We are three friends (two parents and a very active Uncle) who all share a passion for keeping kids happy, healthy and… well, human in this increasingly digital and artificially intelligent world.

We also believe parents and care givers deserve more options and support as they navigate devices, the internet and their children. We are at the very early stages of starting our company but below is a quick personal story from one of us on why this phone.

A few months ago, my six-year-old asked me for a phone.

It really spooked me, the allure of that device is so strong, even at six. When I asked why, he said, “So I can call my friends, like you do.”

That made me stop. He didn’t want games or social media, they weren’t the driving force in that moment, he wanted connection. The same kind of belonging we all crave. But when I looked around, there wasn’t a single tool made for kids that let them connect safely. Every path led to the internet, and the internet, as any parent knows, wasn’t built for children.

I’ve worked in technology for twenty years. I know how most apps are designed: to reward endless scrolling, push kids down algorithmic rabbit holes, and quickly create dependence. Behind the cute emojis and “kid-safe” settings, the data and design goals are the same — keep them online longer.

And beyond the screen, things are getting darker. The Australian Federal Police recently warned about networks grooming thousands of pre-teen girls online; in the U.S., a 13-year-old was coerced into suicide on a livestream by predators posing as friends. These aren’t isolated tragedies — they’re symptoms of a system never meant for young children.

At the same time, researchers like Jonathan Haidt (The Anxious Generation) have shown what’s happening inside those screens. Anxiety, isolation, and delayed social development are all rising. Between ages six and thirteen — when kids are building their sense of self-worth — screens enable endless comparison and quietly rewire how they learn empathy, patience, and the rhythm of real conversation.

Texts replace tone. Emojis replace vocabulary. Likes replace listening. The safe, one-on-one conversations where kids test out who they are now happen in group chats or public feeds, ripe for bullying.

I’m not anti-technology, and I’m not even anti-social media. I just wanted to delay the pull of that phone until my son was developmentally ready for all that comes with it. So, after a bit of coding magic, we installed an old-school landline that made calls over Wi-Fi. Suddenly my six-year-old was calling Grandma every night before his bath. My heart melted.

When we were kids, the home phone was a lifeline. We’d spend hours talking to friends, grandparents, cousins — learning how to listen, interrupt politely, fill silences, laugh together. Those calls built social muscles that screens can’t.

That’s why we’re building a new kind of home phone made just for kids.

No screens. No algorithms. No internet.

Just voices. Just connection.

Because childhood shouldn’t need a safety filter. It just needs a fun (and safe) way to connect.

— Elspeth, Co-Founder