Teach Your Child How to Use a Phone

Teaching your children how to use the telephone can be both a blessing and a catastrophe, especially when they wonder into those spermatic teen years. When they hit that stage you’ll know exactly what I mean. Until then it’s always good to teach your children how to use the telephone properly.

Preschool-3rd grade
Make sure to explain to your child that the phone is not a play toy. It is an important communication device that is used to contact friends, family and for business purposes. Using the telephone takes responsibility and the ability to be polite to callers.

Show them the key pad and how it is set up, if they are not able to recognize their numbers show them one and going from left to right they can simply count the numbers until they can recognize them.

When they are calling family or friends have them use proper etiquette, “Hello, may I please speak to (name of person). EExplain that they should always use manners when contacting someone’s home, use “please, E“thank you, Eand “excuse me Eif they did not hear the caller.

Teach your children proper phone etiquette when answering and using the phone. When they are answering the phone they should use, “Hello  E(your last name) Residence Ewhen the person the caller is trying to reach is not in explain to them how to take a message, “They are not available. Can I take a message? EHave them at least write down the number and the first name of the person. If they cannot write have them simply tell the person to call back later. “She/he is not available. Please try back in a few hours.”

Main points to address:

• Show them how to answer the phone properly.
• Teach them how the keypad works.

Grades 4th-6th
Although this is the age where your child’s ear and the phone will be connected and they will certainly know how to use it you can still encourage them to use proper etiquette when answering the phone or calling other people’s house. This is simply respecting the other party on the phone line, reminding them the same theory for face-to-face conversations apply, “treat others the way you want to be treated.”

The same rule applies for this age group as it does to the above, when they are answering the phone they should use, “Hello  E(your last name) Residence Ewhen the person the caller is trying to reach is not in have them take a message, “They are not available. Can I take a message? EHave them at least write down the number and the first name of the person.

In addition, when they are calling family or friends have them use proper etiquette, “Hello, may I please speak to (name of person). EExplain that they should always use manners when contacting someone’s home, use “please, E“thank you, Eand “excuse me Eif they did not hear the caller.

Main points to address:

• Encourage them to use proper etiquette when answering the phone and calling other people’s homes.
• Remind them to treat others as they want to be treated applies to phone conversations as well as face-to-face meetings.

Resources
Resources that can help you in your venture include:

• Dummies.Com – http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-5311.html
• Lifestyle – http://lifestyle.msn.com/FamilyandParenting/RaisingKids/ArticleBHG.aspx?cp-documentid=1314613

Posted in Education.

Related articles

• Teach Your Child About the Solar System

• Teach Your Child About Oceans and Ocean Life

• Teach Your Child the Basics of Music