When I was eight years old, I had the opportunity to fly a single prop, 5 passenger airplane. Now granted, I wasn’t the only person aboard the plane, and I did little more than nervously hold the control wheel. But, hey! I flew the plane for a couple of minutes!
You might be thinking, “What reckless adult would allow an eight year old kid to fly an airplane?!” Well, one of the cool things about planes is that most of them have two sets of controls, including two control wheels. One set of controls is for the pilot and the other set is for the co-pilot. So even if, as an eight year old boy, I would have turned the plane sharply into a barrel-roll, the seasoned pilot could have taken over control of the plane in a moment. Having two sets of controls allows for hands on learning without the risk of trying to fly solo before competency is reached. Similar to the model of a pilot and co-pilot in an airplane, I’d like to introduce you to a new system of controls for novice smart-phone users.
Pinwheel Phones
Similar to flying an airplane, Pinwheel phones allow us, as parents, to fly co-pilot with our children as they use their smart-phones. Unlike a traditional smart-phone where all the apps, contacts, and phone settings are managed through the smart-phone itself, Pinwheel phones are set up and managed through the Pinwheel Caregiver Portal. The Caregiver Portal is an app available via laptop or phone where the smart-phone Contacts, Apps, Modes, and Settings are all managed by the parent or caregiver. All the information, stats, and location of the Pinwheel phone is displayed and managed through Pinwheel’s Caregiver app. For example, if your son or daughter wants to add the phone number of a friend to their contacts in their Pinwheel Phone, they will need to check with you in order to get the contact added. The same thing is also required for any apps that our children want added to their Pinwheel phone. The Pinwheel system requires that the parent or guardian add the app or new contact via Pinwheel’s Caregiver app. Any phone contacts or apps on the Pinwheel Phone can also be removed at will. Through Pinwheel’s system, we are able to essentially “fly” co-pilot with our youth as they learn how to be responsible and purposeful with their smart-phone habits. The Pinwheel Phone is a great option to prepare our youth for the full capability of smart-phones they will have access to as an adult.
Now, a word of caution:
I hope that we as parents do not try and “control” our children through tools such as Pinwheel. I think it’s fair to say that all of us respond poorly when we feel forced to do something. If our children and teenagers feel we are trying to control them rather than guide and help them, resentment will build. When our children gain more independence, then their resentment will naturally find expression in rebelling against what we were trying to teach them in the first place. Instead of using parental controls as a way to force a certain behavior in our children, I hope we use tools, like Pinwheel, to effectively teach our children and youth safe and empowering practices with smart-phones and digital technology. This process is about mentoring and teaching our children not controlling. As parent’s we can be like a seasoned pilot teaching his/her trainee the basics of flying.
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