Don't buy your kids a phone. Buy them a watch.
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TODAY'S STARTING POINT
I knew they were arguing about something when they got off the bus, and my older son, who was finishing his second year of high school, came through the door first complaining about how his little brother and his sixth-grade buddies never shut up on the bus.
That's when my 12-year-old burst in the door, about to get an 'Amen!' from me.
'It's because we're the only ones who don't have phones!'
The Massachusetts Senate wants to make that
everyone
. The lawmakers recently
When my younger son finished elementary school, for a graduation gift we surprised him with a watch, an Apple SE, the cheapest of the Apple watches, because it checked every box you'd want and none you wouldn't. For kids. And probably for adults.
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His crew of buddies received the same exact gift, and what's very weird, and perhaps not surprising, is that the parents hadn't coordinated. It just makes that much sense for a first mobile device. The market for smart watches is already at
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The cellular model of the watch doesn't have to be paired with a phone, and has its own number along with its own plan, which is just $10 a month. (Other brands include
Which is the amount of time the average American spends on their phone each day,
My 12-year-old remains at zero, and I wish I could join him. For the second straight summer I've watched him get up every day, curl up on the couch, and then speak into his wrist like Buck Rogers. Does anyone want to go fishing? Or play soccer at the school? Let's do something.
After breakfast, he disappears on his bike, and will check in with odd questions and requests, coming in and out of the house with other kids with watches. At some point his older brother will emerge to flop onto the couch and disappear into his phone.
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He got his phone for Christmas in eighth grade, which is on the late side. But it didn't take but a moment for him to start using it way too much, just like everyone else.
The Massachusetts bill would ban phones from 'bell to bell,' and the hope is that it will lead to improvements in mental health and the social lives of the students, and limit the endless distraction of the world's most influential device begging to be played with. The bill has support from Governor Healey and the state's two largest teachers unions, but it is unclear when the House will take up the matter. Some opponents have listed safety concerns in case of emergency, and say that a ban would deprive schools of the chance to teach students how to become responsible about screen time.
That seems like wishful thinking. But this is not: If the House passes the bill, which cruised through the Senate 38-2, it will go into effect for the 2026-2027 school year, and my younger son will graduate from high school without spending a single day in school with a phone to distract him. And his brother will sound like we do when we look back on the days before helmets and seatbelts. He'll talk about being the last generation to spend all day screwing around on his phone, before we realized how antisocial — and harmful — that could be.
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5 Down:
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POINTS OF INTEREST
Garrett Crochet (left), Trevor Story (center), and Greg Weissert model some of Paul Procopio's creations.
Tim Healey/Globe Staff
Cannabis Control Commission:
A state audit of the agency that regulates Massachusetts' marijuana industry found
Market Basket:
A judge granted the grocery chain's request for a restraining order against two fired executives who are allies of its suspended CEO,
Language arts:
Boston Public Schools are
Tough start:
Braintree lost its first Little League World Series game in
Threatening:
Video appears to show a man
Storied shirts:
This lifelong Red Sox fan has become the source for the team's
RFK Jr.:
Trump's health secretary is hostile toward the mRNA technology underpinning Covid vaccines, chilling investment in experimental therapies
'Fear everywhere':
ICE has focused more on Worcester and Boston so far, but fears of arrest and deportation
Arrested:
The man who
Artificial intelligence:
Meta let its AI chatbots have 'romantic or sensual' conversations with kids. Lawmakers pledged to investigate. (
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VIEWPOINTS
Call it antisocial media:
Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were meant to foster connection. Instead,
A D.C. debate:
The capital city's
BESIDE THE POINT
By Teresa Hanafin
🏟️
Jarren Duran lookalikes:
If you think you resemble the Red Sox outfielder, show up on the Big Concourse at Fenway (Gate C) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday (you must have a ticket to that game).
🐶
Take one, leave one:
At Little Fresh Pond Dog Beach in Cambridge, your canine companion can participate in
🏖️ Same vibe:
Obsessed with the Prime Video series 'The Summer I Turned Pretty'? Here are
💿
Quiet summer:
No up-tempo, catchy, season-defining hit has emerged as the 2025 song of summer.
📺
Weekend streams:
'Butterfly' on Prime Video, 'Night Always Comes' on Netflix, 'The Legend of Ochi' on HBO Max, and
💘
Blind date:
They both enjoy board games, among other things. Will one of them
🔑
Tourist tales:
Keys dropped in toilets, shockingly unprepared travelers, missing kids. Here are some wild stories from
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