This post was last updated on May 3rd, 2026 at 01:07 pm
If you want to delay giving your child a cell phone, make sure to install a landline. Over the years, it’s been a key part of our strategy to ensure our kids don’t have cell phones until high school (and then a dumbphone). But it’s not just for the kids. It also has helped me to set aside my cell phone at home and spend more time calling people rather than texting them. The landline acts as a firewall by helping reduce the amount of time our household spends on screens.
Landlines are making a comeback, in large part, because of parents who want to keep their kids off smartphones. As part of a strategy to keep your child off a smartphone, I recommend installing a landline as soon as possible. Try not to install one in reaction to a child asking for a smartphone.
Rather, have your kids grow up with a landline so they become totally accustomed to it. And make sure you use the landline, too. Send a message that the landline is legitimately useful for everyone, not just kids. Done the right way, your kids will naturally turn to the landline to make calls.
One of the best things about a landline is you can leave the house without worrying about whether your child can contact you. To a great extent, our kids use our landline like I did growing up, mainly to stay in touch with the family. In my opinion, one reason parents prematurely give their kids cell phones is that they worry about their child being unable to reach them. This is an understandable concern (though one a bit overblown, in my opinion), and one that a landline addresses.
How good intentions backfire with smartphones
Of course, a landline works only at home. So, relying on a landline means trusting that your child will be fine when they’re out and about without a cell phone. The media have pushed the “stranger danger” mantra to extremes, and many parents won’t let their kids walk in their own neighborhood. Some parents even put “trackers” on their kids’ devices. Every white van is suspect, in their minds.
But in fact, a reason many kids struggle with mental health issues is because of the negativity they’re encountering online, such as body shaming, bullying, etc. It’s little wonder so many kids today struggle with mental health. Their parents’ ideas about risk have become distorted. They overestimate offline dangers while downplaying online dangers.
The sad truth is, many kids stumble onto inappropriate content online because of their parents’ good intentions. Many parents give their child a cell phone thinking that this phone will keep them “safe.” But the result is to thrust the child down an internet rabbit hole, resulting in hours spent scrolling through social media, visiting negative sites, and playing video games.
The smartphone functions not primarily as a phone but as a gateway to the internet, which many parents either downplay or outright fail to consider. But with a landline, there’s no danger of them falling into an online rabbit hole. A landline makes it possible for a child to spend too much time talking to a friend, but that’s the kind of problem we as parents should want. We can relate to that problem because maybe some of us had it growing up as teenagers.
How a landline empowers kids
The landline represents a nice compromise. It empowers kids because it gives them a device to make calls. With a landline, a child doesn’t have to depend on a parent’s cell phone to contact someone. At the same time, the landline helps protect kids from predators lurking in the online world.
Of course, parents being parents, some of them are bound to worry, even with a landline. There are specialty phones and landline services, such as the Tin Can, that give parents total control over who their child can call and when. Parents are able to control these “landlines” through an app. They often cost more than a landline that you can buy through internet providers, such as AT&T, Verizon, or Spectrum. I think the Tin Can and others like it are overkill. You don’t need an app to run your landline. You can program a regular landline phone to recognize certain numbers and block or ignore others.
I’ve never been too concerned about a stranger calling our kids via the landline. Caller ID helps you and your kids sort through the noise. And there’s not that much noise. Yes, you receive some spam calls, which Caller ID often flags, but that’s always been part of the landline experience. Even growing up, I remember answering our phone and the person on the other end would be soliciting something. You can just hang up.
Remember, adults benefit from a landline, too
It’s important to mention that children aren’t the only ones who benefit from a landline. Adults do, too. I find the landline makes it easier to transition away from my cell phone (mine is a dumbphone, in case you haven’t heard). I put my cell phone in its charger when I come home and often just leave it there. If I have to make a call, I use the landline.
The landline helps put the focus on talking to other people rather than texting them. And there’s been studies that show people are speaking less to each other. The amount of words that we speak in a day fell by nearly 28% between 2005 and 2019, according to a recent study. That’s pretty incredible, and I imagine that percentage has only increased since 2019, with the arrival of the COVID pandemic and AI models. So, a landline can play a role in pushing us toward talking with each other and nurturing relationships, and that’s a good thing, most of the time.
Landlines aren’t obsolete. They’re firewalls
Many people think landlines have become obsolete, and they ask: Why would I pay for something that I don’t need? That’s only true if you can’t envision the landline’s benefits. And, if you’re using it to delay buying cell phones for your kids, a landline is likely saving you money. More importantly, it’s providing you some peace of mind, knowing that you don’t have to police how your kids are using their phones.
Landlines have some downsides (today’s landlines use the internet, which means they won’t work if your internet goes out), but very little compared to a cell phone. I mean, you can’t even take a photo with a landline phone. Instead of being obsolete, the landline functions as a firewall. Its value comes largely from what it’s keeping out of your house. From that perspective, the landline is a bargain.