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By Linda Shiue
A few weeks into the Kindergarten year, my daughter's teacher went over her "assessment" test and pointed out that she had lost points for not knowing her phone number, mailing address, and zip code. (If I had known she was supposed to know those as part of her score, I would have taught her!) I quickly understood that knowing at least the first two bits of information is important for safety. Example: this picture of my husband, circa 1972, calling on an old fashioned rotary phone. According to family legend, he is calling the police to report his parents for not watching him closely enough, and that's how he fell (see bloody band-aid on his forehead). And I now make sure my kids know our home number, my cell number, and 911.
But what about calling just to say hi, teenage style? Since starting second grade my otherwise reticent daughter has been eager to call one friend of hers at night, after school. I was caught by surprise by this request, since I was not accustomed to calling friends just to chat until maybe 6th or even 7th grade. Tonight, as a special treat, I allowed her to call her friend, whom I will refer to as Ann, not her real name, under my supervision, after she had done her homework, practiced piano, etc. The conversation was remarkably tween/teen-like:
Daughter: Hi, Ann! What are you doing?
Ann: Nothing.
Daughter: Have you had dinner yet?
Ann: Not yet.
Daughter: What is your mom making? Ooh- you got Chinese takeout from Stonestown? Panda? Yum!
Ann: <>
Daughter: What are you wearing tomorrow?
And so on.
At what age do you think it is appropriate for kids to chat on the phone like this? When do they "need" cell phones?
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Comments
The ubiquitous of texting frightens me. When my girls were teens, I learned most about them constantly driving they and their friends. Somehow I disappeared and they talked freely as if I wasn't there. (Their youngest sister was an invaluable spy as well.) Now they probably would be texting one another.
When there was only one phone, you knew who was calling your daughter. Now you do not.
I started calling my best friend when I was six. We lived about a mile from each other.