Parental Tips

Missed Calls? Here’s How to Teach Kids to Answer the Phone

Guest author

25/09/2018

3 minutes of reading

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“I didn’t hear you call…” This answer is familiar to every parent who’s met their child on the doorstep after 30-40 minutes of missed calls. A catastrophe scenario has already played out in your head. One reaches for the belt, another will beg them not to worry them. But the situation repeats itself and more and more grey hairs appear on your head.

The best parental control app is “Findmykids” app from AppStore and Google Play. It provides amazing features like live location tracking and listening to surrounding noises and others. The best part is that you can use it for your toddlers and teenagers.

How do you behave in front of parents?

Don’t panic. Remember how you used to go to your friend’s house after school and stayed so long that it was scary to go home. Imagine as many positive possibilities as possible. If you don’t manage to do this, then your head will be full of terrible possible reasons.

First of all, ask questions and get detailed answers in order to understand why the child didn’t answer their phone. You will know when the child is lying and when they are telling the truth. Find out what they did all day, why they turned the sound off, where they put their phone. Maybe it turns out that they didn’t have any free pockets, put their phone in their backpack and therefore didn’t hear you call. It may be that the child was trying to save you from panicking. If the child got into a bad situation and decided to fix it themselves then it could have taken time. For example, if they tore their trousers at school and went to a friend’s house to fix them so that you didn’t get angry. Simply explain that trousers aren’t that important. Their safety and your peace of mind are much more important.

Stay friends. Punishment isn’t always the best method of teaching them. It’s better to share your experiences. Take the time to explain why it’s important to stay in contact.

How do you explain that?

How do you explain to a child that for you it’s really important that they don’t miss your calls?

Love and care

It’s the best way. If this doesn’t work, then move onto the next thing. Talk about love, care, experiences, ask what the child thinks about all this. Talking leads to agreements.

The feeling of guilt

Talk about your feelings, how you were scared, worried, your head hurt. This is pure manipulation but in the interests of the child all means are welcome.

The latest news

Talk about the fact that you phoning doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s time to come home of that they’re in trouble. Often it’s only to tell them that you’ve gone out and there’s nobody at home or that the lights are off so they need to come home earlier so that they don’t eat in the dark.

Missed opportunities

Often a parent calls to offer you the chance of go visit your grandma, go to the shops to buy new trainers or to get a lift to your piano lesson instead of taking the bus. If you don’t pick up the phone then you miss the opportunity.

What to do if talking isn’t helping

If your child continues to regularly miss your phone calls try this lifehack: set yourself and your child up on Findmykids and use the function ‘Signal’. With help from this signal you can send a loud signal to your child’s phone even if it’s on silent or vibrate. Then you can grab their attention and let them know that you need them to get in touch with you at once.