Does anyone else switch their phone off?

[Gobbledigook]

Just wondered as I've just unplugged ours. Around this time every night I just disconnect it so nobody can get through! Do you think I'm odd?

I know dh thinks it's strange but I have always spent the whole day rushing about and doing stuff so by this time I just want to chill out, eat dinner, watch TV/DVD or whatever without someone interrupting me for a chat (outlaws in particular ).

I hate being contactable 24 hrs a day cos there's no privacy! I keep my mobile with me if the main phone is off so if JT falls down the stairs she can still get hold of me - she's getting on a bit y'know

[beep]

i don't unplug it but i do sometimes choose not to answer it,and sometimes i don't answer the door if i dont feel like being interupted or bothered.

[kalex]

I do it all the time, this is my house, and If I want to speak to somebody I will phone them,

If it is really urgent they can SMS me, always leave that on , but on silent and check occasionallty

[Gobbledigook]

Hurrah! It's not just me! That's exactly what I think!

[kalex]

That JT. she's would woory me too

[fruitful]

Absolutely. I pay the phone bill, the phone is there for my convenience not everyone elses.

I have a phone that you can switch the ringer off, and calls go straight to the answer machine. And I can switch the doorbell off too.

And I have a mobile phone that nobody except dh and dd's nursery know the number of. Its there for me to ring other people when I'm out, emergencies etc. Not so other people can bother me even when I'm not at home. Dh does not understand at all

And I'm going to try to get dh to leave his mobile phone at home when we go on holiday this year...

[Louise1980]

I have caller display on my phone so I can choose who I speak to. Id never turn it off/ disconnect it as Id be terrified my grandma needed me and couldnt get my mobile number out of her purse. This has been a habit since she broke her hip in sept 03. Most people know I go to bed around 10 and only ring late on if its important.

[Socci]

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[Socci]

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[Spacecadet]

i would if i could but dh is the main key holder for his garden centre and the alarm is always going off, so he needs to be contactable, i have unplugged it during the day though if i have gone for a lie down (a rare occurance since dd2 was born), i have bt 1571 so people can always leavea message.

[Louise1980]

Thats why I have caller display. I can choose who I speak to. Problem with the door is my kids make too much noise if theres someone I dont want to see at that moment. I.e bloody salesmen!!

[Bozza]

Never turn ours off. Its under the bed to get to so a bit of a pain. But if we're eating or if we are bathing the kids we do not answer it. Our families tend to know thats what we'll be doing if its that time of day. Actually prefer a chat in the evening when I am not constantly having one child wanting to talk on the phone and having to rescue the other one from some misadventure she is heading towards.

[Gobbledigook]

Hee hee - I don't feel so odd now! My outlaws know that 5.30-7pm is tea, bath, bed time but still often choose those hours to ring and tell me something I really don't need to know!

Dh's dad likes ringing at gone 10pm

I just don't want to be hassled - I hate being contactable all the time!!

[Bozza]

Oh I said our families tend to know thats we'll be doing. I didn't mean it stopped them ringing, but that they knew we were probably ignoring rather than out. Generally I'll ring them back after Coronation Street.

[ChaCha]

I don't have children yet (but will do hopefully later this year) and unplug phone at night, if i didn't DH and I would never spend any quality time together as our phone is like BT customer services at the best of times. I do however, keep my mobile on silent and check it for any important messages, that way if family members need us i still know. Problem nowadays is if friends/colleagues can't get through to the landline i end up with an inbox full of text messages!! GRRRRRR.... it is your right to switch off your phone, you're the bill payer!!!

[NomDePlume]

i think switching your phone off is a bit weird !


Maybe I'd feel a bit different if i had people calling at stupid times of the day.

[Gwenick]

No never - if I don't want to talk to people I just turn the volume down and ignore it. But I always make sure it CAN be rung if nessecary - for example a couple of years ago my dad was rushed into hospital in the middle of the night, naturally when he was first taken in we didn't know what the problem was but my mum was able to call us and let us know (turned out to be kidney stones thankfully nothing worse).

Ever since then I've made sure I'm contactable at ALL times of the day incase somehting more serious happens - I don't want to find out in the morning when it could be too late.

Added to the fact that evening calls from Zimbabwe and MUCH cheaper in the evening so DH's family can only afford to call then.....

[BadgerBadger]

I never switch mine off, but I don't answer it when it's inconvenient to do so either.

Besides, no-one bothers us in the evenings, we're back on dial-up ATM .

[Miaou]

Having been brought up in a "the phone's ringing, run for it" (ie run for the phone, not in the opposite direction ), dh has taken many years to break me of the habit! But now I will quite happily ignore the phone if it rings at an inconvenient time, and just 1471 to find out who rang. I also give out my mobile phone number a lot, as I can see who is calling on there. I would never unplug it though, and if I am in I will usually check for messages as soon as possible, on the basis that you never know when an emergency might arise.

My mum still leaps up and runs for the phone though (literally) - it makes me !

[northstar]

I divert my house phone to my mobile, then switch that to silent. That way I can always reassure myself that no-one is looking for me urgently, even if i wake up at 4am I can check my phone. My doorbell is permanently disconnected, it was too loud and annoying.

[scottishmumto1]

i switch my phone off at nine every night, sometimes even before if i want peace.

dh friends phone at ungoddly hours and it really pisses me off. they all know we have a wee one inbed, but they just dont think. so phone goes off, otherwise i am going to say something nasty to them when they call at that time

[morningpaper]

I'm another switcher-offer... I normally divert to the answerphone so I can hear any incoming messages.

My mother finds this UNBEARABLE... she said recently "But what if it's a relative who's fallen down the stairs?" UUUUUUUUUH well they should ring 999 instead surely mother... ?

[fruitful]

Oh I wish I could get caller display! But NTL don't do it in my area .

And if a family member was having an emergency they could always call my dh, who cannot understand people who switch their phones off, just can't imagine a situation in which he wouldn't want to talk to someone (hmm, how did we manage to have 2 children ).

Talking of not being contactable - my parents went away for a long weekend in Feb, omitting to tell us their new mobile number or where they were going or when they were returning. So they found out about the premature birth of their grandson 3 days late when they checked their email. Oops.

[flum]

i switch mine off mostly. i am very anti social though. i just put it on if i want to phone someone.

[hunkermunker]

I unplug the phone sometimes, often in the morning if DS is having a nap and I don't want to be interrupted by someone just ringing to inane at me.

Yes, inane is a verb