Independence salience gap
Parents do not always connect growing independence with the need to stay in touch.
Children may already be doing more things on their own, but parents do not always see those moments as reasons to consider a new way to stay in touch.
Some moments still feel planned or adult-supported: sleepovers, friends’ houses, activities or short periods at home. Other moments are more open-ended: walking or scooting to school, taking public transport, waiting for pickups, going to local shops or spending time at parks. In those moments, plans can change, supervision is lower and the child’s own way to stay in touch can start to matter.
Parent voice
My partner started maybe once every couple of months, meet up with one of her friends’ mothers, and they’ll organise a day at the mall where they’ll kind of hang around somewhere and then they’ll just let the two girls just roam around.
Parent, Queensland, child aged 10
Key evidence
More than 1 in 3 children (36%)
already go to sleepovers.
Children in this stage are also staying home without an adult, going to friends’ houses alone, waiting to be picked up, and walking, cycling or scooting to school.
More than 2 in 5 parents (43%) say walking, cycling or scooting to or from school would make them think more seriously about a phone, smartwatch, tracker or other way to stay in touch.
Behavioural job
Help parents recognise the moments where independence becomes less planned, less supervised and less predictable, so their child’s own way to stay in touch starts to feel more relevant.