Trish’s Blog

Seth, Zack & Zoe at Sarah's school.

Seth came home from school today and sat on the couch with the telephone. He said, “Can I use the phone?” I looked at him and noticed a long thin strip of construction paper unfolded on his lap. I said, “Who are you calling?” He said, “Isabella. My friend.” I had to hold back from laughing. He’s in first grade and he’s got a girl’s phone number. Further discussion revealed that he exchanged phone numbers with her. I told him that he needed to give her a chance to get home before he called. So he reluctantly put the phone aside and went to have a snack. After his snack he again sat on the couch and said, “Can we call now?” I explained that her mother was a teacher and she probably hasn’t even left the school yet. He said, “Can we just call?”

Seth is in such a hurry. He wants to be a phone user and doesn’t care if the person on the other end is even home yet. There’s something enticing about pushing the numbers on the phone and holding the device to your ear. Everyone besides him and Zoe uses the phone. When Sarah and Zack use the phone it usually means that they are going to someone’s house for a playdate or planning some such fun activity. There’s something empowering and promising in using the phone. Add to it the iPhones that Josh and I use almost constantly, and it’s no wonder Seth wants to join the ranks. We are teaching by example all the time even when we are not consciously aware that we are doing it.

Seth and Isabella exchanged phone calls. I can see that we need to have a conversation about phone ettiquette with Seth. He was inviting himself over for a playdate and not saying good-bye when hanging up. It was funny that she kept calling him back and he would get this smile on his face that reached his eyes and say, “Again?!” Doesn’t this kid know that there’s no dating until he’s sixteen years old? We have to keep our eyes on this one. The innocence of his obvious like for her is so cute, though.

Posted on March 30th, 2009 by trish
Filed under: Family, Haley Kids