PSA to those who don't have a landline

OutATowner

Mon, Jun 19 2017, 6:50 pm

Oh my... we've reached a point where we don't have patience to listen to a voicemail. Whats next?
-signed a 20something who prefers text and whatapp, but is still wondering what the abovr indicates

PinkFridge

Mon, Jun 19 2017, 7:01 pm

OutATowner wrote:

Oh my... we've reached a point where we don't have patience to listen to a voicemail. Whats next?
-signed a 20something who prefers text and whatapp, but is still wondering what the abovr indicates

Yes, this is getting interesting, isn't it.
To those who don't have a landline, do you have a family phone? What do your kids who are too young for their own phones do?

MagentaYenta

Mon, Jun 19 2017, 7:07 pm

PinkFridge wrote:

Maybe it's generational. How interesting that leaving voicemail is considered rude and annoying. Yes, even I find texts are more convenient but I don't think twice about voicemail. I guess because a lot of people use my home number to contact me.

My DDs (30 something) and the grands (14 to 20 something) all use VM. Aside from the teen, they're all working folks, taking personal calls isn't a very professional thing to do or possible on some of their jobs. I'll get call backs when they are on lunch or break or in the evening. My message is usually, 'This is Mom, call me when you have a chance, it's about ____.'

Chayalle

Mon, Jun 19 2017, 7:45 pm

amother wrote:

In this day and age it's basic safety for anyone over ten to have their own cellphone. I have not come across a teen without a cellphone and would expect a babysitter to have her own.

In my community, most schools don't allow their students to have cellphones until 12th grade. Some don't allow at all. Anyone hiring a teen to babysit can assume she most likely does not have a cellphone.

amother

Vermilion

Mon, Jun 19 2017, 10:02 pm

I think it's regional, not generational. I am almost fifty and no one I know uses voicemail. I am in Israel. Certainly it is not done professionally. People text, either sms or whatsapp. The teenagers are too lazy to text sometimes and will use 'voicemail' on their whatsapp. Luckily they mainly do it among themselves, and text older folks.
I dislike whatsapp recorded messages because listening takes longer than reading, also everyone around me hears it. But at least I dont need to wade through 'you have one voicemail from number 1-2-3-4---'.
I do have a landline, but our large family rarely uses it. It was more in use when we had younger kids without a phone.

amother

Gray

Mon, Jun 19 2017, 10:08 pm

amother wrote:

Not sure where you are located, but most people I know dont give their children their own cellphone untill theyve graduated at 18.

Where I live most 12 year olds have a smartphone.

debsey

Mon, Jun 19 2017, 10:21 pm

Chayalle wrote:

I won't send my teens to babysit anymore if there is no phone in the house. Either a landline, or leave your phone behind.

This. It never occured to me, until DD was babysitting and needed to call me to remind me of something, and she couldn't! She told me she realized, what would happen if she needed to call Hatzalah (DD does not have a cell phone, as per school rules).

DK why this didn't occur to the parents!?! Only defense is that they were a really young couple and not from Lakewood, so maybe they didn't realize that Lakewood BY girls usually don't have cell phones.......

ra_mom

Mon, Jun 19 2017, 10:53 pm

We have a landline. And listen to our voice messages. And return calls. Wink

But I hated voice messages on my cell phone until I got Visual Voicemail. Awesome feature.

ETA:
Don't most families that don't "give" kids under a certain age their own cell phones have an extra cell phone line or 2 that they send along with their kids when they're out for safety?

Simple1

Tue, Jun 20 2017, 3:50 am

debsey wrote:

My 10th grade dd asked for a phone because she says that everyone has phones. To a certain extent I believed her. Now I'm second guessing. I heard one lakewood school that allows phones- with conditions like checking it at the door when you come to school and maybe no texting.

amother

Vermilion

Tue, Jun 20 2017, 3:54 am

Simple1 wrote:

In my kids' schools you are out of the social loop without a phone. In other words, you dont know when and where friends are meeting. My 11 yr old missed a get together because she was temporarily without a phone.
So your dd may be right, depending on school.

Raisin

Tue, Jun 20 2017, 5:18 am

amother wrote:

I'm going to go anon for this one.

Lots of people couldn't understand why Leiby Kletzky didn't just call his family to come pick him up after his captor left him alone to go to work. Answer: his captor probably didn't have a landline and just had a cellphone.

I AM NOT SAYING you are guilty of murdering a child if you don't have a landline. I am saying it is a basic safety issue in a house to have a landline. My children are too young to babysit, but like Chayalle, I would not let them sit in a house with no phone and no means to contact someone in an emergency.

Umm, even if the kidnapper did have a landline he would likely have unplugged it and removed it so the kid couldn't call the police.

PinkFridge

Tue, Jun 20 2017, 6:04 am

debsey wrote:

Maybe we should do a separate PSA about parents and babysitters.

PinkFridge

Tue, Jun 20 2017, 6:05 am

ra_mom wrote:

We have a landline. And listen to our voice messages. And return calls. Wink

If they are being picked up and dropped off for a babysitting job, it would never occur to me to give my child that phone.

I think it's incumbent on responsible parents to make sure there is a phone in the house. Let it be THEIR spare phone.

PinkFridge

Tue, Jun 20 2017, 6:09 am

Simple1 wrote:

Our school has a check-in box, and rules about social networking. The local TAG office will not work on a smart phone for any kid in high school or younger. Do kids circumvent in and buy their own? Probably. But I assume you won't have a situation like I heard in one community of kids being out of the loop, not being able to get into good study groups or work with their production teams, if they don't have whatsapp.

amother

Cyan

Tue, Jun 20 2017, 6:25 am

Pharmacy and doctors offices always leave me vm when I don't pickup.

Vm is still going strong. Yes I hate if from my phone because it's not user friendly. My landline vm is way more user friendly. Ok I have a very outdated phone.

Now I know why I have a landline, for safety. If you lose your cell at least you have a landline and in case of emergency and there's no power you can still dial 911.

amother

Vermilion

Tue, Jun 20 2017, 6:51 am

amother wrote:

Actually many landlines here in Israel are dependant on electricity. Not everyone gets a landline from the phone company, many are from the internet company.
Anyway interesting how things work in different communities.

Orchid

Tue, Jun 20 2017, 6:59 am

Raisin wrote:

Umm, even if the kidnapper did have a landline he would likely have unplugged it and removed it so the kid couldn't call the police.

Not necessarily. He wasn't a rational person. Leiby wasn't tied up - he was in an empty apartment and theoretically free to leave. If kidnapper didn't tie him up, there's no basis to suggest he definitely would have unplugged the phone.

Anyway, I disagree with PP that "all" kids over 10 have cell phones in this day and age. This is clearly a community based response, because I can tell you with 100% certainty that that is simply not true. Where I live, NO 10 year olds have cell phones.

And to say that everyone uses chat or Whatsapp, that's interesting to me. Your doctor chats or whatsapp your lab results? Kid calls from school because he got injured - the school chats and whatsapps you if your VM is full and you don't pick up? Same with plumber saying he's on his way and will be there within 30 minutes. Millions of cases where chat and whatsapp are not (yet) appropriate.

amother

Vermilion

Tue, Jun 20 2017, 7:19 am

Orchid wrote:

And to say that everyone uses chat or Whatsapp, that's interesting to me. Your doctor chats or whatsapp your lab results? Kid calls from school because he got injured - the school chats and whatsapps you if your VM is full and you don't pick up? Same with plumber saying he's on his way and will be there within 30 minutes. Millions of cases where chat and whatsapp are not (yet) appropriate.

Based on community.
Here in Israel I havent heard of pharmacies or doctors contacting people, except in very dire cases. You need to contact them if you want to know something. Lab results you see online, and if you want an explanation you see the doctor. If the results need immediate attention, they will call you a few times till you pick up.
Kid is injured at school - most people I know would pick up the phone right away if they see the school called!
But yes, the plumber, the kids' teachers, the manicurist, the hairdresser, the school bus driver, etc etc all text, mainly whatsapp with some smsing still done.

Chayalle

Tue, Jun 20 2017, 7:35 am

Simple1 wrote:

Everyone has a cellphone except for the girls who don't. I remember when my oldest was lobbying for a cellphone, which was against the school rules, but everyone has one anyway, except for those who don't...even when she got one in 12th grade, there still were some girls who didn't.

In terms of not being out of the social loop, I allow my girls to use my cell phone to receive texts. That way if a text goes out to the grade, I can let them know.