My daughter is 3 years old and has been talking on the phone (briefly) to her grandparents for a while. Looking back I probably should have never done that. Often if the phone rings or I am trying to call someone she thinks it's for her or thinks that it's her grandparents. If someone calls me I have a hard time hearing them because she's talking to me or saying "I want to talk. I want to talk." I try to make calls when she's in bed at night. This makes it hard even if I want to call someone briefly during the day.
Any suggestions?? Thanks!
Sit down with her when the phone isn't ringing and explain that not every call is from grandma & grandpa and that she needs to be quiet when mommy is on the phone. Then praise her when she does well....lots of positive reinforcement. You may have to give her some time outs when she doesn't behave. I certainly wouldn't let my kids dictate when or how long I could talk on the phone!
My DD used to do the same thing. I allowed her to talk to the person right off the bat so she could get it out of her system. After she says "hi, who's this?" I prompt her to say, "I love you, bye bye," or "have a good day, bye bye." She says that and then hands the phone to me. It's a 2 second interruption for me, but it takes away the mystique of the phone for her. It works for us. Give it a try. After a while she will lose interest.
I think a toy phone is a great idea! Maybe you can even go to a thrift store and get her a "real" phone (just clean it well).
Get her a toy telephone and have her "call" people on it during the day. Then just explain to her that sometimes mommy has to call people and that she can't ask you if she can talk. Get that straight with her before you make your call. Or maybe you can tell her you are making a phone call, one that she can't talk on. Then maybe she can make her own phone call with her toy phone.
This is pretty normal, even when they haven't talked to people on the phone. My kids can be quiet for hours until the moment the phone starts ringing and then they are loud and trying to get to the phone or demanding attention. Not sure what to tell you other than it is normal.
I use my cell phone as my phone so when it rings my daughter can bring it to me so I can see who it is before I say if she can answer it or not. Also before I make a call I let my kids know that I am making an important call thay they need to be quite during or to stay in the other room.
I hate to say my kids have toy phones and want nothing to do with them - they want the real thing, so for us the toy phones are a waste of space. You shouldn't stop her talking to her grandparents that's great. It's all a learning process for her, and you just need to set boundaries. Tell her she can't pick up the phone herself, and can only talk when you say. It's normal for them to want to talk to whom ever you are, but you need to be firm. Does she nap or play independently during the day, so you can make important calls? Can you go into another room, knowing she is safe, so you have quiet on the call. I'm not saying hide away, but when I need to call companies that keep you waiting 10mins, the last thing I want is to be cut off by my 2 year old, and have to go back in the line! We are going through this at the moment with our 2 year old. I answer one phone and he goes to another and picks it up - I guess the heavy breathing and giggling isn't coming from my caller! Distract her with activities while you are on the phone. Good luck, we take it for granted all the things we need to teach our kid, and the things they need to learn!
My 2 1/2 year old does the same thing and has been doing it for quite some time. She's been doing it long enough now that if I tell her no, or tell her it's not whoever she's asking to talk to, she'll move on. It took a LONG time for that to work, though... I would say it's been at least 6 months since I started doing that consistently.
HA HA HA HA
Sorry, I have no tips, but just thought the title of your post was hysterical. Talking on the phone with toddler nearby... !!! HOOO WEEE!! I gave up when mine were toddlers...after due diligence in instructing them not to interrupt...but it just wasn't worth it. And I felt too badly for the people on the other end of the call.....
I agree with 312 M and to make you feel better my daughter used to do it until I did what 312 M is talking about and she has never talked on the phone with anyone lol. A toy phone might help her when you are on the phone. Like saying this phone call is for mommy, but you can talk to whoever you want on THIS phone (hand her the toy phone :)) May work :)
My grand daughter started calling me when she was about 1 yr old. Mommy made the call, but grand daughter got to babble, and listen to me gush on and on with whatever gramas say. She just turned 4 and calls me every morning unless shes already at my house. She calls every night before bed too and tells me what jammies shes wearing and which toy is sleeping with her. She calls during the day sometimes if she fell down and cried, or mommy wouldnt let her have some treat, or if she got in trouble, when its all done and over. Its fun, I love it. She pretends to call while playing and when I get a real call, she knows to let me talk and when Im done, I will tell her about the call and who it was. There are times she is relentless and wont leave me alone. I can go down the hall or out to the garage but shes in trouble when I come back. Shes caught on pretty well to let me have my phone call. It just takes time, and some are harder to teach the good manners to hush when you have a call.
