10 Low-Tech Swaps That Are Healthier for Kids

Key takeaways:

• High-tech, always-connected devices often create more overstimulation, family conflict and mental health strain for kids than parents expect.
• Children usually don’t need the most advanced version of a device; simpler, offline tools often support independence, focus and skill-building better.
• Physical, visible and shared technologies — like paper, analog and single-purpose devices — make it easier for families to set limits and reduce power struggles.
• Delaying or limiting personal internet access helps protect kids’ sleep, attention, social development and overall well-being.

We all know technology isn’t going anywhere; computers, smartphones and the internet are baked into modern life. But that doesn’t mean every new device or digital upgrade automatically makes life better for you or your kids.

For adults, a lot of today’s tech really is a win. It saves time, reduces friction and helps us juggle work and home. Who hasn’t panic-ordered diapers from their phone or paid a bill while standing on the soccer sidelines?

But the fact that high-tech tools can make adult life easier doesn’t mean they belong in kids’ hands, especially not in their most advanced, always-connected forms. That’s not just unnecessary, it often backfires: Too much screen time has been linked to a whole host of outcomes for kids, including anxiety and depression, sleep and behavior issues and overall social and mental health issues. The more sophisticated the tech, the more overstimulation, conflict and power struggles families end up managing.

There’s no need for a jackhammer when kid scissors will do. Here are 10 old-tech tools that often work better than their modern upgrades in households with kids.

Instead of streaming, watch DVDs

Think back to watching DVDs as a kid. The movie ends, the credits roll for 10 minutes, and then the screen goes black.

Streaming services are both a blessing and a curse for families. It’s amazing to have so many options without the hassle of swapping discs. The problem is that it’s infinitely harder to get a kid off the TV when one show rolls seamlessly into the next.

Back in the ’90s, kids’ TV programming was limited to a few hours at a time. I remember when Saturday morning cartoons ended, the channel switched to golf, and we just turned the TV off ourselves. We can get a little closer to that reality by using physical DVDs for movies and TV shows.

If I had to do it again, I’d at least try to avoid introducing streaming services until my kids were older. Five-year-olds don’t need to know Netflix exists, so why not see how long you can put it off?

Instead of a laptop, try a family desktop computer

It’s important for kids to learn how to use a computer and, as they get older, how to navigate the web. But for most of childhood, internet use still needs active supervision. Despite what companies promise, there are no foolproof parental controls.

If you’re going to have a computer at home, a desktop in a shared living space works best. Position the monitor so it’s easy to see from across the room, and keep access password-protected so kids can’t log on without you knowing.

Laptops and school-issued Chromebooks make supervision harder because they’re portable. Once a device can disappear into a bedroom behind a closed door, you’re relying far more on trust and far less on visibility.

I learned this the hard way. When our son brought his school-issued Chromebook into his room for homework, it quickly turned into hours of YouTube and late-night gaming. He even started sneaking it in after bedtime. We eventually put a stop to devices in bedrooms entirely, and I chose not to accept a school device for our younger child. In our house, computers stay in shared spaces, period.

Instead of a smartphone, give teens a flip phone or dumb phone

Giving a kid a smartphone is like handing them a pocket-sized internet portal when all they really need is a way to call and text.

The conveniences are real — maps, photos, group chats — but they come bundled with nonstop access to social media, video feeds and messaging platforms designed to keep kids scrolling. At the same time, youth anxiety and depression have climbed sharply, and heavy screen use is part of that picture. It’s worth asking whether constant connectivity is helping kids or quietly overwhelming them.

It’s hard when your child feels like the “only one” without a smartphone. But temporary social discomfort is manageable. The risks that come with unrestricted online access — harassment, sexual solicitation, sextortion and exposure to online gambling — are not.

Basic phones now cover what most families actually need: calling, texting, GPS, decent cameras and long battery life. My 13-year-old has one, and it handles daily logistics just fine without opening the door to the entire internet.

Switching from a smartphone to a basic phone can trigger serious pushback. Expect drama. Expect complaints. But those reactions usually fade faster than the long-term effects of growing up online almost constantly.

Instead of a parent cell phone, use a landline

A home phone still makes sense when you have young kids. They’re too little for their own cellphone, but they love the independence of answering a ringing phone, and relatives love being able to call a number everyone shares.

Handing over your smartphone for calls or video chats isn’t the only option. A basic landline lets kids connect with grandparents and friends without opening the door to apps, browsers or endless scrolling.

Sometimes the simplest tech really is the best fit. It’s time to bring back the landline!

Instead of e-readers, read physical books

E-readers can store hundreds of books in one slim device. But for young kids, more screen time comes with trade-offs. Researchers are increasingly concerned about rising rates of nearsightedness, which have climbed sharply over the past generation. One major factor is thought to be the amount of time children spend focusing on close-up screens.

And in a world overflowing with affordable, secondhand children’s books, it’s worth asking why we’d introduce eye strain and device dependency into reading so early. Paper books are simply a better fit for kids, especially for picture books, where large, colorful illustrations are part of the experience.

There’s also no “next video” or notification waiting at the end of a printed book. When a story finishes, a child can sit quietly with their thoughts or wander off to find another book. Reading stays immersive instead of becoming just another stop on the endless scroll.

Instead of a digital calendar or app, use a paper family calendar

I’ll say this up front: My husband is not a fan of this one. He’d much rather keep track of everyone’s schedules on his phone, like almost everyone else.

But I insist on a paper calendar, mainly because it lets my kids see our schedule anytime, and start learning to keep track of what everyone has going on.

It cuts down on a ton of questions about what we’re doing and how long until vacation. Want to count the days until your friend’s birthday party? You can do it yourself. We keep a big calendar hanging in the kitchen.

Instead of a smartphone clock, use an analog clock

We have regular analog clocks in almost every room of our house. Personally, I’m beyond tired of picking up my phone just to check the time. Who needs another reason to reach for it?

A surprising number of older kids and young adults don’t really know how to tell time because they grew up with only digital clocks. Reading an analog clock is a little tricky, but it exercises young minds and feels like a real accomplishment once mastered.

Make it kid-friendly and get a big one. When it’s easy to spot and read, kids are more likely to practice. It reinforces the idea that you don’t need a cellphone for every tiny thing.

Instead of giving your kids debit cards, give them cash

Yes, kids can have debit cards, and parents can transfer allowance digitally and track spending without ever handing over physical money. But I started giving my kids cash and a wallet around age 6, and at 8 and 13, I still do. It’s a little more work, admittedly. But cash makes spending feel more concrete. Kids can see it, count it and watch it dwindle when they use it. They notice the trade-offs more clearly than when a balance just updates in an app.

Cash also slows things down. Buying something requires planning ahead, bringing money along and handing it over; small steps that build awareness.

Young kids, especially, love counting bills and coins and watching their savings grow. There’s real satisfaction in paying for something themselves at a store and knowing exactly where the money came from. Of course, I still buy things online and have them pay me back from their allowance. But when we can walk into a neighborhood shop and they use their own cash, it turns money into something they understand, not just something that disappears with a tap.

Instead of streaming music, give them a CD player

I still remember how much it meant to listen to music in my room as a kid, whether it was the radio, a cassette or a CD I played hundreds of times.

A couple of years ago, we tried setting up Spotify so my son could do the same. It was surprisingly complicated: managing age-appropriate settings, dealing with account sharing and finding music he actually liked. Spotify Kids skewed too young, and using a parent account got messy fast. It never really stuck.

So I went retro and gave both kids CD players for Christmas. My daughter now plays the “K-Pop Demon Hunters” soundtrack on repeat in her room, and my son and I are exploring new rock bands together.

Kids are often happy with far less than we think. They don’t need access to millions of songs yet; there’s plenty of time for that. A CD player is fun, independent tech they can control themselves, with no internet connection and no monthly subscription to manage.

Instead of digital pings, prioritize in-person hangouts

Social media was supposed to supplement real-life relationships, but for many young people it has become a replacement. That’s just not healthy. A lot of kids now find in-person interactions anxiety-provoking because they didn’t build the habit of face-to-face socializing during adolescence. The pandemic certainly didn’t help, but it did teach us an important lesson: Mental health suffers when we don’t physically gather.

I recently read a forward-thinking idea that in the future, health professionals might recommend a certain number of minutes of in-person interaction per day for mental and emotional health, just like we now hear recommendations for daily physical activity.

We have to be intentional about real-life hangouts for our kids, so they don’t miss out on building social skills and unintentionally harm their mental health by living mostly online. Even better: Have them put their phones in another room so they can just be together, no photos, no posting, no performance.

Choose to go analog

Tech is here to stay, but it doesn’t have to enter your kids’ lives until you decide it should. Choose what’s healthiest and happiest for your specific kids and your family, and don’t let corporations make that decision for you, or worse, convince you that you don’t have a choice at all.