Am I expected to call moms on cellphones?

dorothy1

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 3:45 pm

It depends so widely on your parent body...

Whatever you do I am sure is fine so long as you also ask "In the future , do you prefer I call your cell phone or the house phone?" And start the call and/or voicemail message with "Everything's fine, I"m just calling to introduce myself!"

We have a house phone, but only because it cost $1 a month LOL. We don't know the number of it and my son has been using it as a toy for the past month or two.

estelle

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 3:47 pm

I dont even have a house line that I use, definitely only cell - my kids are young so dont know what will happen when they get older but now I arrange theyre playdates and everything on my cell. People only contact me on my cell, I dont get the concept of a houseline at all - whats the point of it?

dorothy1

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 3:49 pm

I also wouldn't go by a poll because like I said, it depends so much on the parent body. My daughter's school is mostly young parents; less likely to have a house phone... we don't have kids old enough to need access to a phone and what's the point of hte extra expense when we all have cell phones? But in other communities a cell phone might be something kept in the car for emergencies and not a real means of communication.
So just go with your intuition and be polite about it adn ask what form of communication they prefer in the future.

dorothy1

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 3:50 pm

estelle wrote:

My oldest is 5. But I guess imagine if you had a a 15 year old, 12 year old, 10 year old, and 8 year old. They would use a phone to discuss homework, maybe shmooze, call relatives etc. And you wouldn't want them each to have their own cell phone...

Mommyg8

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 4:06 pm

amother wrote:

So interesting how varied the answers are!

Now I'm even more unsure. :-)

Maybe this calls for a poll, if I only knew how to make one. embarrassed

It really depends on the parent body. Since I'm older, we use the house phone primarily. I would not appreciate bring called on my house phone. Because if I'm not home, then I'm generally not in a position to talk.

But it's interesting to see these responses. I always thought that a cell phone was private, but I see I'm really from a different generation!

watergirl

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 4:14 pm

OP, many teachers (all of my kid’s teachers, actually) ask parents to fill out a wuestionarre at back to school night - allows the parents to tell the teacher what number they prefer and what time as well. I only have a cell phone. But I’d be very annoyed if I get a non urgent call midday - I work, too! When teachers call then, its clear that they are only doing it to be yotze and hoping to get an answering machine.

amother

Sapphire

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 4:19 pm

We don’t have a landline but even if we did, I’d prefer a call on my cell phone. If I’m busy and can’t answer, a message left is preferred. Very Happy

amother

Floralwhite

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 5:25 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

I am forty six. I dont see how a cell can be private in this day and age.
I keep the house phone out of habit and for emergencies but we all have cells. The kids' friends usually call them directly.

Mommyg8

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 5:55 pm

amother wrote:

I am forty six. I dont see how a cell can be private in this day and age.
I keep the house phone out of habit and for emergencies but we all have cells. The kids' friends usually call them directly.

Why don't you see how a cell can be private? My cell phone is private. None of my kids have cells, and we all use the house phone. I would be really upset if a teacher called me on my cell phone in middle of the day.

Edit: I wouldn't really be upset, I just wouldn't pick up. If I'm not home then I'm not usually in a position to answer.

Last edited by Mommyg8 on Tue, Oct 09 2018, 6:04 pm; edited 1 time in total

seeker

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 7:50 pm

First call, leave a message on the house phone. Ask them to leave a reply message for you telling you what is the best time and number to call. Write down those replies on the class list for your future reference.

If you do call cell phones during the school day, please either use your own cell phone or block caller ID. If I see the school's number come up during school hours, I always think it *might* be an emergency with my kids so I will usually excuse myself and pick up no matter what I'm in middle of. A random cell phone or unknown caller I would wait to see the message later.

ra_mom

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 7:58 pm

To clarify what I wrote above, I actually prefer calls at home in the evening.
BUT if you're calling during the day about my daughter who's in school with you PLEASE don't just call my home and leave a message on my answering machine and then go about your day. How many moms do you actually think are home, while you're at work, at your own job as a teacher/principal? I expect daytime calls to come in to my cell phone - or at least try to call a second time, on my cell phone, if I didn't pick up at home.

amother

Peach

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 9:38 pm

Ive got these welcome calls on my cell phone. I was totally fine with it. I've also got some on on my home phone. All good for me.
I really don't see what's private about a cell phone. It's just a phone number to reach a person on. You don't want to answer, don't.

OutATowner

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 10:05 pm

Didn't read every response. I sent home a letter and brief questionnaire on the first day of school. On of the questions asked their preferred method of contact. Can you do that now?

Mommyg8

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 10:14 pm

amother wrote:

It's private because it's not listed in the phone book and I don't give out my number! I make it private. But this thread is opening up my eyes to the fact that there's a big world out there and now I know -- I'm definitely going to call you on your cell phone!

Just asked dh -- he feels like me. He only gives out his number to friends and does not appreciate his number being given to random people. I guess we think alike, at least in this.

chanchy123

Tue, Oct 09 2018, 11:10 pm

The etiquette in my world is for the teacher or parent to send a text that you would like to talk on the phone.
No adult calls me on our land line (accept for my MIL when she can't reach me on my cell). Only the kids use that phone.
In fact, I never give the number out. I hate when people call me on that phone because it's not cordless and forces me to stand at a single inconvenient spot for the entire conversation.
I'm 38, and don't remember a day when cellphones where more private, just more expensive to use.

Do you guys really check message? Maybe it's an American thing. Never leave me a message I don't even know how to retrieve it on my house phone. I think the last time I got a voice message was three years ago and the last time I got a voice message that wasn't one of my kidd must have been 15 years ago.

I thinl a lot of this is cultural, not only age. In more chareidi and insular communities people use their cellphones less.