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Telephone Time
Tips for an Uninterrupted Phone Conversation By C.J. Johnson
She also suggests using a cordless phone so that you can keep children in sight and get to them if they need you.
Karin Fojtik of Park City, Utah, came up with a helpful idea. "I have a mystery bag full of small prizes like McDonald's toys and books and very inexpensive treats," she says. "If my kids earn five points, they get a mystery bag prize. Being quiet when I'm on the phone can be worth a point two points or more if I don't have to remind them."
Jane O'Donnell of Baxter, Minn., believes that when children interrupt a telephone conversation, it is disrespectful to the parent and the person with whom they are talking. "Whenever I receive a telephone call that I know will take a while, I set the stove timer for 15 minutes," she says. "The rule is that he can't interrupt or he will receive a consequence. I also keep my end of the commitment and terminate the conversation when the timer goes off."
Mary Jean Vogt, of Lexington, Ky., began teaching her children telephone etiquette when they were young. "My twins know if they talk to me while I am on the phone, or interrupt in any way, they will lose something when I hang up," she says. "It's usually TV. It took a while to sink in, but now it works pretty well."
Little ones need time with Mom. But if you explain the rules of telephone etiquette in advance, provide entertainment that keeps them close and keep phone conversations brief, talking on the telephone may get easier before you know it.