Trends come and go, but the comfort of childhood memories never goes out of style. That’s exactly what Kirkwood mom Katrina Wright leans into as she introduces her children to a beloved childhood experience many kids today rarely encounter: a landline.
Q: How did you come up with the idea of installing a landline telephone for your kids?
Katrina: I grew up in a small town, and like a lot of moms today, I’ve been craving that sense of nostalgia for something simpler as technology keeps accelerating. We’re all trying to find the right balance: How much screen time is too much? What’s actually healthy? I kept feeling the pull to go back to the basics. As a former English teacher and a writer, communication really matters to me. I want my kids to be able to express themselves, carry on a conversation, and genuinely connect with the people around them.
The big “aha” moment happened when I watched my kids FaceTime their cousin. They were so hyper-focused on looking at themselves in that little corner box - checking their faces, picking emojis, changing backgrounds that they weren’t actually talking. They couldn’t make eye contact, couldn’t stay in the conversation, and honestly seemed more interested in how they looked than in engaging in conversation. It made me realize they needed a way to connect without all the distractions.
Q: So you created that old-school experience we all grew up with?
Katrina: Exactly. When we were younger, you just picked up the phone and talked. No filters, no emojis, no staring at your own reflection. So when I told my husband I wanted a landline again, he looked at me like I had fully lost it. But our home is over 120 years old, so honestly, a landline felt like it matched the aesthetic. It was practically begging for a corded phone!
Q: How did you actually make it happen?
Katrina: I started with our phone company, and they were ridiculously expensive. So I kept researching and found a company called Ooma. They mostly market to businesses and the elderly, but it turned out to be perfect for us. It was shockingly simple: plug a tiny box into the internet, connect any landline phone, and boom - we had a home phone again! No digging up the yard, no electrician, no drama. Just a good old-fashioned ring.
Q: How did your kids react once you set it up?
Katrina: They loved it right away. At first, it was just grandparents, cousins, and a few brave friends calling. Then the kids started asking to call their friends to set up playdates. Instead of “Mom, can we go to the park with Jack?” it suddenly became “Why don’t you call Jack and ask?”
But I quickly realized there was an entire learning curve involved. We had to teach them how to actually punch in numbers, how to answer the phone without freezing, how to ask for a friend, and how to talk to another parent. All the skills we grew up knowing without thinking about them. It was hilarious and a little chaotic at first, but so important. And now they are completely comfortable with it, which has been amazing to watch.
Q: Has having the landline helped with their independence?
Katrina: Absolutely. It has been a total game-changer for their independence. Before the landline, everything went through me. If they wanted to play with a friend, I was the one texting the other mom. If they needed to ask Dad something, they had to borrow my phone, and the moment they touched it, they were gone. Apps, photos, videos… they completely forgot why they had the phone in the first place.
Once we got the landline, everything shifted. They started coming up with their own ideas. They would call neighborhood friends to organize a wiffle ball game at the school or set up a front-yard kickball game. They planned all of it themselves. The where, the when, the who… the entire logistics team was the kids. Of course, the parents approved everything, but the initiative came from them, not me.
They even started calling Dad at work to tell him something exciting that happened at school, or leaving me little voicemails about very serious matters like “Mom, where is my red jersey? I can’t find it in the laundry.” They would help around the house by calling Dad to ask him to pick up milk on his way home. All these tiny things I used to handle suddenly became things they handled.
Q: Have other families caught on, too?
Katrina: They really have. After we’d had our landline for a few months, I started getting so many questions from families about how it worked. I finally made a quick Instagram Reel explaining how simple the setup is and shared it with our Kirkwood community. I honestly thought it would be a tiny thing, but now more than fifteen families we know have added a landline, and I keep hearing about new ones every week. It has turned into this adorable, unexpected little movement.
It has been so fun to see how everyone makes it their own. One family hung their phone in the kitchen with a long coil cord like the ones we grew up with. Another went cordless so their kids can walk and talk. Every family picked what worked best for their home, which I love.
At our house, the kids even created their own little phone book next to the phone, and they add new friends as they learn their numbers. It started with moms’ cell numbers, but now it is slowly filling with real landlines again. It has been such a sweet shift to watch.
Q: Any funny stories from letting the kids take the lead on phone calls?
Katrina: So many. The best part is that every single one of them feels ripped straight out of an eighties or nineties childhood. From the very beginning, the kids understood this was their phone, not mine. They are the only ones who answer it. Half the time they’re outside playing when it rings, and I’ll open the door and yell, “Your phone is ringing!” They come sprinting inside like it’s the most important call of their lives. We don’t have caller ID, so if they miss it, they just hope the person calls back or leaves a voicemail. When we’re gone for the day, they even check the blinking voicemail light when we get home. It is hysterical and very old-school.
Of course, with all this newfound responsibility, we have had a few… learning moments. There have been calls where they accidentally overshared something that definitely should have stayed within the family. We’ve had to talk through things like, “We don’t answer the phone and announce that someone is in trouble” or “We don’t give full health updates to a friend calling about a playdate.” Those conversations turned into the funniest teachable moments.
We have had so many of those situations, and the best part is that they are unbelievably relatable to any millennial parent who grew up doing the exact same things. It has been equal parts hilarious and nostalgic watching them learn phone manners the way we did: in real time, making mistakes, and laughing through it.
Q: You have two boys and one girl. Do they use the phone differently?
Katrina: Oh, absolutely. My boys are a little older, so they get more calls, and their conversations are hilariously straight to the point. It’s very “Should I bring a football?” “Yep.” “Cool.” Click. Zero fluff. Zero small talk. Just efficiency.
My daughter, though, is my little communicator. I can already see her becoming a full-on phone-conversation girlie. Give her a few more years, and she’ll be the kid walking around the house twirling the cord, giving her friends a full play-by-play of everything happening at home. She’s definitely my future “let me tell you the whole story” caller.
Q: Do you see a difference in how they interact with people in real life?
Katrina: Definitely. Some of it is just getting older, but I really do think the landline has helped. Talking to adults on the phone has made them so much more confident talking to adults in person. Ordering their own food, greeting friends’ parents, asking questions… all those little social moments feel easier for them now. The phone has given them a way to practice conversation without the pressure of being face-to-face, and that has made such a difference.
Q: Has it helped delay their ask for actual cell phones?
Katrina: Definitely. Every mom I know is trying to delay the cell phone era as long as possible. If a simple landline buys us even a few more years of real kid life, of play and actual conversations, then it's completely worth it.
Follow Katrina on Instagram @kwright1206 for the official hookup video & details.