About four years ago, a friend's son came over for a playdate. He was on his phone the moment I picked him up, and I asked him to put it away when we got to the house — just a rule for the afternoon. He did. When I mentioned it to his mum later, it turned into a much longer conversation. At the time, that kind of limit felt harder to reach for than it sounds now. Parents were still finding their footing — figuring out whether they were even allowed to push back, and on what grounds.
