kcci.com: https://www.kcci.com/article/tin-can-phones-children-communication-human-connection/71379718

Speaker: —
Subject: H001091
Source: GDELT news · original
Published: Friday, May 22, 2026

Tin Can phones help kids build relationships old-fashioned way Skip to content NOWCAST KCCI News on METV at 9pm Weeknights Live Now Menu Search News Policies News Local News National News Consumer News Iowa State Fair This Is Iowa KCCI archives Get the Facts News We Love Entertainment Project Community Health Upload Weather Radar Map Room 8 Day Forecast Alerts Forecasting Our Future Skycams Traffic Politics Close Up Iowa Caucuses Sports High School Sports Contests Gr8 Pros About Contact Very Local Titan TV Guide News Team Internships Editorials Toys for Tots Advertise with KCCI Privacy Notice Terms of Use SUBSCRIBE TO EMAIL Weather Search Press enter to search Type to Search Search location by ZIP code ZIP Advertisement Families turn to Tin Can phones to help kids connect the old-fashioned

Full text

3,000 chars

Tin Can phones help kids build relationships old-fashioned way Skip to content NOWCAST KCCI News on METV at 9pm Weeknights Live Now Menu Search News Policies News Local News National News Consumer News Iowa State Fair This Is Iowa KCCI archives Get the Facts News We Love Entertainment Project Community Health Upload Weather Radar Map Room 8 Day Forecast Alerts Forecasting Our Future Skycams Traffic Politics Close Up Iowa Caucuses Sports High School Sports Contests Gr8 Pros About Contact Very Local Titan TV Guide News Team Internships Editorials Toys for Tots Advertise with KCCI Privacy Notice Terms of Use SUBSCRIBE TO EMAIL Weather Search Press enter to search Type to Search Search location by ZIP code ZIP Advertisement Families turn to Tin Can phones to help kids connect the old-fashioned way Families turn to Tin Can phones to help kids connect the old-fashioned way HELPING KIDS CONNECT THE OLD FASHIONED WAY. IN WESTERN HOWARD COUNTY, BETWEEN WINDING ROADS, HORSE FARMS AND CORNFIELDS. THERE’S A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE CHILDHOOD STILL MOVES A LITTLE SLOWER. KIDS STILL RIDE BIKES HERE, RACE HOME BEFORE DARK, AND SOMETIMES THEY CALL JUST TO TALK. HOW DO I SEE? THE CONVERSATIONS ARE SIMPLE. I JUST HAD SOME PIZZA. AWKWARD SOMETIMES. WHAT IS THE BEST THING? VERY SECOND GRADE. AND SOMETIMES WE RIDE BIKES AND THEN IT TURNS INTO A PLAY DATE. THEN WE GO TO EACH OTHER’S HOUSES AND ONE TIME WE HAD ICE CREAM. BUT FOR THE PARENTS HERE, YOU THINK LIKE ASHLEY ALBURY, THESE LITTLE PHONE CALLS REPRESENT SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER FOR HER DAUGHTER EVIE. IT’S BEEN A GREAT TOOL TO GIVE THE KIDS SOME INDEPENDENCE. SO INSTEAD OF SMARTPHONES, FAMILIES THROUGHOUT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD ARE TURNING TO A MODERN VERSION OF A LANDLINE, A WAY TO KEEP THEIR KIDS CONNECTED THE OLD SCHOOL WAY. I WANT HER TO HAVE A CHILDHOOD LIKE I HAD. THEY’RE CALLED TIN CAN PHONES. THEY CONNECT OVER WI-FI, BUT WORK LIKE TRADITIONAL HOME PHONES. ONLY PEOPLE WITH A NUMBER CAN CALL SAM AND LINCOLN A CLOSED LOOP THAT PARENTS SAY FEELS A LITTLE SAFER. ANYTIME I WANT, I CAN JUST COME DOWN FROM MY BEDROOM AND JUST CALL HER AND CHIT CHAT. AND IT’S CATCHING ON. SEVERAL FAMILIES HERE ARE NOW PUSHING BACK AGAINST A CHILDHOOD INCREASINGLY HAPPENING ON SCREENS, WORRIED ABOUT THE IMPACT ON DEVELOPING BRAINS FACE TO FACE INTERACTION WITH HER FRIENDS AND WITH OTHER PEOPLE. THAT’S PARAMOUNT. AND FOR DAD OF TWO IAN UBER, IS IT MY TURN? THAT’S PART OF THE APPEAL. IT TAKES IT OFF OF OUR SHOULDERS, PARENTS, BECAUSE THERE WAS A TIME PERIOD THAT THE KIDS WERE USING THE PARENTS PHONES IN A WORLD BUILT AROUND TEXT AND TOUCH SCREENS, IAN SAYS THESE PHONE CALLS ARE TEACHING HIS DAUGHTER, GRACIE, ENTIRELY NEW SKILLS. AS PARENTS, WE DON’T REALLY MODEL PHONE CONVERSATIONS LIKE OUR PARENTS DID BECAUSE OUR GENERATION IS ALL TEXTING. WHEN SHE FIRST PICKED UP THE PHONE, SHE DIDN’T. SHE DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO HOLD IT. SHE DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. AND FOR MANY PARENTS, THAT TYPE OF MOMENT SPEAKS TO A MUCH BIGGER SHIFT. EXPERTS SAY KIDS ARE SPEN

More on this subject (8)

Mentioned in /ask threads

pac.dog is a free, independent, non-partisan research tool. Every candidate, committee, bill, vote, member, and nonprofit on this site is mirrored from primary U.S. government sources (FEC, congress.gov, govinfo.gov, IRS) and each state's Secretary of State / election commission — no third-party data vendors, no paywall, no editorial intermediation. Citations to the originating source are on every detail page.