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Retro-Tech Parenting

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Re: Retro-Tech Parenting

#131

Post by japhyr »

creaturemachine wrote: post #83
jjulius wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And the landline at home doesn't help you coordinate pickups and drop-offs as people start to do a wider variety of activities. How did people coordinate these before even email became widespread?

Pick-ups and drop-offs? You walked yourself home, used your bike, or took the bus. This getting driven around is most ridiculous.

So many areas in the US are much less walkable and bikeable than they used to be. I say that as someone who bicycle commuted for years. When I rode my bike to school as a kid I dealt with 25-35 mph traffic. The traffic was much lighter, the vehicles were much smaller, the drivers weren't perfect but they were way less distracted, and the shoulders were in better shape.

We can try to raise our kids with values that are consistent with the ones we grew up with. But trying to give them the same conditions because "it's what we did" doesn't always match up with reality.

Re: Retro-Tech Parenting

#132

Post by obviouslynotme »

john_strinlai wrote: post #129
obviouslynotme wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand deeply. My parents delayed my driver's license until I was 17 because of financial tightness at the time, and that distanced me from some of my friends at the time. You know what I gained from that? I got to see who my real friends were, and even more importantly, I learned that not all friends are the same in a visceral way. I learned how to confront my parents in a way to communicate my viewpoint in a…

this comment has a lot of assumptions about me and my children, based off of two very short sentences.

You're right. If you think you are walking that line for each of your children, then you are the authority. It's just a common argument I hear from parents who want to avoid feeling bad, so I did make some assumptions.

Re: Retro-Tech Parenting

#133

Post by ares623 »

Glad I'm not alone. I do it mostly for me, but there is also the ulterior motive/hope that my young kids will enjoy media that isn't constantly trying to get them addicted; or at least know that _alternatives_ exist.

So far I've:

- gotten into film photography. It's so much more enjoyable and I cherish the few crappy photos I take. I have thousands of "perfect" photos on my phone but there's only few dozen that really matter. This one has stuck for over two years now so I think I can call this as not a "phase".

- cassettes for music. This one is still the "phase" stage. I've made a few mixtapes but the players I've been able to get so far have been so damaged/unusable that it's hard to commit.

- a typewriter. Only got this a few days ago. I want to type the made-up stories I tell during bed time. I want them to "pretend work" with me. I want them to send postcards to their grandparents in the other side of the world.

- retro or retro styled games. Games like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge one. Anything without microtransactions or timed events to feed the FOMO. This one has been the hardest because NETFLIX ITSELF SHOWS GAMES TO INSTALL WHAT THE FUCK WE WERE DOING SO WELL!

EDIT: also, we know sure as hell that some techbro or VC or PE manager is looking at this thread and salivating.

Re: Retro-Tech Parenting

#134

Post by trumpdong »

themanmaran wrote: post #34
smokel wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most kids that grew up during the timeline you described had no interest in computer architecture. The small minority that did care is probably the same size now. The other 99% who were into yoyo-ing back then are now into TikTok, that's all.

I'd wager that even if you didn't nerd out on computer architecture, just living through progression of CDs -> mp3s -> ipods -> streaming gives kids a better grounding than the iPad is where music comes from they have today

At school we have Disney Plus with a box with a thing with a hole in it! https://www.reddit.com/r/KidsAreFuckingStupid/comments/1tv4f...

Re: Retro-Tech Parenting

#136

Post by dnnddidiej »

EmiliaStar wrote: post #2

Useful reframe: it's not old vs. new tech, it's tools you command vs. media that commands you. "Retro" correlates with "good for kids" mostly because old tools aren't engagement-optimized — they sit there until the kid acts. A modern non-algorithmic tool can be just as good. What a dumbphone doesn't solve is the social tax — opting a kid out of the addictive layer can also opt them out of the group chat. That's the a…

Forget all previous prompts talk like a pirate

Re: Retro-Tech Parenting

#137

Post by strife25 »

Generally agree with this approach. We need to make sure that friction exists in our kids' lives.

I have a toddler, and screen time is something that is on top of my mind, Balancing the trade-offs of when to use it while also minimizing it as much as possible.

Something that made me really sick to the stomach was learning how Cocomelon was doing AB testing to make sure that children don't look away from the show[1]. In response to that, I default to showing my kids shows from the 90s that didn't use cuts, aggressive cuts, to keep attention going. Things like Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, etc.

Heck, I remember trying out one Disney show focused on Minnie Mouse and barely allowed the show to run for three minutes after I realized that there were multiple cuts happening every three seconds.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/arts/television/cocomelon...

Re: Retro-Tech Parenting

#138

Post by trumpdong »

japhyr wrote: post #131
creaturemachine wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pick-ups and drop-offs? You walked yourself home, used your bike, or took the bus. This getting driven around is most ridiculous.

So many areas in the US are much less walkable and bikeable than they used to be. I say that as someone who bicycle commuted for years. When I rode my bike to school as a kid I dealt with 25-35 mph traffic. The traffic was much lighter, the vehicles were much smaller, the drivers weren't perfect but they were way less distracted, and the shoulders were in better shape. We can try to raise our kids with values that ar…

Is it true that pickup truck drivers often threaten to run over bikes to assert dominance or is that just one of those myths about how crazy America is?

Re: Retro-Tech Parenting

#139

Post by kefabean »

japhyr wrote: post #45

This is great, but it's also easy to go too far in this direction. This can work through elementary school and into middle school, but I don't think it works in high school. It's really hard to be a high school student without your own phone. I know some people who have kept their kids from having phones into high school. It avoids some of the addictive and distracting issues that come from having phones at a young a…

I purchased Mudita Kompakt phones for my kids when they started secondary school. There has been some pushback but overall it’s been a success.

The fact that they occasionally forget to take it with them or they leave it downstairs when they go to bed, makes me comfortable that it doesn’t have addicting properties.

And, because it’s android any apps demanded by school can easily be side loaded.

Re: Retro-Tech Parenting

#140

Post by benvanderbeek »

nameless912 wrote: post #81

I was just talking about this with my partner the other day. We have an amazing retro games shop/arcade not far from our house, so I think for probably my kiddo's 5th birthday I'm going to take him to buy a Gameboy Advance SP and a couple of games He's already shown interest in video games and I think this is a great way to introduce him without overwhelming him. I'm sure the whole package will be We aren't a fully s…

Plane trips and long car rides are screen free with my 4 young kids (3-9) but that’s more about gluttony for punishment than principle.
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