Nelson (Editor's note: usually I write a mess of words and then ask Norm to clean it up and edit it for publication. This topic is important enough to both of us that we wrote it together.) On social media lately, I've had at least five friends ask for phone advice. Their kids are about the same age as mine, usually with the oldest entering middle school. They're debating if it's time to get a smartphone."What do you do when you give your kid a phone?" or "What rules do you have in place?" or "What works for your family?" These are great questions. Here are a handful of things we've discovered through trial and error during recent years, and from asking our friends the same questions. First let's talk about kids who don't have phones: This is Amber "playing" on her pretend phone, which is actually an old Palm Pilot. Remember those? Also notice her stash of paper, tape, markers, etc. She...
These notes are for my younger sisters, neighbors and friends. Thanks for visiting!