I agree. It's the perfect size and form factor. I used a 12 mini until it finally died earlier this year and now i use a refurbished 13 mini. Works perfectly.
The author says screen time limits are too easy to ignore. That is in a sense true. I "solved" that problem though by using a password to unlock the app. I however don't know that password, only my wife does. So whenever i need to use the browser, facebook or something i ask her to unlock it for me, often for like 15 minutes.