To not want a child to answer the phone?

[JewelFairies]

If I phone someone I do not wish to negotiate with a toddler or small child. I don't think it's okay to let a child under the age of ...er, 14? to answer the phone. I'd rather speak to an answer phone than a child. AIBU?

You're lucky if anyone answers the house phone here, there's usually a mad scramble to find the handset that no bugger has bothered to put back on the base so whoever finds it, answers it if the answer phone hasn't already

It's my phone, if my 11 or 8 year old answer it first, that's just your hard luck

Whoever is closest to the phone answers it in our house. My dc (even the youngest age 3) are quite capable of saying hello, who is speaking please? Then handing it to the correct person. No big deal

And lo and behold there was a story in the news about a 3 year old contacting police as he couldn't wake his mum.
How would he know to do this if he hasn't been taught to use the phone - presumably by actually using it!!!

It's a skill kids need to learn not only for social skills but also so they're able to react in an emergency. So YADBU op

Our phone speaks the caller id while it rings, it's great for ignoring cold callers.

Ah. This is a good thread.
If a tot answers the phone and can hand over when asked "may I speak with mummy" then that's cute IMHO.

Older kids who you can converse with -all good

Sullen kids/teens who just say "hello" without asking who's calling or letting you know who they are (their voices change all the time so it's hard to tell who's answering the 'phone) and just leave you hanging, wondering whether you've got the right number- hate it. Really winds me up. By all means have your children answer the phone but teach them how to speak to people FFS.

I like my children answering the phone for many reasons:
it saves me rushing to it
it prevents the answerphone cutting in after only 4 rings (grr - I can't change that)
it teaches them how to take phone calls
the caller is often after one of them anyway.

Mind you, my children are old enough to answer the phone now (10 - 17) but they all started doing it at a younger age - maybe 8ish?

What I hate is when I answer the phone and it is a child on the end and they have no idea how to conduct a phone conversation ie they don't say who they are, they don't say who they want to speak to, they just say hello? and wait for me to work out all the rest. I have had quite old children (early teens) doing that. Fortunately, I usually recognise their voice and often say, 'oh hello, do you want to speak to X?' but I think it is shocking that children are so clueless as to how to speak when they ring someone up. And yes, all but one of my children are just as clueless, despite me constantly telling them what to say.

Is that serious? You're angry about the money you're spending when a child goes and gets their Mum?

And no, it's not obvious that that's who you want to speak to when you call - if someone calls a landline in a family home, they might want to speak to Mum, Dad, teenager, older child.