I am always impressed and amazed at the creative solutions parents and families find to solve problems.

This creative and elegant solution came from a family I once worked with.

Her son had his own phone and an answering machine that had been provided. They decided that any time their son violated his phone privileges, he would put the following on his answering machine or cell phone that said, “Hi, this is John. I violated my phone privileges and I can’t talk to you today. So leave a message and I’ll get back to you.” tomorrow at school.”

This one worked so well that they had to use it only twice.

Another solution created by the family

Another family learned to stop calls at a certain time of night. After that time, non-emergency calls for your child will not be accepted. They define an emergency as something that could cause imminent physical or emotional harm.

If you try these solutions and they don’t work, or if you’re saying to yourself, “That would never work in my family!” that could indicate a problem that requires professional assistance.

Some people may see the phone as a small problem. But I think it’s important to handle a small problem well. It’s good practice for larger problems that may arise.