I grew up hogging our home phone line, talking for hours with my best friend despite having just spent an entire school day together. Lying in bed, my plastic green handset against my ear, she and I caught up on what happened during the 20 minutes we spent apart on the bus ride home. We’d rehash the usual — our crushes, both at school and in the pages of Tiger Beat, and whether or not we would coordinate our outfits the next day (always yes). Meanwhile, my parents’ phone calls flashed across our “call waiting” screen, never to be answered. It was our own little world. My kids are growing up in a world that is more connected than ever, but at ages 6 and 9, they’ve never had a way to stay in touch with friends and family independently. I’ve been serving as their administrative assistant for the better part of a decade, texting parents who are saved in my phone as “Susie So-and-so’s mom” to ask if their kid wants to have a playdate with mine. So when my older daughter asked about the Tin Can — a colorful, Wi-Fi–enabled “landline” designed for kids — I was curious, for her sake and mine.