A Penny For Your Thoughts
Weigh in on courses, kid tech, and our renovation!
Super big bubbles of ideas!
New Course Ideas
I’ve been toying with the idea of making some new courses in topics I am passionate about: health and home organizing.
Fun fact: when I dreamed up the Digital Clutter Course, I had really wanted to do a home organizing one first. But it felt a bit too overwhelming and not niche enough at the time, so I decided to focus in on just the digital topic.
Now that I’ve built and marketed one course with success, I feel more confident in doing it again!
I would love to gauge interest in these two topics:
Prioritize Your Health:
If you once were health-focused but life got in the way, this course will help you shift your mental space on getting back to healthy. Refresh your knowledge on nutrition basics, learn techniques for intuitive and mindful eating, and get ready to prioritize your health again with like-minded women.
I’m imagining this course to have two tiers: a less expensive self-guided content that covers a breadth of topics and then an add-on community / group coaching / live-taught aspect inside of Kajabi Communities.
I’d love to hear your interest in each level.
Home Neat Home:
Declutter and organize your home top to bottom. Use techniques to go room by room and declutter, simplify, sort, and organize. After you have organized, implement systems to make your household run like a well-oiled machine. Honestly this course might come later in 2023 or 2024.
If you are interested in one of these or both, and they are something you would pay for, please opt in here.
Gizmo vs. Apple Watch vs. iPhone vs. Gabb
I think I’ve written before that Mazen has a Gizmo Watch. It’s a Verizon product that is about $79 to buy and $9 a month for the phone line. The reviews are not glowing overall, but it has been a great starter watch for us. He’s had it for 3 years now.
I really like the ability to track him via GPS and call or text him if needed when he’s out in the neighborhood or staying to play Gaga after school. He is also able to call us when he’s at his dad’s house and vice versa.
Mazen’s Gizmo is running on its last leg, and I’m not sure we’d buy another one when this one bites the dust.
Communication and Tracking are more for me than for him
At age 10, Mazen has been wanting more freedom to do things without parents: walk to school, walk to the downtown mall with his friends, play around the neighborhood, and go for bike rides in the neighborhood.
At this point, we feel that having some kind of GPS and text/call device is becoming necessary not so much for him but for us. It’s a huge peace of mind for me. So I’ve been debating options for possible Christmas presents.
A lot of his friends have started getting phones
Before you roll your eyes that I’m going to hand a 10 year old a brand new iPhone with social media – please know that is not the plan! His friends who have phones have older generations and lots of parental controls, no social media, etc. That would be our plan too.
I had another mom of Mazen’s friend tell me that she looked into prepaid options, flip phones, etc. But adding her kids to her Verizon plan and getting them old iPhones was the best balance of GPS and use-ability for her.
I feel that a watch would be the easiest for him to carry around, but a phone (in an Otterbox) would enable him to do basic photos and Facetime when he isn’t at our house. I worry he would break it or forget it at home!
The Apple parental controls are fantastic and we are an all-Apple House
We use the parental controls on Mazen’s iPad, and I am able to monitor app activity, set screen time limits, and turn off all apps at a certain time. He is also unable to download new apps or make purchases without approval from my account. So I have been leaning toward getting an iPhone.
I’ve been researching the new Apple Watch SE (it’s advertised as good for kids) vs. an older iPhone vs. another option like Gabb wireless.
I would love to hear from parents of preteens and teens if you have any advice!
Renovation Update!
This isn’t so much a question but an update on our home renovation! (Read this post to get the context.)
We’ve been going back and forth with our architect, Ruth Ellen Outlaw of Outlaw Design, for months. We FINALLY have decided on a layout for our first floor.
We thought we had one and then after we plugged those plans into a 3D program we almost started from scratch.
The first version of our plans also had a storage shed on the front of the house (the front left corner of the garage) but that has now been vetoed in favor of a bigger pantry and a true mudroom nook.
Most of the things we store in the garage can be spread out in the other storage areas of our house, including a small gardening and tool shed in the backyard.
The only puzzle piece I haven’t figured out yet is where to throw all the cardboard boxes that come in the mail!
Here’s the latest layout for the first floor:
Here’s the problem we’re trying to solve:
Everyday “mudroom” chaos!
3D of the new kitchen
Believe me, I will not be using these barstools, haha. And of course this is a basic program so the kitchen will not be gray with brown counters. Look for spacial design only!
And here’s a screenshot of my Pinterest board. Think modern farmhouse with muted coastal colors. We’re planning to start March 1!!
Angie says
My son turned 10 at the end of September. We got him an iPhone. We’re an all apple household too. Plus when he goes to middle school kids ditch the watches and play with their friends’ phones and we figured do it now and teach him to be responsible. I really wanted it for tracking him and safety at school. On days where everything behavior wise good he gets 20 min to play on it. Mostly playing a game. He listens to music and podcasts while he plays outside. I was hesitant about it at first but he loves calling and texting his grandparents and aunts and uncle, which is really sweet. His friends all have phones but none of them know each other numbers, silly kids, so that hasn’t been an issue yet. It’s under parent control when he’s not listening to music or his 20 min and he’s at home. We have a contract and rules about it and so handling it well. As my mom says, I’m so glad I didn’t raise my kids during all this stuff. It is a whole new world.
Kath Younger says
Thanks for sharing all of this! That’s exactly what I am thinking.
Nancy says
FWIW, started our kids with ipods so they could listen to music and text on wifi. They used their own Christmas/birthday money to buy refurbished ones. I honestly can’t remember how old they were – maybe 9? They never had any issues with cracked screens or lost devices. Then in 5th grade they started taking the bus to/from school and without a landline at home, we wanted them to have a way to call us so we got them their first iphones. Five years later and they’ve still never had a single damaged or lost phone. I’m going to guess Mazen is a pretty responsible kid and could do a great job keeping track of a phone when you decide it’s time. Good luck – it’s definitely a new phase of parenting in a digital age!
Kath Younger says
This is good to hear! Thank you.
ellie says
I have no real thoughts on home renovation (besides that I can’t wait to see your kitchen come to life!1!) or kids with phones (no kids, but my dog has an AirTag on her collar just in case!), but I am interested in the new courses — and wanted to throw a different idea out there. I just moved to a new house in my hometown, and one of the best things I’ve done for myself is bring in a professional organizer to come in and help me set up systems to put everything in the right place the first time. Have you ever thought about doing something like that once Birch is in school full-time? You have such a gift for it, and it may be a nice complement to any course you may do! Imo, I could watch a course but I’m not sure it would be so easy to implement by myself. There’s my two cents, lol.
Kath Younger says
Haha I support the AirTag!
I would love to do home organization for fun for local people : ) What if the online course had a one-on-one Facetime component?
Melanie Goldsmith says
Beautiful kitchen! We are in the process of updating 2 bathrooms and adding a new bathroom in our basement as well as finishing a room in the basement – probably where our Peloton will go. Since you will be moving out during your reno you won’t have to deal with the loud noises of demo and building. But I will suggest having the whole house deep cleaned when the reno is over because there will be lots of dust. I can’t wait for it to be over so we can do a thorough cleaning of the house!
Have fun with it!!! And be patient because it has taken much longer than we expected.
Kath Younger says
I can’t imagine the dust!! But I’m sure it will be well worth it in the end <3
Kate says
I would love a class about prioritizing my health! I have struggled over the past couple of years…had a bunch of weight to lose, lost it using Noom, put some back on. I would like to reprioritize how I approach health and wellness. I’m sick of calorie counting and disordered thoughts like “if I eat this, then I HAVE to exercise”. I’ve always enjoyed your approach to wellness, but struggle with where to start. Count me in!!
Kath Younger says
Yes to all of this! (Meaning yes to a course that addresses it haha) Glad to hear you are interested!
jen says
We have a 10 year old and opted for the apple watch. We too wanted to be able to give him freedom, but still be able to track him if needed and also call/text. So far it has been really great and I don’t regret not going for the older iphone route. For the phone, I just felt like he has a greater chance of leaving it behind somewhere and despite parental controls we don’t want the internet options available. It’s been 3 months and very happy…and he hasn’t complained about not having a full phone function.
Kath Younger says
Great to hear!
Dionne says
My daughter turns 11 in a month. We are considering this:
https://gabbwireless.com/product/gabb-phone-z2/
Kath Younger says
Our neighbors have this and like it!
Ashley J says
Is there no living room on the main level? Or are you only showing the kitchen portion? Was confused about that, but lovely mud room/kitchen design!
For phones – I got my kid a PinWheel phone for 10th bday and wish I would’ve just given my old iPhone with parental control. Pinwheel is almost too restrictive for a near-tween. For example, it doesn’t allow internet searches at all. Only approved apps. No ability to “google that” for school questions or assignments, etc. No “find a YouTube video!” for a how-to tutorial. If I were to do it again, I’d go iPhone and just get the parental controls in place to monitor and feel secure in their internet usage.
Kath Younger says
I’m only sharing the left side of the house – good question! The living room is staying mostly the same.
And thanks for the feedback – that is exactly my concern about a “kid focused” phone.
Carla says
I’ve heard great things about troomi than gabb. They use real Samsung phones but have a good interface. I feel like having the device attached to the kid though is a better option still at 10. I’d probably go gabb and then think about upgrading from a watch to the troomi phone in a couple years.
Tracy says
We’re in the middle of a reno right now so we’re living in our finished basement. There’s a guest room with a full bath and kitchenette so we’re pretty comfortable. However, the DUST is unbelievable! My main level and second floor are a big dust bowl. Try hard to think of things that bother you because now is the time to make changes as long as you’re in the midst of renovating. Also be patient. It will take much longer than anticipated!
Kath Younger says
Oh man two of you living in dust!! I hope it’s so worth it in the end!
Gretchen Caldwell says
We gave my son a fairly locked down iPhone when he started 6th grade. I will be honest that there have been lots of battles with the phone (kids know LOTS of ways to get around parental controls). I ended up adding Bark software with parental controls and that’s been a game changer. It monitors activity on all devices (computer, iPad and phone) and sends me alerts. For instance I have the Apple parental controls set to exclude adult content, but he’s watched a few YouTube videos I consider inappropriate. I get an alert about what he’s seen and we can have a discussion about it. It also monitors all of his texts for things like violence, bullying, swearing, concerning medical content, inappropriate photos etc. This has really helped as the number of texts kids send are hard to keep up with. He understands this monitoring software is in place and it’s actually led to some really good discussions. Many times his friends are sending texts or videos I don’t like and it’s been great to hear his opinion about them. I wish I’d started with Bark right when we gave him the phone. Good luck!
Kath Younger says
Thanks – I haven’t heard of this but great point about so many to scan.
Meghan says
The new kitchen will be beautiful! But really, where will you throw your Amazon boxes?? I throw mine into the garage where they sit until it gets embarrassing, then we break them down and take them to the local cardboard recycling dumpster. Could you immediately break them down and have Mazen take them to a bin in the basement?
Kath Younger says
I think down the basement stairs is prob the new spot 🙂
Kathryn says
You could also break cardboard down and use in your garden / landscaping .
Newspaper
cardboard
newspaper
then mulch on top.
And dont forget composting . reducing your waste and making your own garden soil
Sarah says
I got my kids a flip phone to share last year when they were 8 and 10 and walking home from school together without a parent and sometimes staying outside to play at a nearby playground. It was fine for basic communication, texting to say that they were going to the playground, etc. The now 9-year-old still has that one but doesn’t even remember to charge it very often – it’s totally boring. The now-11-year-old started middle school this year, and we got her a basic Android phone (obviously an older iPhone would be similar, we just happen to be an Android family) and so far it’s been great. She knows that it’s my phone that she is allowed to use and that I’ll add restrictions if she misuses it. So far she’s been very responsible – she just uses it while she’s on the bus to text her friends sometimes and sometimes plays a couple of dumb games. When her dad was on a work trip recently, she used it to text him a lot. She sometimes looks up things in her Google Classroom for school and does Google searches for information she wants, so I’m glad we went ahead with a basic smartphone at this age. I think they sometimes use quiz apps at school, too, and those who have phones are allowed to use their own. No social media yet, and the parental controls mean that I know what apps she installs and can track her location if needed.
Kath Younger says
Thanks for sharing! Sounds like a success. Lol at the forgotten flip phone.
Sari says
Hi Kath!
Kitchen – we designed and renovated our kitchen, it came out beautifully! (Sadly we moved two years later so only got to enjoy it for a few years.) One thing you should pay attention to is that the space between your island and counter seems narrow. I would test out if it’s wide enough by setting up tables and chairs with that distance apart and try having two people pass each other holding kitchen items and see if it feels comfortable. Also, will you be able to stand in front of your dishwasher, or only on the side. Etc. Elbowing past each other can be make a kitchen feel really cramped. If you don’t have enough space, I would sacrifice island width for passing room.
Kid tech – My 12 year old daughter got an iphone (with her own babysitting money) when she was 11. We put all the parental controls, but she somehow manages to sneak past them occasionally in creative ways and we find that she has downloaded netflix or other things like that. We ended up taking away the phone after a few of these instances are trying to figure out what to next.
Good luck!
Kath Younger says
We will take a look at the pathways! I think we moved the island a little closer to the sink corner so there was more room to walk behind barstools. It’s still wider than the recommended 36″ I think (if that’s the right amount).
I want to know HOW these kids are “sneaking past!” Like they see you type in the code so they know it? Or some hack?
Sari says
She’s be in school and need an app for something in class, so I would enable the App Store and she quickly downloaded other things at the same time. (Somehow you could download other previously downloaded family apps without special permission.)
Also, you can only set downtime for one chunk of time during each day. (Rather than several on off slots), bc of this on weekends there were slots in the middle of the night or other random times that I couldn’t block bc I had used the block for another slot and she would sneak the phone into the bathroom to use it. (I once caught her at doing that at midnight.)
Kath Younger says
Oh man!!!
Carolyn says
We’ve lived in a small house in Cville without a garage for about 10 years. I just break my boxes down the day they come and put them in the recycling can. If they’re too big we just make a stand them up next to the can. Even though they only pick up every two weeks it seems to be fine! Our garbage area is hidden on the side of my house so I don’t have to worry if it looks like a disaster!
Kath Younger says
Ahhhh the old “don’t procrastinate” method. I’m going to have to embrace the day-of breakdown! The actual recycling bin is a great place to store them 🙂
Carolyn says
Also, there is a great Facebook group called Kitchen Remodeling Ideas that was very useful to me during our remodel!
Kath Younger says
Good to know!
Anon says
We got our kids older iphones when they turned 10. Lots of parental controls and at night the phone gets plugged in in my bedroom. The kids know that we can look through their phone at any time. (Although we don’t very often. Only if I feel like there is an issue. I want them to know that I trust them and that they can and should come to me with issues.)
Cyndi says
If you’re not familiar with the national movement “Wait Until 8th” (to get a cell phone) , you might read some of their info but my personal opinion is the watch is great first step for elementary grades then a monitored phone for middle school. I know you’ll utilize all the appropriate parental controls so the iPhone makes sense to me for your situation
Kath Younger says
I haven’t heard of that, so thank you
Angie Melton says
Our 4th child just started 6th grade, and we were very firm with our older 3 that they could not have smart phones until the very end of 8th grade/beginning of HS. We had gotten a gabb watch for him when he was in 5th grade and riding his bike to school on his own. We loved it until the summer when he couldn’t wear it because it wasn’t waterproof. He is a competitive swimmer and was in the pool literally the whole summer. So we just got him an Apple Watch SE (the older version) which is linked to my phone but with him own phone number. It is great that he can call and text us, and we can track him on GPS. I am committed to waiting for him to get a phone, especially since I’ve seen how sucked in his older siblings have gotten.
Taryn says
Our kids are 9 and 11 and we are nowhere near wanting them to have a phone. We continue to talk to friends who report that the phones are a huge source of issue in their household and we just don’t want that stress. If our kids need to look something up, they ask to get on our computer. But other than that they don’t use devices. The only issue we have run into is when we socialize with friends whose kids have phones which unfortunately most kids in that age bracket (middle school). We are standing our ground but it’s not easy with social pressures.
Maggie says
Is there a reason why you guys aren’t going to open the wall up between the new kitchen and the dining space?
We didn’t do a phone for my daughter until she was 13, but she did have an iPod that she texted on and played games, but that doesn’t really help with the tracking and calling when they aren’t on WiFi!
Kath Younger says
We’ve debated doing that many times over. We can’t lose the fireplace, and we don’t really want it to just float because we’d lose so much storage on the kitchen side. The dining room is quite open through a very large doorway, so we’re just going to keep it how it is now (also it’s cheaper to leave it).
Lisaw says
HI Kath, I’m in that same boat about phone/watch for my 11 yr old, ugh! I think an older iphone would be good, however I feel he will lose it. He only wears sweats and the pockets on those are not really good, imo. This is my biggest concern. Jeans pockets would be safer but he refuses to wear such an uncomfy thing. Darn this modern technology/athliesure world!! 🙂
Sorry I’m no help, but am curious how others deal with the pockets.
-Lisa
Kath Younger says
Agree! Except Mazen JUST started wearing jeans! He looks so sharp!