Keeping in Touch with the Kids

Years ago, my husband and I got a set of walkie talkies with a pretty good range on them. I'm not entirely sure why we got them anymore, I just know that we did. We used them (for something) and then for a few years, they sat somewhat idle on a shelf and we considered if we needed them.

We hung onto them, which was a good thing. My husband and I used them when the kids were babies. Frequently, I would head upstairs to bed early (in order to manage through multiple middle of the night feedings) and he would head down to the basement to watch a movie in the media room. I kept a walkie talkie on my bedside table and he would take one downstairs with him. That way, if I needed help with something upstairs, I could simply page him and he could come up to assist.

When we finished with middle of the night feedings, we once again considered if we should keep them. Again, we hung onto them, which was a good thing.

We live in a relatively young neighborhood and are lucky that many of our neighbors have children of similar ages to our kids. This means that when the weather permits, there is almost always someone to play with outside for the kids.

When they were really young, the kids were limited to our yard and our immediate neighbors' yards. As they have gotten older, and my son in school, their horizons have expanded to include some neighbors a few doors down and still some other friends down the street.

We have started giving my son a walkie talkie when he goes out to play. This way, if something comes up and he needs us, he can page us and let us know what is going on. He contacts us to ask if he can go into someones backyard or to ask how much longer he has to play or to let us know that he is coming back because his friend had to go in. We call him to remind him to come in for dinner or to check on how he is doing.

It allows him to have a little more freedom, while giving me the comfort of knowing that we can quickly and easily be in touch if needed. We still call his friends that live more than two houses away before heading over to play, as I like to know that the parents are there and are okay with them playing. I still will watch him down the street if he is walking to a friend's house or walk down the street if necessary to make visual contact with him playing at the neighbors (normally though, they are riding the circuit from one house to the other and back on their bikes or scooters, so he is regularly back in my sight anyway).

Using walkie talkies to keep in touch with the kids at play, works for me.

This post shared at Works For Me Wednesday.