When would you let your daughter..

[MaryKatesMom]

use the telephone?

My DD7 is always asking to let her call her best friend also in her 1st grade class. I'm really not crazy about it although I haven't got a single reason why not. Her friend is a very sweet girl.

My DD is involved in several after school activities so she does have some social interaction with other children outside of school.

What rules should I give her besides not calling late at night and early morning? Set a timer?

Am I missing some problems with the phone calls? Is there something I should look for?

Any advice would be welcome!

Thanks!

 

[shelbyjosh]

I don't see why not. My DD9 has been calling her best friend for a few years now. Not on a daily basis, but every now and then since they see eachother in school. I do put a time limit on the calls, though. Usually 10-15 minutes.

 

[powellrj]

My DD is 8 and most of her phone calls consist of a few minutes of giggles and what are you doing, and then they get bored and hang up. As for rules, she can't call without permission so that I know she isn't calling too much and I need to know who she is calling, and when you start to get silly, you need to hang up. Most calls will last about 10 minutes, and I try to limit her to 1 or 2 calls a day.

 

[aprilgail2]

My daughter has been getting and making calls since last year when she was in 4 year old preschool. hey tlak for a few minutes, tell some jokes to each other and say "see you tomorrow" and t hats that. I don't have a problem with her making or getting calls as long as she tells me who she is calling so I can make sure its not one of the people who's moms work nights and they sleep during the day or its not to early in the morning to call other people.

 

[chrissyk]

Be glad that she isn't asking to use IM yet, LOL! The kids in my old neighborhood NEVER used the phone...they used IM constantly, though.

 

[Pop Daddy]

sure

 

[Serena]

One thing not to do. Don't let them put each other on speaker phone and just leave it there for hours. They talk when they feel like it, and don't talk sometimes. I found out my daughter was doing this and it is really annoying. lol

 

[Twinkles6892]

When I was in 6th grade I started calling my friends on a regular basis. But mom would never let me call my boyfriend, because Natalie's parents expected it and his didn't or something...But now she doesn't care who I call, as long as it's not too late, and I don't leave the phone in my room.

 

[landmark]

My DD is 11 and has been receiving calls from her friends for a couple of years now. She never has really asked to call them too much but she is so busy with swim practice and homework that usually she's getting stuff done but on weekends will ask to call and I will let her if I know who she is calling. She has been talking to my mother on the phone since she was 4 and enjoys those weekly phone calls. The only advice that I have is make sure she understands what the call waiting sounds like. DD has been known to ignore the beep and not catch the other call and it's been deployed DH calling from overseas. So I tell her that she can't be on the phone when it's a time that DH would normally call.... other than that with friends it's a 20 min limit and with my mother it's until they both get tired

 

[DiznEeyore]

My ds is 11 and has been getting/making calls to his friends for a couple of years. The only limitations we place are a 10-minute limit and no calls after 7 p.m. (there are occasional exceptions, of course). The reason we put these limits in place is because for the most part, they just babble inanely at each other.

 

[eeyore kelly]

MY DD is 8, and when she uses the phone, she has to ask for permission. I hold her phone conversations to ten minutes, but very ralely do the coversation go on past 5 minutes. She has to tell me who she is calling, and she can't call boys.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

My oldest is turning 9 this week, and she's been using the phone a couple yrs. It's just on occassion, and she always asks first. It usually never lasts more than 10-15 minutes because they run out of things to say.
My littlest DD4 loves to talk too...so she can't wait to get #'s! It doesn't bother me..

 

[mskani]

When my dd8 received a phone call from a BOY!! He didn't want anything, just wanted to know what she was watching on TV.

My ds6 on the other hand has been receiving "love letters" from a girl in my dd's class! And so it starts...

 

[cati]

xx

 

[pw2pp]

I don't see any reason to not allow her (or any kid) to talk on the phone
Just tell her if a call comes through on Call Waiting to let you answer it.

 

[RobinMarie]

My dd is 7 now, but has been talking on the phone forever it seems. She talked to all sorts of family members and cousins her age. I actually felt good when she knew my cell phone by heart and called that number and/or me at work to say hello.

I discouraged friends calling and her calling them. I did not want her talking to friends/disturbing families at dinner time/bath time/family time. I think I was desparate to put off the inevitable.

Just this year she has been talking to friends on the phone. Really she only talks to her friend who lives down the street. Imagine after hours of being here, he calls 5 minutes after he leaves. Kids are funny!

Here are some guidelines I place on my dd:

~No calling before 9am on weekends
~No calling after 8pm
~I prefer she is on the phone in a common area where I can monitor her. I do this to make sure she isn't making a pest of herself.
~When it sounds to me like they are not having a conversation (being silly, repeating each other's names, etc) I suggest she ends the call (and she does).
~When she places a call she is to say, "Hi this is Victoria .. may I please speak with ..."

When you realize other children are making and receiving social calls, you don't want your child left out.

Good luck!

 

[dg39]

My dd 10 very rarely asks to use the phone. She'll call a friend from school for homework/question regarding schoolwork, or the little girl around the corner if she wants to come over to play. I see absolutely nothing wrong with the kids using the phone as long as they aren't a nuisence. She stays on the phone all of 5 min. and always asks before using it. I won't let her call anyone before 11 in the morning or after 7:30 at night and never at 6 when people are usually having dinner.

 

[Beanie]

I don't see anything wrong with it either!

My son, who is 7, gets phone calls every now and then from the kid down the street. They talk for a few minutes and then go meet each other outside!

 

[eeyoreforever]

My older dd has been talking on the phone since she was about 7-8. She had one friend in second grade that drove me up a wall. This girl would call several times a day. One day when my dd's weren't home and I was busy, I saw on caller id that it was this girl calling, so I just wasn't going to answer the phone. Well, it rang, and rang, and rang...you get the picture. I finally started counting the rings and it rang like another 70 something times. So please, tell your dd that if someone doesn't answer after x number of rings, she needs to hang up.

I also agree with having times that they can't call before or after.

Other than that, we have had no problems with them using the phone.