Kids are using old-school technology. It’s making their parents happy
Kids are using old-school technology. It’s making their parents happy
Publish Date: 2026-02-23 09:08:00
Source Domain: abc17news.com
CNN
By Kara Alaimo, CNN
(CNN) — Something unusual and exciting has been happening in Alison Lundberg’s household lately: Her landline has been ringing.
There’s “an actual thrill that runs through our household when the phone rings,” said Lundberg, a San Diego-based communications executive.
Part of the reason is that her family has no idea who’s calling since they don’t have caller ID.
It had been decades since Lundberg had a landline. She got one recently to protect her 4-year-old daughter, Ava, she said.
Last summer, Ava’s preschool camp did a lesson on safety, teaching her to call 911 in an emergency.
At home, Lundberg reiterated for her daughter that she should call 911 if someone’s sick, there’s a fire or there’s another kind of an emergency.
“All of a sudden, I had this realization,” said Lundberg, whose family members only had mobile phones. “How would my 4-year-old actually do that?”
So, Lundberg got the landline about five months ago. Now when she travels for work, she doesn’t have to worry about what her daughter will do if something happens to her husband.
But it’s not the only reason Lundberg is happy about the situation. She is among many parents who say bringing back landlines is benefiting their kids, making the adults nostalgic and bringing them all joy.
Staving off social media and improving communication
These days, Ava mostly talks on the phone to her grandparents, who all live out of state. Doing so allows her to manage her relationship with them, so her parents don’t have to schedule calls. Lundberg will still listen in from the stairs sometimes, “because it’s pretty hilarious.”
Fostering these kinds of connections means “there’s some joy” in having a landline, Lundberg said.
It doesn’t work as well when your kids get older if their peers don’t have landlines, which is why Lundberg has convinced some mom friends to join what she calls her…
