This story originally appeared in Kids Today, Vox’s newsletter about kids, for everyone. Sign up here for future editions.

As a millennial, I had my fair share of ’90s summers. I rode my bike, I read, I spent a lot of time doing nothing. My friends from home like to tell the story of the time they came by my house unannounced and I was staring at a wall (I was thinking).

Now, as a parent myself, I’ve been highly invested in the discourse over whether it’s possible for kids to have a “’90s summer” in 2025. This year, some parents are opting for fewer camps and activities in favor of more good old-fashioned hanging around, an approach also described as “wild summer” or “kid-rotting.”

On the one hand, sounds nice! I liked my summers as a kid, and I’d love to give my kids more unstructured playtime to help them build their independence and self-reliance (and save me money and time signing up for summer camp).

On the other hand, what exactly are they going to do with that unstructured time? Like a majority of parents today, I work full time, and although my job has some flexibility, I can’t always be available to supervise potion-making, monster-hunting, or any of my kids’ other cute but messy leisure activities. Nor can I just leave them to fend for themselves: Norms have changed to make sending kids outside to play til the streetlights come on more difficult than it used to be, though those changes started before the ’90s. The rise of smartphones and tablets has also transformed downtime forever; as Kathryn Jezer-Morton asks at The Cut, “Is it really possible to have a ’90s summer when YouTube Shorts exist?”

After talking to experts and kids about phones and free time, I can tell you that the short answer to this question is no. But the long answer is more complicated, and a bit more reassuring. Yes, kids today reach for their devices........

© Vox