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kmbc.com: https://www.kmbc.com/article/tin-can-phones-children-communication-human-connection/71379718

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H001091
Source
GDELT news · original
Published
Friday, May 22, 2026

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Tin Can phones help kids build relationships old-fashioned way Skip to content NOWCAST KMBC 9 News at 10PM Watch on Demand Menu Search News Policies News Local News National News KMBC Cares for Kids KMBC 9 Investigates Consumer News Get the Facts Entertainment CommUNITY News We Love Upload Weather Map Room Alerts Radar Forecasting Our Future Traffic Sports Chiefs High School Sports Royals World Cup KC Politics Heart of the Matter Advertise with KMBC Advertise with KCWE About Us News Team Very Local Titan TV Guide MeTV Editorials Contests KCWE Privacy Notice Terms of Use SUBSCRIBE TO EMAIL Weather Search Press enter to search Type to Search Search location by ZIP code ZIP Advertisement Families turn to Tin Can phones to help kids connect the old-fashioned way Families turn to Tin Can phones

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Tin Can phones help kids build relationships old-fashioned way Skip to content NOWCAST KMBC 9 News at 10PM Watch on Demand Menu Search News Policies News Local News National News KMBC Cares for Kids KMBC 9 Investigates Consumer News Get the Facts Entertainment CommUNITY News We Love Upload Weather Map Room Alerts Radar Forecasting Our Future Traffic Sports Chiefs High School Sports Royals World Cup KC Politics Heart of the Matter Advertise with KMBC Advertise with KCWE About Us News Team Very Local Titan TV Guide MeTV Editorials Contests KCWE Privacy Notice Terms of Use SUBSCRIBE TO EMAIL Weather Search Press enter to search Type to Search Search location by ZIP code ZIP Advertisement Families turn to Tin Can phones to help kids connect the old-fashioned way Families turn to Tin Can phones to help kids connect the old-fashioned way HELPING KIDS CONNECT THE OLD FASHIONED WAY. IN WESTERN HOWARD COUNTY, BETWEEN WINDING ROADS, HORSE FARMS AND CORNFIELDS. THERE’S A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE CHILDHOOD STILL MOVES A LITTLE SLOWER. KIDS STILL RIDE BIKES HERE, RACE HOME BEFORE DARK, AND SOMETIMES THEY CALL JUST TO TALK. HOW DO I SEE? THE CONVERSATIONS ARE SIMPLE. I JUST HAD SOME PIZZA. AWKWARD SOMETIMES. WHAT IS THE BEST THING? VERY SECOND GRADE. AND SOMETIMES WE RIDE BIKES AND THEN IT TURNS INTO A PLAY DATE. THEN WE GO TO EACH OTHER’S HOUSES AND ONE TIME WE HAD ICE CREAM. BUT FOR THE PARENTS HERE, YOU THINK LIKE ASHLEY ALBURY, THESE LITTLE PHONE CALLS REPRESENT SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER FOR HER DAUGHTER EVIE. IT’S BEEN A GREAT TOOL TO GIVE THE KIDS SOME INDEPENDENCE. SO INSTEAD OF SMARTPHONES, FAMILIES THROUGHOUT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD ARE TURNING TO A MODERN VERSION OF A LANDLINE, A WAY TO KEEP THEIR KIDS CONNECTED THE OLD SCHOOL WAY. I WANT HER TO HAVE A CHILDHOOD LIKE I HAD. THEY’RE CALLED TIN CAN PHONES. THEY CONNECT OVER WI-FI, BUT WORK LIKE TRADITIONAL HOME PHONES. ONLY PEOPLE WITH A NUMBER CAN CALL SAM AND LINCOLN A CLOSED LOOP THAT PARENTS SAY FEELS A LITTLE SAFER. ANYTIME I WANT, I CAN JUST COME DOWN FROM MY BEDROOM AND JUST CALL HER AND CHIT CHAT. AND IT’S CATCHING ON. SEVERAL FAMILIES HERE ARE NOW PUSHING BACK AGAINST A CHILDHOOD INCREASINGLY HAPPENING ON SCREENS, WORRIED ABOUT THE IMPACT ON DEVELOPING BRAINS FACE TO FACE INTERACTION WITH HER FRIENDS AND WITH OTHER PEOPLE. THAT’S PARAMOUNT. AND FOR DAD OF TWO IAN UBER, IS IT MY TURN? THAT’S PART OF THE APPEAL. IT TAKES IT OFF OF OUR SHOULDERS, PARENTS, BECAUSE THERE WAS A TIME PERIOD THAT THE KIDS WERE USING THE PARENTS PHONES IN A WORLD BUILT AROUND TEXT AND TOUCH SCREENS, IAN SAYS THESE PHONE CALLS ARE TEACHING HIS DAUGHTER, GRACIE, ENTIRELY NEW SKILLS. AS PARENTS, WE DON’T REALLY MODEL PHONE CONVERSATIONS LIKE OUR PARENTS DID BECAUSE OUR GENERATION IS ALL TEXTING. WHEN SHE FIRST PICKED UP THE PHONE, SHE DIDN’T. SHE DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO HOLD IT. SHE DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. AND FOR MANY PARENTS, THAT TYPE OF MOMENT SPEAKS TO A MUCH BIGGER SHIFT. EXPERTS SAY KIDS ARE SPENDING MORE TIME THAN EVER ON SCREENS,

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