Yeah, I also pause when I read articles like this. The parent in this story is trying to go "full 90s", like that was when kids were raised the best... which just happens to be the time when they were kids. Except, when I was a kid in the 90s, the parents at that time thought the 90s things were horrible and longed for the best time to raise kids... which of course was when they were children.

Two use cases:

1. Allowing the kids to call parents and no one else, without all the extra baggage that comes with a smartphone.

2. Multiple families getting together and deciding this is how their kids will communicate with each other (i.e. all agreeing not to get smartphones for their kids).

> But if I were 11-13yo and I got this when all my friends got an iPhone? I'd be furious.

If you've decided they're not getting a smartphone at that age, they'll be furious regardless. They may opt for this as an alternative. Up to the kids.

Even if they play with it for 5 minutes it's a fun little science lesson if the parents bother to explain what is happening.

If my 11 to 13 year old got furious they’d swiftly find themselves at an agricultural boarding school in the regions.

This being Australia, likely a particular remote boarding school in a particular hot part of the county.

Come back when you’ve learned how to be reasonable sort of person.

This is for kids who don't yet have a smart phone, not as a smart phone replacement for kids who already had smartphones. I made something similar for my kids(basically, a phone with buttons that can call a fixed set of people), and my kids love it, and use it multiple times per day.