My kid is 9 and a bit. So, we are gradually working on some life skills, while he still lives here at home with us & we have some say-so in how he goes about life. This summer he began to unload the dishwasher, re-load the dishwasher, water the garden, take out the recycling & as well as pull both cans back and forth curb.
We are also working on writing notes, emailing, using keys and the telephone. I’m surprised that with all the chatting I do on the phone, Thinker hasn’t quite picked up on the nuances of the situation. For example, when answering the phone he has to be coached to say “hello.” It took him some time to process that the other person is waiting for him to do that. He also is easily distracted while on the phone by his physical environment so I might notice that he’ll suddenly reading a book while one of my sisters is asking how school is going. He is making some progress.
One of the things I am hoping that Thinker is very good at when he is grown is what to do when he dials a wrong number by mistake. This seems to be a lost art. I am extremely interested in knowing what you all think about the reason that misdialers are so incredulous these days. Here is an example:
The telephone at house of needs new batteries rings, I look at caller ID. I don’t recognize it, but pick up anyway.
Me: Hello
Caller: Who is this?
Me: Hello, can I help you?
Caller: Who is this?
Me (frustrated): Um, you called here. For whom are you calling? (I start to get more and more old-fashioned at the conversation progresses, as it were.)
Caller: Who is this?
Me: I think you have dialed the wrong number.
Caller: No, I didn’t. Who is this?
Me: Why would I tell you that? You mis-dialed. I’m getting of the phone now. (hangs up)
This – or a variation thereof – happens to me somewhat regularly. I am not going to say daily or weekly, but often enough that I know how it will go. Sometimes the person pinky swears that they are just calling me back and that someone from this number just called them. Since I have redial on my phone, I always know what call was made. And truthfully, although I have three children, they really don’t make calls, even fake ones. Of course, what I plan to teach Thinker to do is to identify himself when he calls someone & avoid all this drama.
Here’s my fantasy wrong number call for the future:
Thinker, at age 20, trying to call his bff, unknowlingly mis-dials: Hey, this is Thinker.
Miscalled person: I’m sorry you have the wrong number.
Thinker: Oh, I’m sorry.(hangs up, tries again)
or Thinker, at age 20, trying to call his girlfriend at her parents home: Hello, Mr/Ms. Blank this is Thinker. I’m calling for (insert girlfriend name here). (yes, my child is absurdly old-fashioned in the future. It makes him stand out!)
Miscalled person: There is no one here by that name.
Thinker: I’m sorry. (hangs up phone)
So, those conversations are much shorter, more polite and closer to the ones I’d like to be having with my somewhat aggressive callers. I’m not sure why they insist on me identifying myself. I am not sure why they are so confident that they have not mis-dialed – unless they are using the memory on their phone, but even that I don’t get -why is my number in there? Often people call here because my prefix is the same as a nearby area code & I think possibly people forget that when using a land line they must dial one. I get calls for a nightclub one state away at least 3 times per month & I know that is why. But those callers are usually not surprised to hear they forgot the one. They usually do apologize and get off my line. So, those mis-dialers have my full approval. They made a simple mistake, but don’t feel the need to compound that by insisting that I give them my name and where my adorable children go to school.
If anyone can shed any light on the issue….civilization hangs in the balance here.
that drives me nuts, too. i am also trying to teach MQ the same thing. i wish all parents would!
I suppose when I think about it, “kids these days” (does that sound as old as I think it does?) have a lot more exposure to electronic devices than I did as a kid (a while ago, but not so long ago). The list includes:-TV (I had that too, but no remote)Computer (nope)Radio (not that kids these days use that much but I had that too)iPod (nope – I had a stereo though)PS2 (nope)Wii (nope – Atari didn’t happen til I was older)Bluetood (nope)Telephone (yup)DVR/Tivo (nope)VCR/DVD player (nope)Cell phone (nope)Fridge with TV (nope)CD Player (nope)As I think about this list, most of these devices are passive and do not (yet) require being talked to to make function. Are the phone skills perhaps a generational difference between young Millenials and GenXers/Baby Boomers? (Of course you’ll have to ask my mom if I had phone etiquette issues, but I don’t remember them.)
Perhaps he just has better things to do than answer talk on the phone. I don’t want to paint it as a gender issue here, but my seven-year old daughter asks to use the phone and has been answering the phone (properly and mannerly) for years now. She just left us a phone message tonight from her aunt’s house (my sister)stating very concisely and politely that she’d been invited to spend the night and that she’d like to accept the offer IF THAT WERE ALRIGHT WITH US!Go figure.
This is what I do when I dial a wrong #. Me: Hello is X there.Them: I think you dialled a wrong #.Me: Did I just call 555-1515? Them: No. You dialled 555-1155.Me: I apologize. Thank you. (Hang up)Whether I am on the giving or receiving end of a misdialled call, I always verify the # so that the mistake doesn’t happen twice in a row.
i hate the phone myself, so i’m the last one to advise.
Also, is it fair for the telemarketer to hang up on ME when I ask politely (yet emphatically) to be taken off their call list?I didn’t think so.
OH I am so with you on this! I hate how rude people are with wrong numbers. Thank you for taking the time to teach your son basic telephone manners! And yes, I am constantly surprised at how clueless my own kids are about phone manners.