I Know How Kids Hang Out These Days. My Son Wants to Join. I Say He Needs to Suck It Up.

Care and Feeding July 29, 20261:00 PM Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by uzhursky/iStock/Getty Images Plus. Care and Feeding is Slate’s parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here. Dear Care and Feeding, My son will soon start 5th grade. He wants a phone. We are not getting him a phone. He has a watch for us to track and communicate with him, which seems like enough for his needs. However, some of his friends have phones, and when they hang out they all sit around and watch YouTube on their phones. Should I just tell my son to suck it up when everyone zones out? Advise him to come home if he’s bored? I know that the default now is to sit side-by-side with people and scroll, but he doesn’t need to start now at age 10. —Phone-Phobic Parent Dear Phone-Phob