drop the phone

by | November 17, 2019 | 78 comment(s)

What If We All “Drop the Phone” Together?

Each day, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., we resolve to “Drop the Phone.” Let’s try it for one complete month. Will you join us? 

Any one of us can make a resolution, on our own, not to be using our phones during those crucial hours when our kids need our attention the most. 

There’s one thing that makes us fail, time and time again, when we try to put away the phone during that time.

Wanna guess?

Does that sound right? (That’s Fear Of Missing Out).

For those of us at Between Carpools, it’s our Between Carpools chats that are the most active. That’s where we discuss our ideas, plan our content, and execute everything you see going on here at BCP. It’s always so interesting to see what new ideas our friends have come up and to discuss. 

But what if all five of us resolved to shut it down “Between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.” ? 

We knew, if we all did it together, it would be waaaaayyy easier to keep our phones away for those hours. 

And what if we made the circle even bigger and did it with our readers? Then, we’d make it easier for all of you.

Shimi Adar coined the term “Drop the Phone,” and (with her permission, of course!), we’re bringing this message to all our readers. Instead of you getting acquiring this essential habit of “dropping the phone” all on your own, you’d be doing it with friends, family, and neighbors. You wouldn’t be inclined “just to check” because no one is sending you any messages during that time! (And if someone does message you…all that means is that they need to be told about BCP!).

***

Our own children are the first generation to grow up during the phone era. Phones weren’t as much of a presence during that landline, flip phone, or even the Blackberry era, when any of us were growing up. And even though many of our phones are filtered, even browser-free, and “kosher,” it’s still a distraction because we’ve just become too available to anyone who sends a text or email. We don’t know how this will affect our kids. Even the best, most attentive parents are guilty of often responding to text messages rather than listening to our kids. 

So let’s do this…let’s be completely present for our families during those hours. And, of course, doing this together with friends is always more fun. We’ll also be setting a good example for our kids. 

“Phones are for communication and work. They’re for taking adorable pics of you. But they’re not for fun. They’re not what we ‘do’ when we want to unwind.” That’s what we want to convey to our children. Let’s prove that we value our conversations with our kids way more than the conversation we’re having with our “Neighborhood” on Whatsapp. 

COMING SOON: We’ll show you how to shut down your apps for specific hours, while letting your phone remain on for phone calls.

Want to join us? Let us know below! All you need to do is commit to 2 phoneless hours per day (these should be the hours that are most important for you to be ‘present’ for your family).

This WEDNESDAY will be day #1 of Drop the Phone.

We’ll be counting how many of you sign up and will be sending random gifts to the participants! In addition, participants will receive a ‘Drop the Phone Habit Tracker,’ download. To read about how a habit tracker helps you ‘stick to a habit,’ click here.

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Between Carpools

Between Carpools is a collaboration between five talented friends who like to get a lot of stuff done “between carpools.” Since 2016, we’ve been sharing home and organizing tips, parenting insights, activities, how-to’s and DIYs, and of course, entertaining ideas, recipes, and inspiring reads both on the site and app.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sounds great!! What are the rules? Do I need to have a smartphone to participate? Am I allowed to take calls on my landline?

    Reply

  28. Helpful tip (for the days I actually do this…) I found that many times I was using my phone during these times to set myself reminders or if my kids would ask me to order something or to check something for them…. but it ends up distracting me… . so I got myself a small whiteboard and used a marker to write lists as I think of them- to call, to check up, to order, that I use to fill in during these hours. This way I don’t feel like I need my phone to be efficient. … by the way I usually have very few things on these lists- which just proves to me how much time I was really just wasting…

    Reply

  46. I’m in!!
    I needed this push. Was just thinking that I need to put my phone away.
    Kol hakavod to you for such a great idea…

    Reply

  47. Thank you so much for taking initiative to encourage us to do this! A simple tip is to go to your restrictions settings and you can just set your phone to shut off from 5-7 (or any time for that matter). You also have the option to allow certain apps only, for example, since my kids are still in carpool at that time I will set my phone to shut down but I will enable calling only in case the carpool needs to reach me.

    Reply

  56. I’ll do 3-5 imyh
    Just a tip for everyone, I made a special ringtone for my husband like that I only look at my phone if it’s a message from him which is usually important…

    Reply

    • Great idea! I was thinking of just turning off wifi, because most ppl WatsApp me and my husband texts… But this is a great additional boundary to add onto that. Thanks!

      Reply

  58. I’ve noticed that my baby fusses for my attention when I’m on my phone and I’d really like to be able to better focus on her during the short time we get together each evening. This sounds hard, but it’s a great idea! I don’t get home form work until 6, but I’m willing to try 6-8 bli neder 🙂

    Reply

  60. I’m In! I have a dumb phone with not much distraction but we can always use the improvement! Instead, I will add the computer to my ‘DNT list’. Thanks for this initiative, I can’t even begin to imagine how many innocent childrens’ lives are about to change for the better…. kol hakavod!!
    BzH I commit not to look at my phone/computer unless it’s urgent from 5-7.
    Thank you!!!

    Reply

  63. New phone models are really pricey, hope that you use a smartphone case for a better phone protection. I’ve got myself a led phone case from https://luminouscase.com/ with my design of my favoritism anime. It looks really stylish, and it’s also protects phone from dents and scratches.

    Reply

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