do you let them play w/remote controls, telephones, etc?

Discussion in 'The Toddler Years(1-3)' started by happychck, Apr 12, 2009.

  1. happychck

    happychck Well-Known Member

    i'm just wondering what other people do. from the beginning they've been in love w/these things. at first, we tried giving them old remotes that don't have batteries in them (doesn't everyone?) but of course they saw right through that. then i started giving in on that one, because i really don't care if they mess something up w/it. the only time we really have the tv on around them is when we are programming something on the dvr, so it's not a giant temptation anyways.

    but the phones are another story! one of my ds' loves the phone so much he'll pick up any object and hold it to his ear while talking into it. he would scream every time i used my cell phone, but i never gave in. then i found out that dh was letting them play w/his in the mornings when he watched them! so, i decided to let them play w/mine, as well. after they'd called my parents and my bff a million times, i changed my speed dial settings. otherwise, i don't feel like it does them much harm... besides, it makes them so happy!

    on the other hand, i do have things i want to put my foot down about not using in the future. am i setting myself up for failure in this regard--since i didn't want them using these things before but now i let them? or am i just being a flexible mom who doesn't want to sweat the small stuff?

    tia for your thoughts!

    ~~jl

    ps: i still haven't given in on keys!!:).
     
  2. E&Msmom

    E&Msmom Well-Known Member

    We let ours play with our home phones and cell phones. For the home phone we have 2 identical phones, we just unplug the cable from the wall. personally I dont care if I miss a phone call or two- Im sure im not missing much and I love to see them jibber jabber :) They always call their DAD LOL

    Our Cell phones can be played wiht but only if we put them on LOCK first so they cant call anyone. Once they start fighting over my cell though I take it away all together.

    We dont let them play with the tv remotes/ xbox controllers etc at all.
     
  3. akameme

    akameme Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    QUOTE(E&Msmom @ Apr 12 2009, 08:45 PM) [snapback]1270234[/snapback]
    We let ours play with our home phones and cell phones. For the home phone we have 2 identical phones, we just unplug the cable from the wall. personally I dont care if I miss a phone call or two- Im sure im not missing much and I love to see them jibber jabber :) They always call their DAD LOL

    Our Cell phones can be played wiht but only if we put them on LOCK first so they cant call anyone. Once they start fighting over my cell though I take it away all together.

    We dont let them play with the tv remotes/ xbox controllers etc at all.


    I was going to mention the lock function...most cell phones have them. The kids love my blackberry, but mostly now they just bring it to me.

    I hear you about setting boundaries, but not making everything off limits. We definitely pick our battles..but try not to let them the have the real phones too much because who knows what they are "transmitting!" via wireless.

    Your boys are a tough age, since the kids turned 2 and their comprehension has improved, it has gotten easier on some stuff. We also didn't child proof too much, mostly contained them to their room (but the gate is broken now) and pretty much let them lose in their room.
     
  4. Dianna

    Dianna Well-Known Member

    No we don't let them play with our phones or remotes. If they break our phones, can't afford to run out and buy new ones. And any time they get hold of the remote, IDK what they do but they pull up menus that we can't figure out even how to pull up LOL

    Dianna
     
  5. babymOmmax2

    babymOmmax2 Well-Known Member

    Oh god, mine LOVE remotes & phones. If they see one in their view, they'll drop everything to scoot over to it. Sometimes I bring them into my room to play when they first get up. DH is still usually asleep, so they go right from his cell phone and start flipping through the channels usually ending up on a blank channel (i call it popcorn channels) & turning it on blast. That is daddy's favorite wake-up call :rollseyes: One time he was still sleeping and Anthony climbed over him to get the house phone. He tried climbing back over him (remind you, he's a pretty big guy!) but got stuck on stop. He took the house phone, looked at me, and then chucked it right at his head! I couldn't believe it. I tried to hold back my laughter but couldn't! :rofl: Their just as much fun as they are weapons!
     
  6. becasquared

    becasquared Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    Yup, and Alice called 911 the week before last!! And Royce will put anything and everything up to his ear and blabber away.

    The only thing that is off limits is the x-box controllers.
     
  7. kingeomer

    kingeomer Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    We let them play with old remotes that are no longer in use and cell phones that are also no longer in use.
     
  8. nurseandrea02

    nurseandrea02 Well-Known Member

    I must be a mean mama. Cell phones & remote controls are OFF LIMITS. They have play remotes that they'll occasionally play with, but now anywhere we go, they will always say who's remote it is & it's ALWAYS the men's (ie Papa's Mote, Daddy's Mote, Beepa's (Grandpa) Mote, etc) & will hand it to that person or just leave it alone. They've never once held or touched a cell phone, besides the play toy ones, so I don't think they know what they're missing!
     
  9. becasquared

    becasquared Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    QUOTE(nurseandrea02 @ Apr 13 2009, 08:46 AM) [snapback]1270457[/snapback]
    I must be a mean mama. Cell phones & remote controls are OFF LIMITS. They have play remotes that they'll occasionally play with, but now anywhere we go, they will always say who's remote it is & it's ALWAYS the men's (ie Papa's Mote, Daddy's Mote, Beepa's (Grandpa) Mote, etc) & will hand it to that person or just leave it alone. They've never once held or touched a cell phone, besides the play toy ones, so I don't think they know what they're missing!


    meanie :p
     
  10. Fran27

    Fran27 Well-Known Member

    Mine are not allowed to play with those either. *maybe* I'll let them have the phone when I'm changing their diapers to avoid a struggle though...
     
  11. twinmuffin

    twinmuffin Well-Known Member

    Phones and cell phones are off limits... unless we are visiting Aunt Shannon, she always hands her cell phone right over to the girls. They love it, (and she wants a new phone). Remote controls I could care less about. I hate how much the tv is on in our house, and I am never the one who leaves the remote controls out. DH and DS leave them all over the house and the girls find them, and I let them play with them. DH takes them away though.
     
  12. Minette

    Minette Well-Known Member

    We never let them play with the real phones, for several reasons:
    1 - Didn't want them chewing on it
    2 - Didn't want them accidentally making phone calls
    3 - Didn't want them to carry the phones away and lose them under a couch

    However, we gave them our old cell phones with the batteries removed, when they were around 10 months old. At almost 3.5, they still play with them.

    We never really allowed them to play with the remotes, mostly because I didn't want them to touch/eat the batteries and also because I don't want the remotes to get lost. However, once they were tall enough to reach them on top of the TV (around age 2.5), I stopped paying so much attention to what they did with them. By that time, they were pretty well trained to only use them for their actual purpose (turning the TV on & off).
     
  13. BeckiAllen1130

    BeckiAllen1130 Well-Known Member

    I always thought my girls had inherited my husband's techie genes!! lol I'm so glad mine aren't the only ones who go crazy for remotes, phones & xbox controllers. hahaha. We let them play with those things when they're lying around, but I try to keep them out of reach of the kids. I know of 2 occasions where the girls have called people with our home phone b/c these people have called us back wanting to know why we called them! I had to explain that my babies called them, OOPS!
     
  14. happychck

    happychck Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(akameme @ Apr 12 2009, 10:41 PM) [snapback]1270287[/snapback]
    We definitely pick our battles..but try not to let them the have the real phones too much because who knows what they are "transmitting!" via wireless.

    i totally agree, miriam! i feel the same way about the tv, even when it's not on! (but dh thinks i'm nuts).

    btw, neither of our cells have key locks. i don't mind them making calls now (we've taken everyone but ourselves off the 'press and hold' speed dial, and i barely ever use it so we have tons of minutes). i will for sure get it on my next phone, though--just to make the phone less interesting.
     
  15. ldwa

    ldwa Well-Known Member

    I think it comes down to picking your battles-- is letting them play with the remotes, phones, etc REALLY worth the aggrivation of all the No's that would come with making them off-limits? for me it's not-- if it's truly off-limits then it needs to be out of sight until they're old enough to really understand they can't play with it-- I think 2yr olds just don't get it-- now, running into the street, that's a definite NO, playing with daddy's lawnmower or the kitchen knives- that's a NO. tv remote- no biggee.

    that's my take on it.
     
  16. jasonsmommy

    jasonsmommy Well-Known Member

    Yes, they play with the older phones. (We just got new ones and are too "ohoohoh" too share them yet.) And remotes and everything.

    They especailly love Wii remotes! THey stand at the TV and point them and jiggle them like they are playing.

    Also, it is great to see them mocking what we do. That means they are learning!
     
  17. meganguttman

    meganguttman Well-Known Member

    My boys are obsessed with phones. They had 3 play phones and I finally got them the Parents flip phones at Target last week. (DH and I have flip phones) and now they think they are real phones. We don't let them play with our phones. The remotes I keep away from them, but they are always trying to find a way to get them. We had a landline phone in our closet (we only have cell right now) and the boys knew just what to do with it. After they stretched to cord beyond belief, I unattached it and let them have the handset. It somehow made it downstairs and into the TOILET!! I keep telling DH to put the lid down! DH left the lid up so he had to fish out the phone (which went in the trash). I had to give my first lecture while trying not to lmao!

    Oh yeah, I NEVER let them play with the keys! They never are washed and I can't even imagine how many germs are on them. I usually sanitize my hands after I get in/out of the car.
     
  18. Buttercup1

    Buttercup1 Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(happychck @ Apr 12 2009, 11:20 PM) [snapback]1270219[/snapback]
    but the phones are another story! one of my ds' loves the phone so much he'll pick up any object and hold it to his ear while talking into it.


    My girls do this too. They love "talking" on the phone. We try not to let them but they always seem to end up with them. We've given them old cell phone's with the batteries removed and old cordless phones that we've had laying around (dh doesn't like to throw these things away <_< )

    Basically they like to play with anything that has buttons.
     
  19. Leighann

    Leighann Well-Known Member

    My girls have play phones that they play with. I sometimes let them talk on my phone but only if I'm talking to DH or my sister (no one else wants to hear what Ana is eating right now or that Meara put dirt on a swing today!). As for remotes mine still don't mind playing with one without batteries... they just can't understand why it won't turn the TV on! Oh and when we stayed in a hotel, I just unplugged the phone and that was HOURS of entertainment right there. So if you have an old landline phone, see if they will play with that.
     
  20. Lynner405

    Lynner405 Well-Known Member

    I used to let them play with both my cell phone and the remote. Then, within a week of each other, they managed to break both things. They broke my cell phone because their spit got down into the phone and locked it so that I couldn't call out. So that was a huge pain trying to get that replaced. And then one of them threw the remote and broke it, so that had to be replaced. Now they are all off limits.
     
  21. twoplustwo

    twoplustwo Well-Known Member

    we try to not let them but ds always seems to find them. I think he has super locating powers with the remote. Maybe it's a male thing. Drives me crazy though. Ican never find it when I need it.
     
  22. happychck

    happychck Well-Known Member

    QUOTE(mommymeg @ Apr 14 2009, 01:14 PM) [snapback]1272913[/snapback]
    My boys are obsessed with phones. They had 3 play phones and I finally got them the Parents flip phones at Target last week. (DH and I have flip phones) and now they think they are real phones. We don't let them play with our phones. The remotes I keep away from them, but they are always trying to find a way to get them. We had a landline phone in our closet (we only have cell right now) and the boys knew just what to do with it. After they stretched to cord beyond belief, I unattached it and let them have the handset. It somehow made it downstairs and into the TOILET!! I keep telling DH to put the lid down! DH left the lid up so he had to fish out the phone (which went in the trash). I had to give my first lecture while trying not to lmao!

    Oh yeah, I NEVER let them play with the keys! They never are washed and I can't even imagine how many germs are on them. I usually sanitize my hands after I get in/out of the car.

    lol on the toilet story!! (btw, you gotta get a toilet lock for the boys' safety! and your sanity;)). anyways, i just wanted to tell you that we got those parent cell phones for xmas gifts and when they stopped working well (the phone would still ring but the recorded messages and songs wouldn't play) we replaced the batteries.... but they still didn't work any more! just warning you in case that happens to you. kind of a bummer!
     
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