Ep 18. Phone Free Day

In American Housewife season 3 episode 18, titled "Phone Free Day," Katie decides to institute a no-phone day for the family. She's tired of everyone always being glued to their screens and wants to force them to spend the day interacting with each other instead. Of course, not everyone is thrilled about the idea. Oliver is worried about missing out on important texts and calls from his girlfriend, Taylor is concerned about not being able to keep up with her social media, and Greg is skeptical about whether they can make it through the whole day without their phones.

Despite their reservations, the Ottos give it a try. Katie confiscates all the phones and locks them up in a safe, and the family sets out to find ways to entertain themselves without technology. At first, it's a struggle. Oliver keeps sneaking off to check his phone, Greg can't stop thinking about work emails, and Taylor is practically twitching from not being able to take selfies. But as the day goes on, they start to get into the spirit of things.

Katie takes them on a hike, where they have to navigate without GPS and actually pay attention to each other. They play board games and read books and bake cookies. They even manage to have a real conversation over dinner, without anyone looking down at their phones every five minutes. It's not always easy, but they start to realize that maybe there's something to this whole phone-free thing.

Of course, things aren't completely smooth sailing. There's a funny subplot involving Anna-Kat running for class president and using her phone-free day as a campaign platform, which leads to some hilarious hijinks. And with everyone's phones locked away, they start to get a little too invested in the one remaining phone in the house - the one belonging to their eccentric neighbor, Mrs. Shapiro. They take turns checking it obsessively, hoping for a glimpse of the outside world.

But overall, the phone-free day is a success. The family reconnects and spends quality time together, and they even discover some hidden talents and interests (Greg is surprisingly good at baking, for example). And by the end of the day, they all agree that they should make phone-free days a regular thing. They may be addicted to their screens, but they also love each other and want to make sure they're not missing out on real-life experiences.

"Phone Free Day" is a funny and heartwarming episode that will make you think twice about your own relationship with technology. It's a reminder that sometimes, the best things in life are the things that can't be found on a screen.