I’ll cut right to the chase–phones are a huge conundrum of modern parenting.
We tried so many things–not getting our kids’ smartphones until they started driving, getting “pay as you go” flip phones that wouldn’t connect to the internet, waiting until they could pay their own phone bill (so they would be responsible for their possessions)…
Long story short, we have done the entire gambit.
Then, we got down to our final high schooler and she needed a phone.
Caroline is the youngest we have ever considered getting a phone for, but she recently was accepted as a cellist for a youth orchestra and started rowing–both of which tend to run practices long or short or suddenly change meeting places (ever been to a rowing melee…I mean, “regatta”?) and these organizations TEXT to notify of these changes, so it was time that we figured out how to provide her reliable communication with US and with her coaches, etc..
What to do…what to do….
Then we found the Gabb phone.
We were shocked that we had never heard of it before one of our older daughters sent a link (very helpful when they become parents themselves and can help send tips).
Very quickly we realized that this was the answer to all our phone concerns when it comes to preteens (and even teens)!
Here’s the deal: the Gabb Phone keeps kids connected through text and call. BUT, it does not have access to the Internet, social media or games.
For a family that is concerned with giving children unlimited access to the internet via a phone, this became the perfect solution. Caroline had a phone and we didn’t have to worry about unlimited access to the internet or social media.
After our success, we reached out to Gabb Wireless and asked if we could share this phone with our Holy Heroes families!
And they gave us a personalized discount code!
Using code HOLYHEROES at checkout, you will get $25 off the Gabb phone (or the Gabb Watch if you are more tech-savvy than our family)! You can find the entire line of Gabb products here.
We cannot say enough about the great experience we have had with the Gabb phone.
Our only regret?
That we didn’t find this phone until our LAST kid!
Pro-tip: a Gabb phone makes a fantastic Christmas gift, but get it now before they run out again like last Christmas.
A final note–don’t forget another very important resource to use with your children BEFORE you give them access to technology–the Good Pictures, Bad Pictures books. You can read an entire blog post about why these books are so important HERE.
Ken Davison created Glory Stories, which became a weekly radio series heard globally on the Ave Maria Satellite Radio Network and EWTN’s radio network, WEWN. In 2007, he and his wife, Kerri, founded Holy Heroes–and their children stepped in to help shortly thereafter to create the online “Adventures” for Advent, Lent, Spiritual Adoption, and Marian Consecration.
