Meaplus3 Posted December 15, 2008 Posted December 15, 2008 Ok. My 8 year old gets a ton of phone calls from friends after school. He is a very bright, popular, good boy.. really every parent's dream as far as a child goes. However, just after his homework is done and that's done right after school, the phone starts ringing and does not seem to stop until 7:30 pm. I don't want to sound like a nag, but I have mentioned to him that I see no reason for his friends to call a gazillion times. He understands but, I guess his friends don't get it because he has mentioned to them that he can not receive a ton of calls. So my question is this. How do I get the point acrossed to my sons friend without getting the parents involved? Just simply tell them when they call? Give them a time frame of when my 8 year old can talk on the phone? I just don't want to come across as a mean mom. Any suggestions are much appreciated. AP:)
amaysngrace Posted December 15, 2008 Posted December 15, 2008 Been here done it. I tell my kids when they can and can't make calls. They ask to use the phone. I never told them they have to but I guess maybe after I bitched them out for doing something wrong so many times they ask first to avoid being chewed out about it. Sometimes I tell them "no more phone calls tonight from so and so" so when they call AGAIN my kids'll tell them "my mom said this is the last call for tonight". That usually works for me. I have a no-call before 8 am and a no-call after 9 pm rule. They know that. And they let their friends know it too when it happens. Of course another option would be to set them up with an AIM account.
Author Meaplus3 Posted December 15, 2008 Author Posted December 15, 2008 Sometimes I tell them "no more phone calls tonight from so and so" so when they call AGAIN my kids'll tell them "my mom said this is the last call for tonight". Tried this.. and my kid gets it but the one of the kids calling does not. I have to wonder who's even caring for the child if he's allowed to be on the phone that much?? As for AIM.. nah I'm not going to encourage new accounts. I limit the time he's on the computer to begin with because I'd rather see him reading in his bedroom. He is allowed on club Peguine for just an hour per day. AP:)
IfWishesWereHorses Posted December 15, 2008 Posted December 15, 2008 My 11 year old has just started using the phone. Its only his best friend that he talks to and usually when they are playing an online video game. The home phone being in use doesn't bother me, but he puts it on speaker and the sound can get quite annoying. The friends family is very large and they do use the house phone. His dad came to pick him up the other day and brought me a little earphone with a microphone and told me to set him up a Skype account. Now they use skype to talk while playing their game. I didn't realize that boys talked on the phone so much!!! My daughter never talked this much before highschool.
Author Meaplus3 Posted December 15, 2008 Author Posted December 15, 2008 My 11 year old has just started using the phone. Its only his best friend that he talks to and usually when they are playing an online video game. The home phone being in use doesn't bother me, but he puts it on speaker and the sound can get quite annoying. The friends family is very large and they do use the house phone. His dad came to pick him up the other day and brought me a little earphone with a microphone and told me to set him up a Skype account. Now they use skype to talk while playing their game. I didn't realize that boys talked on the phone so much!!! My daughter never talked this much before highschool. Yes.. that's when my son does it too.. while on the computer playing games. This club penguine thingy I guess is popluar. They build igglos and decorate them and then his friends call and they ask questions. You know, I have a Skype account because I just got a web cam. So, perhaps that's a good idea and would free up my home phone. What's real annoying is when I get a call and a call that's waiting comes through. My 8 year old answers it then say's "She will have to call you back I'm on the phone". lol. But still the fact remains that I don't want him on the phone that much and I need to get my point across to his friends that there is a limit. AP:)
IfWishesWereHorses Posted December 15, 2008 Posted December 15, 2008 So what if he can only use skype to talk to his friends? The down side ofcourse is that his friends will call when you are on the computer! My son uses it on my desk top and my H laptop. He was on his dad's laptop Thanksgiving and his dad took it from him to show a friend some pictures. The laptop is new and the friend was actually his IT guy from work. We are sitting outside and he is looking for the pictures and we hear out of the speaker "MR IWWH I can SEE YOU!!!" My H almost dropped the computer! Apparently it has a webcam built in! He said, Good bye!!!! A few minutes later the friend says," I can still see YOU!". He finally had to ask the kid how he could hang up on him! It was hysterical!!! I have a feeling this phone thing is only going to get worse!
amaysngrace Posted December 15, 2008 Posted December 15, 2008 Tried this.. and my kid gets it but the one of the kids calling does not. Well it helps if you yell loudly "who's on the phone?" and then your child will say "Joey" and you yell "again?" Then make them tell Joey "my mom said this is the last phone call for tonight". I think it embarrasses them or something.
Author Meaplus3 Posted December 15, 2008 Author Posted December 15, 2008 Oh Lordy Wishes that's a riot about the web cam.:lmao::lmao: I think your right about the phone thing getting worse. The only calls I seem to get lately are "Your car warranty is about to expire or better yet the fog horn of a cruise ship blasting in the back ground and a computer generated voice saying "This is your captian speaking, lol. Most calls are for my kids. And the ones that do come in for me, well the kids either hang up on them or I never get the message. The kids do have their own computer and I a lap top. So they could do the skype thing on theirs and it would not affect mine.. right? AP:)
Author Meaplus3 Posted December 15, 2008 Author Posted December 15, 2008 Well it helps if you yell loudly "who's on the phone?" and then your child will say "Joey" and you yell "again?" Then make them tell Joey "my mom said this is the last phone call for tonight". I think it embarrasses them or something. Good point Amay. I'll try this. I need to get firm. AP:)
IfWishesWereHorses Posted December 15, 2008 Posted December 15, 2008 Yes, if you set them up their own account. It's free to do, plus you can choose the settings. I'm not terribly familiar with it, I did set up o urs though. Like AIM or a nything else, though, there are modes where anyone can call you. I found that out when some girl named sexxxxybunny tried to contact me! You have to set it up so that only his friends that know his account name can contact him!
Author Meaplus3 Posted December 15, 2008 Author Posted December 15, 2008 Yes, if you set them up their own account. It's free to do, plus you can choose the settings. I'm not terribly familiar with it, I did set up o urs though. Like AIM or a nything else, though, there are modes where anyone can call you. I found that out when some girl named sexxxxybunny tried to contact me! You have to set it up so that only his friends that know his account name can contact him! sexxxxy:bunny: LOL..your killing me with laughter.:lmao::lmao: I will try this. I wonder if you can some how put a time limit on the account so that way they can only talk for so long?? This might work well. And it would stop my home phone from beign tied up. AP:)
SierraRose Posted December 18, 2008 Posted December 18, 2008 I'm going "Old School" here...lol When I was a kid ( before call waiting and cell phones), I had a set times for the phone, by 8pm..no more calls. Phone was taken off the hook. I suggest, put the ringer on silent when his time is up. Set the rules and stick to them.
Author Meaplus3 Posted December 19, 2008 Author Posted December 19, 2008 Just an** update** here. I think I may have nipped the phone calls in the bud for good. My son's friend called the other day just after school and I happen to pick up the phone. I told him in a very nice way that My son can ony receive calls after 7 pm.. and he needs to be off the phone by 8 pm with NO further calls for the evening. Oh.. and one call is plenty not 10 calls back and forth within that hour. The kid said ok..so we will see what happens. Guess it was pretty simple after all. Mea:)
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