Once again, Matt hits the nail on the head. Actually, his approach to parenting sounds a lot like my own. I didn't let my kids have phones either, even though at the time they were mostly just those old flip phones that would keep kids texting constantly. I always told my kids, who wanted phones like their friends had, that they were responsible enough to have their own cell phones when they were responsible enough to pay for them themselves. The same held true for items like an X-box. And they weren't allowed much time on computer screens either. We homeschooled and had them reading lots of books.

By the way, I took the same approach to driving as I did to getting things like phones. I always told my children that they would be responsible enough to drive when they were responsible enough to pay for their own car insurance and by their own gas. So, they each got jobs and earned the money they needed.

Looking back, none of my three children have been traumatized in the slightest by such an approach. In fact, they have each since told me they are grateful for having been raised to be responsible. It is serving them well in their adult lives, which was the whole point.