Hello, I

It sure is special to be able to share an exciting event with Grandma! But what if Grandma can’t be physically there to share in the excitement? Then perhaps it’s time to give her a call!

Young children will surely enjoy hearing a familiar voice such as Grandma’s over the phone, but you also have to remember that using the phone does not come naturally, nor instantly, to a young child. They may regularly see you holding the phone and talking to somebody else, but they are only witness to one side of what is really taking place. Whenever you use the phone, you show them how to hold it properly; how to push buttons; how to speak clearly; and how to hang up when the conversation is over. But they have no idea what happens on the other end. Is the person you’re talking to doing the same things? Can you hear one another? Does the person on the other line have a telephone too?

Let’s go back to that phone call to Grandma. Both sets of my children’s grandparents lived out of town, so most of our conversations were done over the phone. Before we would dial Grandma’s number, my kids and I would talk about the things we wanted to share with her. My daughters loved pushing the phone buttons, although they needed a bit of help. I’d write Grandma’s number on a small piece of paper, and the girls would look at the numbers and start matching those with their corresponding buttons.

Aside from this, kids also need assistance in holding the phone up to their ear and positioning the mouthpiece properly. Putting the speakerphone on would be a much better bargain though, because this allowed me to hear their conversation too. This helped me prompt the girls to say “Hello, Grandma!” I’d be there for support especially if needed cues on what to say next. For example, I would give reminders to talk about something special that happened in school or about an upcoming birthday party. If Grandma asked questions, sometimes I’d notice that the girls use gestures instead of words in reply, and I would have to remind them that Grandma couldn’t see what they were pointing to!

To allow your kids to practice phone etiquette even more, you can add toy phones to their dramatic play. At home, our kids love playing with our old telephones. We would make up a phone call scene and take off from there. This is a good exercise for kids because they not only hear what the person says on the other line; they also see what that person is doing.

Once your kids have mastered talking on the phone, you can start introducing the more technologically advanced modes of communication available today over the computer. Remember that these are new tools, and that your kids would need a different set of coaching in order to use them properly. But as long as you’re always there to guide and supervise, and that they already have that firm foundation from phone calls, learning new communication tools would be a lot easier.