Could it be? Dare I say? Should I put a stop to this NOW?
Sadie came bursting through the front door this afternoon announcing that she had to call her friend, M, because M has something she,"just HAD to tell her." With that declaration, she threw open her monogrammed messenger bag, grabbed a piece of paper contained within and thrust it to me. I couldn't make out what was on the paper and said, "What is this?" Sadie replied, "M's phone number," and bounded away to get the phone.
I just realized, seriously just realized, that she got the phone, turned it on and dialed her friend without any assistance from me. How worried should I be? Well, it is a good thing, right? I mean, if there is some sort of 911 emergency, right?
Before she made her phone call she started to go up the stairs to make her call, "in her room." At least I had the sense to stop her and stated emphatically that she was not old enough to have "private" phone calls. Anything she needed to say, she could say right here, with me, on the sofa.
As I type, listening to this phone call, I am giggling. It is ALL about dogs.
"I was at WalMart and they had the cutest dog stickers."
"Oh, M, they have these scented chew bones."
"She [Dixie, our puppy] is sitting here with me."
"That's nice."
"Did you know what I can hear right now? Theodore(the squirrel)in his cage."
Editor's note: So, not everything is about dogs, but pets in general.
"How does it work? How does that vacuum suck everything up?"
Editor's note: Ok, that one did me in - is my 7 year-old really talking about vacuums???? Funny.
She just hung up the phone and said, "Well, that was a nice phone conversation."
She galloped away to the kitchen for a snack.
Looks like a new room has just been added to the ol' parenting domain. Can someone help this mom with some rules of phone etiquette and management that I might employ with my children? And, is she going to hate me later in life that I have documented this first-time phone call?
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3 comments:
Sadie EVER needing assistance with ANYTHING especially emergency related? Read your vomit post again. I still want to hear about Lily in Jay's heart medication.
This phone business is just the beginning...
Girl, just wait it gets so much more complicated. I have an 11 year old that has been doing phone calls for a couple of year. Now it has escalated to IMs which I monitor closely, In fact Savannah is on my facebook. I promised myself she would not get a cell phone till high school. But low and behold she joined the Volleyball team this past fall and they take really long trips out. So my husband and I decided we would get her one for those trips so we would know when to pick her up. We couldn't attend them due to our jobs and they would leave at like 2:30 in the afternoon. Well that too has become quite an experience. She is so girly, and I am like OMG when did my little girl turn into a TWEENIE??? I don't like it at all. And I know what is just right around the corner.. Hormones are already showing thier ugly face. NOT such a fun time!
Like Jennifer and Elyse said, "It's just the beginning." Just wait until she wants to call a boy. Girls call here all the time. When mine was in elementary he had this little girl calling him. My youngest now has more phone numbers than I do. He loves to talk on the phone. He actually thinks he is getting his brother's old cell phone when the new ones come in. It is a "go phone" and I explained I wasn't paying to put minutes on it for him and his response was "That's fine, I will pay for them." Keep in mind this is coming from a second grader. He already wants to call girls. I put my foot down on that one. I do let him call is guy friends though. If not, it would probably be a battle that I am inevitably going to lose. Better to put that energy into something more productive.
I would suggest if she increases her phone call requests to set up boundaries. For example, no phone calls after a certain time, she can only call after homework is done, or even use phone time has a reward for doing chores or a behavior reward. Also, limit the number and length of each call. Just make sure she understands the rules before hand. But really, don't worry about yet, it will gradually increase, she will not become a phone diva overnight.
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