Ahhh, the ubiquitous mobile phone… the blessing and curse of our modern society.  As a parent, it is a blessing since we can always have the comfort of knowing we are just a phone call away from an instant connection with our children.  As a parent, it is a curse because now that we have such a lifeline to our offspring, we never want to be without our phone just in case our kids need us.  As a result we will often keep our phones with us, and on, in situations where we might have been better off leaving the phone behind.

WORKUS INTERRUPTUS

If you are a working parent, I am sure you have been in this situation: You are right in the middle of either…

a) A meeting with your boss where you are singing your praises to impress her/him…
b) The best client pitch you have ever given, and you are just about to convince them to sign on the dotted line…
c) Going to the bathroom…
d) A crowded business lunch, seated in the corner of a booth, barely able to raise your fork, let alone discreetly step away to have a private phone call…

…When all of a sudden your phone rings and you know (by the ringtone or caller ID) that it is one of your kids.  What’s a parent to do?  Do you answer immediately and miss the a) raise b) deal c) flush d) meal???  Or do you ignore the call and risk sending your beloved child the message that there are other things more important than them, or worse, miss finding out that there really is a problem and they need your help?  Can you spell S-T-R-E-S-S ?

THE SASS SYSTEM

Here is what I do.  I am at work all day, and I travel a lot for business.  My phone is essentially permanently fused to my hand so my kids know I always have it with me and they can, in theory, always reach me.  That said, I cannot always answer their call, but I want them to be able to get my attention if in fact it is an emergency.  With that in mind, I have asked my three kids to abide by the following guidelines:  If you call me and I do not answer, it means I am busy.  I will call you back as soon as I can.  If it is IMPORTANT, either text me the problem, or CALL AGAIN.  If you call me two times in a row, that will be the signal that it cannot wait, and I will answer the second call, no ifs ands or buts (unless I am on a plane, but you should know my flight schedule).  This simple system seems to work well, and the kids seem to know when or if something warrants the two calls in a row “important” signal.

IGNORE A CALL… NICELY

One last tip:   Most “smartphones” have a function that allows you to ignore an incoming call and send out a “canned” text message to the caller.   I use this feature frequently and with one click can ignore a call and send the caller an SMS message that says, “Sorry I can’t answer your call right now. I will call you back soon. If it is important, please text me.”

How about you?  What is your system, if any, for managing calls from your kids?  Please share your own tips in the comments!

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 20, Ethan, 18 and Olivia, 17).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab.

Photo Credit: © Svetlana Privezentseva – Fotolia.com