Going Analog: The Biggest Parenting Trend of 2026

Something strange is happening in parenting circles. Parents who grew up on the internet — who met their partners on apps, who run businesses from their phones — are buying their kids VHS players. They're packing "analog bags" for road trips: crayons, card games, sticker books, zero screens. They're putting their 12-year-olds on dumbphones that can call and text but can't scroll.

And they're not doing it quietly. "Going analog" has become the defining parenting trend of 2026, and it's showing up everywhere — from TikTok (irony noted) to Pinterest trend reports to school policy documents.

But this isn't a Luddite movement. It's something more nuanced, more interesting, and more deeply rooted in research than the "just take the phones away" narrative suggests.

Why Now?

The analog parenting wave didn't emerge from nowhere. It's the downstream result of several forces converging simultaneously:

The Anxious Generation Effect

Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation, published in 2024, became the Silent Spring of the smartphone era. Haidt's central argument — that the combination of smartphone-based childhood and the decline of free play is driving an unprecedented mental health crisis among young people — hit parents like a freight train.

The data he compiled was staggering:

Teen depression rates in the US increased by 145% between 2010 and 2023
Self-harm hospitalisations among girls aged 10–14 tripled in the same period
The correlation with smartphone adoption and social media use was stronger than any other variable researchers tested

Haidt didn't just diagnose the problem. He proposed a specific solution framework: delay smartphones, delay social media, more free play, more real-world socialising. This framework became the intellectual backbone of the analog movement.

The Policy Wave

Governments started listening. By early 2026, the policy landscape had shifted dramatically:

Australia banned social media for children under 16 (December 2025)
Denmark implemented school phone bans for under-13s, with early results showing improved classroom engagement
France extended its school phone ban to cover tablets and smartwatches (September 2025)
Over 20 US states passed or proposed school phone restriction laws during the 2025–2026 school year, including Florida, Indiana, Virginia, and California
The UK published updated guidance in January 2026 recommending that all schools ban smartphones during the school day

The message from policymakers was clear: the laissez-faire approach to children and technology isn't working.

Dr. Becky Kennedy and the "Edges" Framework

Dr. Becky Kennedy, clinical psychologist and founder of Good Inside, articulated what many parents were feeling but couldn't put into words: "Analog life has edges. Digital life is edgeless."

Her argument resonated because it wasn't anti-technology. It was pro-boundaries. Children, Kennedy explained, develop resilience, frustration tolerance, and self-regulation by encountering limits — the edge of the puzzle, the end of the board game, the boundary of the playground. These edges are built into physical play. They are deliberately eliminated from digital products, which are engineered for infinite engagement.

A board game ends. A TikTok feed doesn't. A letter requires thought, effort, and patience. An Instagram story requires a swipe. The analog world teaches children that things have beginnings, middles, and ends — and that's not a limitation. It's a developmental necessity.

The Products Driving the Movement

The analog trend isn't just a philosophy. It's a market — and the products emerging reflect how seriously parents are taking it.

Dumbphones for Kids

The Tin Can Phone launched in late 2025 and became one of the most talked-about products in parenting. It's a purpose-built device for children that makes calls, sends texts, and does nothing else. No browser. No apps. No camera. No social media. It looks like a landline handset — deliberately.

Other entries in the kid-safe phone space include the Gabb Phone, Pinwheel, and the Bark Phone. All share the same design philosophy: communication yes, infinite scroll no. Sales across the category grew an estimated 340% year-over-year in 2025, according to data from NPD Group.

For parents navigating the screen time question, these devices offer a middle ground — connectivity without the attention economy.

VHS and Physical Media

This one surprises people, but it shouldn't. VHS player sales on eBay and Etsy surged in 2025, driven largely by millennial parents who want their children to experience the physicality of media. Choosing a tape, inserting it, pressing play, rewinding — these are sensory, tactile experiences that streaming eliminates.

More importantly, VHS (and DVDs, and even vinyl records for music) represents finite content. You watch one thing. It ends. You make a choice about what to watch next. This is precisely the model Jonathan Haidt and child development experts recommend — media with natural endpoints, as opposed to auto-playing algorithmic feeds.

Board Games and Tabletop Play

The global board game market hit US$18.3 billion in 2025, with the family segment growing fastest. Games like Ticket to Ride Junior, My First Orchard (HABA), and Rhino Hero have become staples in households with young children. For older kids, Settlers of Catan, Wingspan, and cooperative games like Forbidden Island are replacing screen-based entertainment on weekday evenings.

Board games tick every box that child development experts care about: turn-taking, frustration tolerance, strategic thinking, social interaction, and — crucially — a clear end point.

The "Analog Bag" Phenomenon

Perhaps the most visible expression of the trend is the analog bag — a physical bag packed with screen-free activities for situations where parents would previously have handed over a phone or tablet.

The concept went viral on TikTok (yes, the irony continues to deepen) in late 2025, with parents sharing their curated bags for restaurants, flights, waiting rooms, and road trips. Typical contents include:

Small sketchpads and crayons
Sticker books
Card games (Uno, Go Fish)
Magnetic drawing boards
Pipe cleaners and craft supplies
Travel-sized board games
Handwritten activity cards ("draw everything you see out the window," "write a story about a dragon")

The analog bag isn't about deprivation. It's about preparation — giving children engaging alternatives so that screens don't become the default boredom solution.

What Schools Are Doing

The analog movement has significant institutional momentum. Beyond the national bans in Denmark, France, and Australia, individual schools worldwide are implementing their own policies:

US: The National Federation of State High School Associations reported that 78% of surveyed schools had introduced or strengthened phone-free policies for the 2025–2026 school year.
UK: The government's January 2026 guidance recommends that all schools ban smartphones, with compliance expected from September 2026.
Hong Kong: Several international schools, including some ESF campuses, have introduced phone-free classroom policies. Local government schools have been slower to act, though the Education Bureau issued advisory guidelines in late 2025 recommending "reduced personal device use during instructional time."

The tension in Hong Kong is particularly interesting. The city's intense tutoring culture means many students use phones and tablets for after-school academic apps. Banning devices during school hours is one thing; shifting the broader culture of digital-first learning is a longer-term challenge.

The human-first classroom movement explores this tension in depth — arguing that the goal isn't to remove technology from education but to ensure it serves learning rather than replacing the human relationships at its core.

Age-by-Age Analog Activities

Going analog looks different at every developmental stage. Here's a practical guide:

Babies (0–12 Months): Sensory Play

At this age, the entire physical world is new and stimulating. No screens needed — and the AAP agrees.

Texture boards: Fabric swatches of different materials (velvet, corduroy, silk) mounted on cardboard
Water play: Shallow trays with cups, sponges, and floating objects
Musical instruments: Shakers, drums, xylophones — even pots and wooden spoons
Nature exploration: Grass, leaves, sand, water. Supervised outdoor time is the original sensory play.

Toddlers (1–3 Years): Art, Music, and Movement

Toddlers learn through doing. The analog world is their laboratory.

Art supplies: Chunky crayons, finger paints, playdough, stickers. Process over product — it doesn't need to look like anything.
Music and dance: Spontaneous dance parties, rhythm instruments, singing together. Music has measurable effects on brain development at this age.
Building: Blocks, Duplo, cardboard boxes. Open-ended construction teaches spatial reasoning and persistence.
Outdoor play: Parks, playgrounds, puddle-jumping. Unstructured outdoor play is the single most evidence-backed activity for child development.

Preschoolers (3–5 Years): Storytelling and Simple Games

This is when imagination explodes — if you give it space.

Dress-up and pretend play: Old clothes, hats, fabric scraps. Imaginative play develops theory of mind and narrative thinking.
Board games: My First Orchard, The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game, Memory matching. Turn-taking and rule-following begin here.
Cooking together: Measuring, stirring, pouring. It's maths, science, and fine motor practice disguised as fun.
Gardening: Planting seeds, watering, watching growth. Teaches patience and cause-and-effect.

This is where analog activities compete directly with screens — and where intentional choices matter most.

Board games and card games: Ticket to Ride, Catan Junior, chess, Uno. Evening game nights can replace default screen time.
Letter writing: The Pinterest 2026 trends report identified a "letter writing renaissance" among families. Pen pals, thank-you cards, and handwritten notes teach communication, patience, and thoughtfulness.
Reading for pleasure: Physical books, library visits, bedtime reading rituals. A 2024 study in Reading Research Quarterly found that children who read physical books for 20+ minutes daily showed significantly better comprehension than those who read the same content on screens.
Outdoor adventures: Hiking, cycling, swimming, climbing. Unstructured outdoor time remains the gold standard for physical and mental health in this age group.
Crafts and making: Knitting, woodworking, model-building. Hands-on creation develops focus, fine motor skills, and the satisfaction of producing something tangible.

This Isn't Anti-Tech

Here's the important caveat: the analog parenting movement is not a rejection of technology. The most thoughtful advocates — Haidt, Kennedy, the AAP — are not arguing that screens are inherently evil or that children should grow up in digital isolation.

The argument is about intentionality and balance. Technology is a tool. Like any tool, it's valuable when used purposefully and harmful when it becomes the default for every moment of boredom, discomfort, or downtime.

Going analog means:

Choosing to watch a movie together rather than handing over a tablet with autoplay
Deciding that dinner is a screen-free zone
Preparing an analog bag instead of relying on the phone as a pacifier
Delaying smartphone access until children have developed the executive function to manage infinite-scroll platforms
Creating family routines — game nights, reading time, outdoor days — that don't revolve around screens

It's not about going backwards. It's about recognising that the most advanced technology in any room is still the human brain — and that brain develops best through physical interaction, social connection, creative play, and real-world experience.

As Netflix's Adolescence showed so effectively, the cost of getting this wrong is measured in children's mental health. The analog movement is parents saying: we're not willing to pay that price.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the analog parenting trend just for wealthy families?

No. Many analog activities — outdoor play, drawing, cardboard box construction, library visits, cooking together — cost nothing. The trend is about shifting habits, not spending money. Dumbphones are typically cheaper than smartphones, and board games last for years.

How do I go analog when my child's school requires devices?

Most analog advocates distinguish between purposeful educational technology (school-assigned tablets for specific learning tasks) and recreational screen use. The movement isn't about removing school tools — it's about limiting the default use of personal devices for entertainment and social media.

What age should I give my child a smartphone?

Most experts now recommend delaying smartphone access until at least age 13–14, and delaying social media access until 16. In the meantime, basic phones (calls and texts only) provide connectivity without the infinite-scroll trap. Denmark's policy offers one model for how this can work at a national level.

Won't my child be socially excluded without a smartphone?

This is the most common concern — and it's increasingly less valid as the movement grows. When 78% of US schools have phone-free policies and products like the Tin Can Phone are mainstreaming the "no smartphone" choice, the social landscape is shifting. Children are remarkably adaptable; what they need most is engaged peers, not connected devices.

Probably. But it's also how modern ideas spread. The medium doesn't invalidate the message. Many parents discover the analog movement through social media, then implement it by putting the phone down. That's not hypocrisy — it's just how cultural change works in 2026.

For more on navigating technology as a parent, read our 2026 screen time guidelines, explore Denmark's phone ban experiment, and see how schools are pushing back against AI saturation.

Going Analog: The Biggest Parenting Trend of 2026