Kids answering the phone

[Moochie Mamma]

I'm wondering at what age do you teach your kids how to answer the phone? So far I always answer it but DS is starting to learn how to call his friends to ask for playdates and will soon be interested in answering. I know when I call friend's houses and a young child answers it's sometimes difficult to understand them or to get them to put Mommy on the phone.

What do you all do?

[1xmom]

My dd is 6 and has just started answering the phone. She mostly answers my cell phone though. When she answers the house phone she does a good job. She will gently put the receiver down and come and get me and not scream for me or anything like that. Now as far as calling other kids, she is not quite ready for that yet. She has talked to a friend or two if their mom has called me for something and the friend is home.

[TeaBag]

Ds is 7 and both answers the phone and makes his own calls. He's been very mature about it so far, just explained the simple basics of telephone manners and simply said that if we don't use our manners, we may not use the phone. He's done fabulous so far!

[Trishy]

Ds1 will be 5 in July and he answers the house phone. The only people that call it are my mom and telemarketers.

[bugmenot]

Originally Posted by Trishy

Ds1 will be 5 in July and he answers the house phone. The only people that call it are my mom and telemarketers.

Telemarketers? Huh?

Anyway, DH bought a "telezapper" for us because we were getting so many telemarketers calling us. Depending on where you buy it, it can be $50, but in most cases, it's quite less. www.amazon.com and www.radioshack.com have them, and i'm sure they can be bought elsewhere as well.

No matter how many phones you have in your house, just one of them can easily be installed between any phone in your house and the wall outlet. Let me tell you, the thing is a miracle.

There's no caller ID with it, but if you have the caller ID services, it says it can work with that (we don't have caller ID). Incredibly easy to install (and i'm a novice with electronics), and best of all, there's no monthly fee.

The only telemarketing calls we get are the political ones when it's "political season".

There's also www.donotcall.gov as well.


Hope that helps.

[sunflower_mama]

dd1 is 5 and frequently answers the phone, especially when dd2 is nursing on my lap and will have nothing to do with me getting to the phone. dd1 also knows how to speed dial Grandma. ds is just starting to answer. He says, "hello?" then "it for you mommy." 3 is about the age we started with dd1 - short phone conversations with relatives, answering ocassionally.

My friend's dd (4) usually answers when I call there. We sometimes have a nice little talk - "What are you doing today?" "Oh, what are you having for lunch?" "That sounds good. What will you do after lunch?" Only rarely have I asked to talk with her mommy. When she is done talking with me, she just calls, "Mom! It's Pa-tricia!"

The only phone manners I have taught is: you need to say "good-bye" when you want to go do something else so the other person knows you are done talking.

Have Fun!

[Dawn38]

DS is 10 and DD is 8, they have been answering the phone more lately than before. They check the caller id and if they know who it is they will answer it. If they don't know who it is they wont answer it.


Dawn

[Ruthla]

I let my 4yo answer, but only when I'm right there and can tell him to give me the phone if he's uncooperative. Half the time it's for one of his sisters anyway.

[*LoveBugMama*]

Noah Matheo just turned 5, and has been answering the phone for a year or so.


(He has been answering my cellphone for longer than that, but only when I knew it was someone he knew.)

[Trishy]

Originally Posted by bugmenot

Telemarketers? Huh?

Anyway, DH bought a "telezapper" for us because we were getting so many telemarketers calling us. Depending on where you buy it, it can be $50, but in most cases, it's quite less. www.amazon.com and www.radioshack.com have them, and i'm sure they can be bought elsewhere as well.

No matter how many phones you have in your house, just one of them can easily be installed between any phone in your house and the wall outlet. Let me tell you, the thing is a miracle.

There's no caller ID with it, but if you have the caller ID services, it says it can work with that (we don't have caller ID). Incredibly easy to install (and i'm a novice with electronics), and best of all, there's no monthly fee.

The only telemarketing calls we get are the political ones when it's "political season".

There's also www.donotcall.gov as well.

Hope that helps.

We are on the do not call list but it is usually either those telemarketers that donate a little to charity so they fall under a charitable organization, one of those computer "We have an important call for you." things or bill collectors for the people who had the number before us. Ds1 likes to talk a lot and it is fun when the telemarketers call. "Ds1 go in your room and tell the nice lady about all of the nice toys and where you got them from." :LOL

I'm too cheap for a Telezapper. If I see one at a garage sale I might pick it up. We don't have caller ID either, I cut all of the features on our phone except anon. call rejection.

[rmzbm]

My 7 yr. old & my 4 yr. old answer the phone. My 6 yr. old doesn't want to & doesn't talk loud enough on the phone for anyone to hear him anyway!! They answer it by saying: "Hello, who is this please?" (Even though we have caller ID, they can't understand it!!) And they must end calls polietly. I don't care what they say to end it, but they may not just hang up.

[Dragonfly]

Ds is 5.5 and has been answering the phone for a looong time. He's faster than I am. I only have a cell phone now, so we don't get telemarketer calls, but it was always fun to hear him deal with those.

Now that he's older and I'm getting more professional calls, we have an ongoing dialogue about waiting until I see who it is. If it's Dad or Grammy or someone like that, then I hand it to him to answer.

[BlueNote]

My children ages four and five tend to answer the phone, simply because I'm usually busy with their younger sibling. They say "hello". At some point, though, they tend to say, "Who are you?" :

[1growingsprout]

ds 5 dd 8 and ds 10 all get the phone... most times im too busy to hear it ring... ds 5 is into b'days and he loves to ask people (marekters) how old are you?? whens your bday? that means you will be xx on your next bday. its cute...

dd 3 is too little to answer.. but i do love having a answering service

[Marsupialmom]

I let them learn how to by practicing and role playing but we as a rule don't allow them to answer without an adult beside them.

I take care of elderly relatives not all can hear my children.

Also, if they cannot take a message they are not doing you a favor to answer the phone. We didn't have caller id until recently but even at that there are a few medical facilities that don't pop up on our caller id.

I guess for us the ability to take a writen message was key.

[hellyaellen]

my 6yo dd has been answering the phone for a year or two now. her speech has always been very clear so people can understsand her and she's old enough to answer properly and courteously and then give the phone to whoever the call is for. calls to or with friends are just awkward at this stage though. thewy don't seem to have mastered the art of ending a call very easily. she has the same problem when my dad and his wife call but i just let them suffer b/c they aggravate me

[oceanbaby]

Originally Posted by BlueNote

My children ages four and five tend to answer the phone, simply because I'm usually busy with their younger sibling. They say "hello". At some point, though, they tend to say, "Who are you?" :

That's pretty much my ds. He says "Hello? Who is this?" He then proceeds to tell them something totally random, like how we are going to go the zoo, and then hands the phone to me. I don't mind cuz like some previous posters, most of our calls are family.

[MyLittleWonders]

Ds#1 is almost 5 and has been answering the phone for a few months now. The only people that call are my parents or dh (my il's tend to use dh's cell phone - but they also call later at night). He'll say "Hello" and usually start talking. He's also just started making phone calls - only to my mom though because they play ToonTown together and he loves to call her to tell her what he's doing at that moment. After just 1 week, he has her phone number almost completely memorized!

[onlyzombiecat]

Since I don't answer our phone unless I recognize the number on the caller ID or am expecting a call, I guess I have no idea when dd will be answering the phone. Other people can leave a message. The only person she talks to on the phone are grandparents or dh- usually after the adults are done talking to each other. Maybe in the next year or two she'll ask to call on her own.

[nikisager]

My 12 yo ds still doesnt answer the phone and ,my 6 yo ds yells "GET IT" every time it rings,lol. My kids dont show any want to, I have never told them not too, maybe they are like their father and just automatically assume it is my job? lol.

But to answer your question, IMO, as long as the child is old and mature enough to know what to say to any type of question that may be asked,
ie: telemarketers, is "enter your full name here" home, you are our winner in soso game, etc. KWIM?