"I Wish I Had a Flip Phone...but only for a couple of days.."

Helping Your Family "Dumb Down" a Smartphone

Option 1 (FREE): Use Apple's Built-in Assistive Access ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Best for: Parents who want an iPhone that basically becomes a phone, text, maps, and camera.

Apple already built this into every modern iPhone. You choose exactly which apps are available (Phone, Messages, Maps, Camera, etc.) and everything else disappears behind a passcode. It was designed as an accessibility feature, but many families now use it as a distraction-free mode. 

Official Apple Guide:Apple Assistive Access Guide

Option 2 (FREE): Create a "Dumb Phone" Focus Mode ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Best for: Adults who still need their smartphone but want fewer distractions.

This combines:

• Focus Modes

• App limits

• Hide Home Screen pages

• Grayscale

• Notification filtering

It gives you a "normal phone" and a "minimal phone" that you can switch between in seconds.

A great walkthrough is here:

How to Create a Dumb Phone Mode on iPhone

Option 3 (FREE): Minimal Home Screen ⭐⭐⭐

Sometimes the biggest improvement is simply deleting almost everything.

Try keeping only:

• Phone

• Messages

• Maps

• Camera

• Calendar

• Music (optional)
  

Everything else gets deleted or buried in the App Library.

Also consider:

• Turn on Grayscale - in assistive settings

• Remove social media from the Home Screen

• Disable almost every notification

• Use a plain black wallpaper

This article has several practical ideas:

Your iPhone Has a Built-in "Dumb Mode"

Physical Tools That Add Friction

Brick ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (My favorite)

Brick is a small physical device that works with your phone.

You choose which apps to block (Instagram, YouTube, games, browsers, etc.), then tap your phone on the Brick to activate "Brick Mode." To get those apps back, you physically have to tap the Brick again. That little bit of friction is surprisingly effective because it interrupts impulsive phone use. 

Official website: Brick

Dumb Phone Launcher Apps

If you don't want to change your whole phone, these apps replace colorful icons with a clean text-based launcher that makes your phone much less enticing.

Two well-reviewed options:

• Barephone

• Dumb Phone Launcher

A Few Family Ideas (No Apps Required)

Sometimes the simplest changes make the biggest difference:

• Charge phones outside the bedroom.

• Put phones in a basket during dinner.

• Have one "screen-free evening" each week.

• Create a family Sabbath where everyone—including Mom and Dad—puts the phone away.

• Turn the display to grayscale to make the screen much less stimulating.