For many parents, giving a child their first phone presents a difficult tradeoff: Children gain a way to communicate with family, but a traditional smartphone can also introduce internet access, outside apps and unwanted contacts.
Lowcountry father Michael Robinson encountered that same problem with his own family and decided to build an alternative.
Robinson is the founder of Cardboard Fort, a parent-managed first-phone platform designed for families who want their children to have greater independence and a way to communicate without immediately providing the traditional smartphone experience.
Cardboard Fort turns a compatible Android phone into a simplified environment centered on calls, messages and parent-approved contacts while restricting normal internet and outside-app access.
Rather than requiring families to purchase a specialized phone or add another monthly subscription, Cardboard Fort works with a family's compatible phone and carrier and costs a one-time fee of $25.
“I reached the point many parents eventually reach. My child needed a way to communicate with us, but I didn't believe needing a phone automatically meant needing access to the entire internet,” Robinson said. “I started building Cardboard Fort because I wanted another option for my own family.”
The Cardboard Fort name reflects the philosophy behind the product. A childhood cardboard fort may be simple, but once built, it becomes a protected space where children can play and explore. Robinson wanted to bring that same idea to a child's first experience with a phone.
The platform is built around a straightforward concept: parent-managed, no normal internet access, no outside apps and only approved contacts.
“A first phone can provide communication and independence without immediately opening the door to everything else a smartphone can access,” Robinson said. “My goal with Cardboard Fort is to give parents another way to introduce that independence gradually while protecting childhood a little longer.”
Cardboard Fort was created in the Charleston area and is available to families nationwide.
More information is available at cardboardfort.org.