to dislike it when I call a friend and a child answers the phone?

[hambler]

Tonight called a friend whose very bossy 10 yo dd answered with "Hello who am I speaking to?"

She has been doing this since she was about 5 or 6.

I HATE it when kids answer the phone. It's not like the call will be for them.

It never crossed my kids' minds to pick up the phone when they were young and I would never have suggested/encouraged it.
AM I alone?
BU?

[SoupDragon]

"Luckily for me, I don't usually answer the phone to children of parents who bring their children up in an environment where it is ok to tell people to piss off, call them twats , fruit loops etc."

You'd be OK phoning here then because I don't bring my children up in that environment either.

[weblette]

YABU

All of my older three - 9,7 and 5 - have been taught to answer the phone. They'll only chat to family, otherwise it's a quick 'hello' then they pass it to me.

With an 18-month old running around, I'd far rather trust them than have to drop whatever I'm doing to rush to pick up a phone.

Would the people who don't like talking to children rather speak to an answerphone?

[BingBangBaby]

I hate kids answering the phone too. My friend's 10 year daughter is the same ...

"Hello, who is it?"

"bingbangbaby, is your mum there?"

"WHAT?"

"IS your mum there?"

"Dunno, hang on .... MUM!!!! SOMEONE ON THE PHONE FOR YOU! .... what do you want her for?"

"I just want to talk to her!"

"oh ... MUM!!! SHE JUST WANTS TO TALK TO YOU"

ffs

[Mintyy]

"Would the people who don't like talking to children rather speak to an answerphone?"

yes, Weblette, in the circumstances I posted about yesterday, I very much would have preferred speaking to an answerphone!

[piscesmoon]

I can see now why schools get yr 6 to go on office duty at lunchtimes-it is because they don't get the chance at home and parents can't/won't get them to answer it properly.

[clemette]

Bingbsng I genuinely don't see a problem with the conversation as outlined above. How much of your life did that affect - about 20 seconds...!!

[piscesmoon]

If you would rather speak to an answer machine than a child there is a very easy solution-send an email. You are then safe and don't have to spend 30seconds being pleasant!

[poshsinglemum]

YABU- they need to learn some social skills don't they?

[nightingale452]

This thread reminds me of a time when I had been round at my friends house with DD1, who was about 3, the same age as her daughter. She had to pick her elder son up from school so I offered to stay at home with the girls while she did so. I went to the loo and heard the phone ring, then heard my friend's daughter saying ever so articulately on the phone "hello daddy, no mummy's not here at the moment she's picking DS1 up from school"... I had to get my friend to call her DH at work as soon as she got in in case he was worried!

My DD1 as a toddler was known to answer the phone to sales calls and keep them talking for quite a while before I realised what was going on (our phone has a quiet ring!) I've since discovered the Telephone Preference Service!

DD2 (2) loves listening on the phone but hasn't worked out you need to speak down it yet. I only let them answer the phone when I'm almost certain it's daddy, and they pass the phone over in shocked silence if it isn't him.

[blinder]

I think a lot of you huffy puffy mummies are getting confused between a light-hearted funny thread, and a major life crisis.

Children answering the phone doesn't upset or hurt anyone posting here. It gives us something to chuckle about. All the steam coming out of people's ears is coming from the indignant brigade of call-centre mums who demand that their children should be allowed to answer the phone. Carry on fgs .

[clemette]

I think when it became "direspectful" for a phone to be answered by a child then the thread became less "light-hearted". That simply demonstrates an odd attitude to children's "place".
Do people get annoyed if they phone their friend and have to talk to their husband???

[puffling]

Clemette, it's not about a child's 'place,' it's about whether children, in particular very young ones are able to take a call. If they're not able, then parent might like to think about whether they should take calls.

[Greensleeves]

puffling, if a child (3yo, 4yo, whatever) answered the phone and said "Hello?" and you said "Could I speak to your Mum" and the child said "Yes hang on a minute" would you be bristling and offended?

[wonderingwondering]

I didn't ever answer the phone when I was a child - this has just reminded me. I'd just never have picked it up.

Maybe it is a generational thing. I suppose children now use the phone more than they did when I was young.

And don't most children of around a year old obsess over phones? (And remote controls - also out of bounds when I was young).

[clemette]

At the risk of being the pedant I am, the OP is not about very young children and most of the comments posted have been about children who can hold a conversation.
Too many comments about how "irritating" other people's children are to talk to.

[funtimewincies]

Oh dear, some of you really wouldn't like my heavy-breathing toddler who often gets there before me . Good for cold-callers though.

[Grendle]

Goodness me, this thread is bizarre! Silly me for being under the impression that my children are people, albeit young ones, and that this is their home as much as mine. If I call a house in which 4 people live, 2 of them happen to be young and one of the youngest members of that family answers the phone then so what? i find it really odd that others think it is disrespectful or rude to have to talk to someone other than the preson they are calling who also lives in that ouse, even if that person is 3, 5 or 10 years old. If my 'friends' find my children irritating and aren't prepared to talk to them for 2 minutes, then perhaps they're not such good friends after all?

I sometimes wonder at how much some parents and in fact society in general seems to dislike children generally...

[puffling]

Greensleeves, my reply just before your comment answers that.

[HerBeatitude]

What exactly is wrong with using my 7 year old as my personal secretary?

No doubt I'll be her's for a large proportion of her teenage years, I don't see why I shouldn't take advantage of her enthusiasm for answering the phone atm. And she's a damned sight more efficient than my crazy old mum - she actually gets the name of the person who called.

[HerBeatitude]

Do people get annoyed with old people answering the phone as well? Because seriously, my mother is a nightmare on the phone - my DD is really much more efficient.

BTW, when I phone my friends and their husband's pick up, yes, I do feel I have to have the regulatory 2 minutes niceties. I'd rather just say "hand me over to your wife", but that would be rude, wouldn't it? Isn't it the done thing to say "how are you?/ how did that job interview going/ did you enjoy that play you and DW went to see last week?" even if you don't really give a shit how he is or about his critical opinions of theatre?

[Greensleeves]

In the light of that puffling, would you be prepared to confirm that your thread title and your OP were inappropriate, and that your view has been modified during the course of this thread? I think it would make a lot of people very happy

[paisleyleaf]

Well yes actually. OH's can be a PITA
whenever I ring my sister her OH answers and it ALWAYS, always goes like this.....
me: "Hiya it's Paisley, is sister there"?
sister's OH: "yes she is".......
nothing for a while
til I have to say "well would you get her for me then"?
rofl hahahahaha.....haha...ha....ha

ha

[SoupDragon]

Um, Puffling wasn't the OP and therefore didn't write the thread title.

[Greensleeves]

Um [MN currency for "I'm in the right and am politely surprised to note that somebody dares to dissent]

I'm not responding to the OP - I'm responding to puffling, should you care to read her posts