As an adult, I have never had a landline in my home. I now have several pre-teen kids and none have their own cellphone. When the older ones are home alone, I leave out an old iPhone that is connected to the home wifi network; that's enough for them to call family (through Facetime) or 911. But this isn't ideal because the phone is not always charged or the younger kids hide it. Is a landline the only real solution?
Ask HN: What do you use as a home phone, if you have kids without phones?
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Re: Ask HN: What do you use as a home phone, if you have kids without phones?
#2Land line is the safest bet.
In the US at least, there's also a guarantee that there will always be a dialtone on a paid line even if you have a power outage in your home (assuming of course that you have an actual traditional un-powered phone plugged into the line).
Re: Ask HN: What do you use as a home phone, if you have kids without phones?
#3[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What do you use as a home phone, if you have kids without phones?
#4Land line is the safest bet. In the US at least, there's also a guarantee that there will always be a dialtone on a paid line even if you have a power outage in your home (assuming of course that you have an actual traditional un-powered phone plugged into the line).
I know a couple of families who don't allow their children to have cell phones, and they have a landline at home.
> there's also a guarantee that there will always be a dialtone on a paid line
It's certainly not a guarantee, but yes, the power for landline phones is generated by the phone company. It's much more rare for a landline system to lose power than for your actual power to go out.
Re: Ask HN: What do you use as a home phone, if you have kids without phones?
#5Xiaomi 4G Kids standalone smartwatch with SOS call, SIM card and GPS Tracker. $12 each, 3 pieces. Aliexpress.
Re: Ask HN: What do you use as a home phone, if you have kids without phones?
#6Land line is the safest bet. In the US at least, there's also a guarantee that there will always be a dialtone on a paid line even if you have a power outage in your home (assuming of course that you have an actual traditional un-powered phone plugged into the line).
I know a couple of families who don't allow their children to have cell phones, and they have a landline at home. > there's also a guarantee that there will always be a dialtone on a paid line It's certainly not a guarantee, but yes, the power for landline phones is generated by the phone company. It's much more rare for a landline system to lose power than for your actual power to go out.
Thank you for the clarification!
Re: Ask HN: What do you use as a home phone, if you have kids without phones?
#7What about a SIP phone? You can get a number cheaply from a cloud operator, and it can call over the internet for free.