What is your communication with other parents, should you call them? I know it is definitely different from when my mom and dad were raising us. It is going to sound pretty funny but when I was a kid, all or most of the moms, would walk us out to the bus stop in the morning. They’d wait with us on the curb, while the adults would chat and the kids would wait drearily for the big yellow bus. My BFF lived next door to me while I was in elementary school all the way through high school. Our parents would just walk right over and knock on the door, or holler over the side fence if they wanted to have communication.
Communicate Through Text
Today we handle communication with other parents very differently. It is not nearly as personal and that sort of freaks me out. It is considered unusual for most to actually call another kids’ parent if you need to communicate with them. I feel like the mode of communication is texting at this point. Now I have to admit I feel a lot more at ease not having to get on the phone with someone I haven’t met before. I am what you’d probably call an introverted extrovert. I’d much rather not talk on the phone because I can’t see facial expressions or body language. I find my conversations become awkward and choppy.
Is This an Adult on the Other Line?
While texting a parent about the plans that my kids are making for themselves, I have questions to ask myself. Is this an adult on the other end of this line? Am I having communication with other parents, or my child’s friend, or their parent? Am I being duped? What if the parent isn’t a good parent, but they are completely crazy and irresponsible? I definitely can’t tell anything from a text. So, therefore, I started being the mom that CALLS other parents. Oh, how embarrassing it is for my daughter. Well, she’s actually used to it by now and has since learned that I’m not the only mom who is “like that” either.
We are in the Same Situation
I am happy that I called another mom yesterday. She was relieved to know another mom “like this”. Meaning that she’s not the only one who wants to have communication with other parents and make sure that when her 11-year-old daughter is going to a sleepover, all is well. We agreed that it’s important to communicate and call other parents. During our conversation, I learned that I wasn’t alone in other ways. It turned out that the girls that had been bullying my daughter for months are also doing the same things to her daughter- and other kids!
Reach Out and Call
Even though it is so easy to detach from people and text to communicate with other parents, it is risky and it isolates yourself. Going forward, I will try very hard to push myself to take the extra steps from now on and make sure that I speak directly to other parents. I will make sure we all communicate with each other.
Do you call other parents, or are you comfortable just texting?
