First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at tgam.ca/essayguide.
This does not resolve our debate – no 14-year-old will ever admit his mother is right – but it’s not long before he gets distracted by the many activities that fill his busy days and we move on. His question, however, lingers with me. I can’t help but wonder if I’m being too stubborn or unfair. Then there are the parents who tell me quietly, privately, with profound sadness, that they wish they could go back and do things differently, that they wish they had delayed their teen’s phone ownership longer than they did. “I caved too soon,” they say. “My child wasn’t ready for it.” Others whisper that they fear their child has been “ruined” by their device. They urge me to hold out.