I hope you will read this writing to the very end (even if you do not have young kids). I am positive you will be a resource for someone in your circle who desperately needs it.
If you share convictions and values like mine, chances are, you have agonized over the gut wrenching idea of putting a fully loaded phone into the hands of school aged children.
With our oldest daughter Joy only a year away from High School, it has often felt as though she is the only one in her class without a cell phone. But knowing what’s on the other side of technology (with no guardrails) made my husband Newton and I hold firmly to the consecrated commission God has given us to raise him godly children, set apart for Him. We refused to believe that God had no solution for our plight. And so we prayed and opted to wait.
I read almost every article that addresses the needs, struggles, and triumphs of our youth.
So one day in late 2021, I stumbled upon an article on CNN Business titled: Parents of the Social Media Generation Are Not Okay. I read it from start to finish. The article begins with Sabine Polak’s story, a 45-yr-old mom who received a phone call from the counselor’s office just a few weeks into the new school year, last September. Her 14-year-old daughter was struggling with depression and had contemplated suicide. Sabine was floored. She had absolutely no idea that her daughter was even remotely feeling down. Once she had checked her daughter into the crisis center, she learned that the biggest source of stress was coming from social media–but the article digs further to expose a worsening crisis that is unfolding right before our eyes with our children and technology.
With all the heaviness I felt as I read what is becoming of a generation, there was still a bright silver lining! As through the article, I got to learn about Pinwheel ~
There. Right in the haystack was the answer we had been praying for! I knew we couldn’t have been the only people on the planet who saw the dangerous harmful effects of an unguarded technology in the hands of young students and teens. And how faithful God is to endow the Bezalel’s and Oholiab’s of our time with the wisdom, creativity, and brains to BUILD a tool that would preserve the values and convictions of a generation without compromising the power of that same technology!
ANYWAY, MEET PINWHEEL ~
– Real phones they’ll be happy to have
– Without all the adult functions that worry you
– No web browser, no social media, no app store
– Approved contacts only
– No spam calls or texts from unapproved contacts
– Add tasks from your phone to theirs (set, manage routines throughout the day)
– Deleted texts can still be viewed by parent
– Pre-screened, educational, non habit forming, therapist approved apps only
– You can build/add app choices with your child over time
– 911 contacts are always available
– No mindless games, ad-driven apps, just tools like (duolingo, yousician, and khan academy)
– Schedule when apps/contacts are available
– Let the kids grow up a little more slowly
I cannot even begin to say how many AMAZING things you will find with this tool that will protect your child and support your family’s values and convictions.
The founder, Dane Witbeck is a graduate of Georgia Tech AND Stanford University. He too was in search of a phone for his growing kids–but found that adult smartphones contained the whole world, and kids just aren’t ready for all that. It brings me so much joy that our organization @JosiahKids Inc. is now an affiliate partner of Pinwheel. Their mission is interwoven with ours with a commitment to protect children, invest in their wellbeing, and teach them a healthy way to interact with technology.
Anyone who buys a Pinwheel phone and uses our JosiahKids affiliate code (JKTEN) will receive a 10% discount. Simply visit: https://www.pinwheel.com/
Here’s to our community! And to our commitment to look after one another by doing whatever it takes to keep kids healthy, wise, and safe!
This code can be shared with all of your friends and family members!
Sincerely,
Marlene
Marlene Maina 