Songstress Pink looks like the coolest mom, and you might expect that she’s excessively permissive with her kids, allowing them to learn life’s lessons from their smartphones.
But she is not that kind of parent and falls in the category of celebrity parents who limit, or prohibit, cellphone use.
The Grammy-winning pop star shares two children with her husband Carey Hart, a professional motocross and motorcycle racer, Willow Sage, (born June 2011), and Jameson Moon (born December 2016).
In February 2022, in an interview with Carson Daly on The Today Show, Pink, 43, confessed that she will not let Willow, 10 years old at the time, use a cellphone.
“There’s a light side and a shadow side to technology in general for adults, as well. For kids, I’m not there yet. I have a 10-year-old who does not have a phone, although she pointed out to me yesterday, ‘You know most of the kids in my class have a phone.’ That doesn’t move my needle. I don’t care.”
Still, she is aware of the benefits of technology. “We can’t be dinosaurs ourselves as parents, we have to sort of embrace it and go with it,” she said.
Pink embraces attachment parenting, which focuses on close bonding with a child.
In February 2021, The Lady Marmalade singer released Cover Me in Sunshine, a collaboration with Willow. The sweet vocals of the mom and daughter duo, harmonizing in the chorus, are a great example of her decision to not let technology act as a babysitter.
Appearing on a 2018 cover of People with her two young children, the powerhouse vocalist said in the interview, that, as a young girl, she didn’t have to close attachment with her parents, who both worked full-time.
Without having technology as a distraction, she fondly recalls the connections she created with her brother and life. She said in the interview, “My brother and I rode bikes to school and played in woods all day. Lots of rescuing animals, tree climbing, sports, gymnastics. I had a good childhood.”
She continued, “Yeah, I believe in affection. I believe in needs being met and faith being implemented, and I believe in letting your kids know they can count on you, and that you’ll be there. My parents did not believe in that and I worked out okay. I always tell Willow, ‘I’m going to teach you the rules so that you’ll know how and when to break them.’”
And she’s also finding new and creative ways to connect with her children.
In 2022, Pink partnered with the Calm App with Calm Kids, lending her soothing voice to bedtime stories to help children fall asleep.
Although the device where the app lives is unspecified, Pink told People in a 2022 interview that her son Jameson loves her stories.
“Jameson wants to have it every night. He’s been listening to Minions nonstop for five weeks, but now he’s requesting my story so I’m feeling very proud.”
Pink isn’t the only celebrity who won’t let their children have cell phones.
Oscar-winning actor Penelope Cruz agrees. In December 2021, US Weekly reported 2021 that she banned her son Leo, born in 2011, and daughter Luna, born in 2103, from using phones and from using social media.
“There is no protection for them, for brains that are still developing and how that affects the way they see themselves, how everything related to bullying, so many things that are not the childhood that we had. (My kids) can (only) watch movies sometimes or some cartoons. How can I not let them watch movies? (Those have) been some incredible moments of happiness since I was a little girl,” she said.
Even billionaire Mark Cuban, who’s heavily invested in technology, is strict and sneaky with his children’s use of technology. Business Insider reports, “Cuban uses Cisco routers and management software to control his children’s phone use and see what apps they are using. He even can shut off use entirely. He also has a policy for Netflix: one hour spent reading means two hours earned to watch Netflix.”
Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, reveals his kids weren’t allowed cell phones until they were 14.
Adding to the list of famous parents that monitor or restrict their children’s use of technology or cell phones are a Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, Barack and Michelle Obama, and royals Kate Middleton and Prince William.
It’s always important to weigh the pros and cons of any situation.
Studies suggest there are both advantages and disadvantages to young children using cell phones. Disadvantages include mental health, access to dangerous information, and exposure to predators, and cyber bullies.
On the upside, cell phones allow children to communicate with parents or other authority figures.
If you’re wanting your child to have a phone for safety reasons, experts recommend a phone with limited capabilities, allowing a child to safely call, message, and take photos.
Tell us what you think of Pink’s decision to not let Willow use a cell phone. And, what are your thoughts on children and cellphone use?