I’m Raising My Kids on ’90s and Retro-Style Tech. They Love It.

It’s been two or three years of trying to be more selective and more specific about the media that my kids consume as it relates to their development and attention span. A few months ago, we bought a VHS and DVD machine from Facebook Marketplace for $80.

My husband and I have been showing our kids classic movies, and my son loves to watch “Jaws” and “Indiana Jones.” I know my parents loved showing me “Gilligan’s Island,” “Bewitched,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and “Hogan’s Heroes,” and I had a lot of joy experiencing their joy with them. It’s been fun to connect on that and share with my kids.

We also have a Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System, which include classic games. They plug in with an HDMI and are preloaded with games, making them super easy to set up.

By setting up this little entertainment system downstairs while keeping our regular TV upstairs, I can let my kids do their own thing, knowing all the content they choose is age-appropriate.

They can turn on what they want, rewind it, and be fully independent. When they want to play the Nintendo Switch or watch a more modern movie or something on YouTube TV, it’s upstairs with mom and dad, and we’re helping facilitate that.

We have a thrift store just down the road, and my kids are welcome to use the money from chores to purchase any movie they’re hoping to get. We’ve also been looking for certain movies on eBay to add to our collection, which is really fun.

Something we’ve implemented and plan to do more often is creating the feeling of going to the movie rental store and picking out a movie. We’ve done it a couple of times: we go to Savers, a local thrift store, pick out a movie, get a pizza, pick out a treat, and have that same feeling I had, but letting them lead the way.

I’ve taken our family photos on film for several years, and I’m trying to teach my kids that we don’t need an instant photo. We can take our time, be in the moment, and feel excited about the process.

It’s fun for me to pick the photos and turn them into a family book every year. A huge part of it is made up of the photos I take with that camera. You just can’t capture that type of moment with an iPhone or other digital camera.

I don’t know if my children really care about it yet, but they love getting the chance to take the photo and hear the noises, along with the tactile feeling. I’ve spent a lot of money on film and developing it, but it’s worth it.

One time, we found a really cool box of trading cards at Savers, and my son curated a pack of them for his friends for Christmas. One of his friends really likes the Packers, so we found all the Packers cards that were in that box and gave them to him. It just offers another activity and form of connection for my kids and their friends.

They like to take their binder of cards in the basket of their bike to their friend’s home to trade cards — stuff that I watched my brothers do. I didn’t offer it to them; it was just a natural thing they wanted to do.

When one of my kids wants to have a playdate, they have to ask me to call their friend’s mom to schedule it. I work full time, so it can be difficult to manage my kids’ schedules in their entirety.

The Tin Can phone idea was really exciting to me because we can decide who they can call and when it’s available to use, using its quiet time feature.

The Tin Can phone costs $75 plus shipping, but there’s a $9.99 monthly fee to call any phone on any network. It’s been 100% worth it. Sometimes on FaceTime, they want to hit all of the buttons and see all the faces. While that’s fun, I don’t know that they’re actually communicating with the other person.

Besides being able to schedule play dates, my son is having fun coming home from school and calling a friend. It’s such a great way to gain skills like speaking on the phone, speaking politely, and managing their schedules. It also delays the need for a cellphone. I just want them to be present with where they are.

A few years ago, one of my sons asked for a typewriter for Christmas. He had one in one of his preschool classes. It was analog and fun, and he was really excited about it. I spent $35 on a vintage typewriter on Facebook Marketplace.

My kids say they love writing letters to friends and Santa on the typewriter. They show their friends how it works, and they use it every couple of days. One of their favorite activities is when I type up a design “brief,” and they draw or design a logo based on that brief.

When we bought the Tin Can phone, we thought a Rolodex would be a really fun way for them to keep track of their friends’ and other phone numbers. Plus, it looks kind of cute on the table. We picked one out on eBay, typed out all of the cards with the typewriter, and decorated them with stickers.