In December Jack completed two long anticipated house projects. When we wired up the house we forgot about a doorbell so Jack installed one, which required a fair bit of electrical work to bring power out by the door. It also took us a long time to decide what we wanted. Now we have a Nest doorbell with the camera on it hooked up to the Google home app, with a motion sensor alarm on the front door. I think our best home security is still the fortress like quality of our tall house, with only one door.
We also now have two old-fashioned cordless phones which take incoming calls to our landline (which we are required to have because of the elevator) and both of our cell phone numbers. This, along with our smart watches, allows us to leave our phones at a central point in the house. The watches are useful but not entertaining so it helps us reduce our screen time.
Another benefit of the phone system is in relation to kids. On cell phones I make the talk on speakerphone to reduce his radiation exposure. I do the same. I like having a phone that he can talk on normally, that we all can easily locate in case of emergency and something that is just a phone, rather than a camera/game console/computer.
Of course, since I am breast-feeding and recording Dd’s naps throughout the day I do still end up using my phone often. On the other hand, our new surface charger for the phones actually makes it impossible to charge my phone unless it is in the central location, because the regular charging plug-in is blocked by the adapter needed for the surface charger. There are a few kinks to work out regarding contacts on the phones but I would say it’s a solid start to using our phones less.
As for the google home hub, it’s in the kitchen and at this point is mostly an expensive digital clock. We have the Always Listening mode (where are you can say “OK Google” and then a command) turned off because it creeps me out.
Can you tell Dd is having a long nap right now?
We also now have two old-fashioned cordless phones which take incoming calls to our landline (which we are required to have because of the elevator) and both of our cell phone numbers. This, along with our smart watches, allows us to leave our phones at a central point in the house. The watches are useful but not entertaining so it helps us reduce our screen time.
Another benefit of the phone system is in relation to kids. On cell phones I make the talk on speakerphone to reduce his radiation exposure. I do the same. I like having a phone that he can talk on normally, that we all can easily locate in case of emergency and something that is just a phone, rather than a camera/game console/computer.
As for the google home hub, it’s in the kitchen and at this point is mostly an expensive digital clock. We have the Always Listening mode (where are you can say “OK Google” and then a command) turned off because it creeps me out.
Can you tell Dd is having a long nap right now?
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