If you have older kids in college now

[Anonymous]

My kid's number is a VIP ring through on my phone, but also, he's not off in the wilderness all alone. There are people all around him much closer than I am in a serious emergency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t sleep with my phone in my room. My kids are both 2,000+ miles away. There is nothing I could do immediately in an emergency even if I answered. Kids are senior and sophomore.

If something was wrong, wouldn't you want to know ASAP? If it's 1 am and the emergency room near your kid's school is calling to say your kid is in grave condition, wouldn't you want to know so you can go to the airport to try to catch the 6 am flight to that city? Or would you rather wait until you wake at 7 am, sit through rush hour traffic on the way to the airport, to try and catch the 11 am (or later) flight?
There is a documentary called "Breathe Nolan Breathe" about a college freshman that ended up dying from alcohol abuse in fraternity hazing. In the film, his mom describes how it was just after midnight when the phone rang. Why would any parent want to wait until they wake up the next morning?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZrqrzG3UA8

[Anonymous]

Do you not have a phone line other than a cell phone? This is how I communicated with my parents in the 90s. As far as I know, it will still work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you not have a phone line other than a cell phone? This is how I communicated with my parents in the 90s. As far as I know, it will still work.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/23/landline-emergencies-home-phones/

This article was written about 2 years ago and says only about 1/4 of US adults have a landline. I'd bet the number is even lower now, not higher.

[Anonymous]

The amount of hysteria in this thread...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t sleep with my phone in my room. My kids are both 2,000+ miles away. There is nothing I could do immediately in an emergency even if I answered. Kids are senior and sophomore.

If something was wrong, wouldn't you want to know ASAP? If it's 1 am and the emergency room near your kid's school is calling to say your kid is in grave condition, wouldn't you want to know so you can go to the airport to try to catch the 6 am flight to that city? Or would you rather wait until you wake at 7 am, sit through rush hour traffic on the way to the airport, to try and catch the 11 am (or later) flight?
There is a documentary called "Breathe Nolan Breathe" about a college freshman that ended up dying from alcohol abuse in fraternity hazing. In the film, his mom describes how it was just after midnight when the phone rang. Why would any parent want to wait until they wake up the next morning?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZrqrzG3UA8

My daughter is going to college in another country. I worry about none of these things because I benefit from reasonable mental health. I don’t think catastrophizing is a good way to go through life.

[Anonymous]

I turn my phone off at night when I sleep. If my college kid calls then, I return the call in the morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t sleep with my phone in my room. My kids are both 2,000+ miles away. There is nothing I could do immediately in an emergency even if I answered. Kids are senior and sophomore.

If something was wrong, wouldn't you want to know ASAP? If it's 1 am and the emergency room near your kid's school is calling to say your kid is in grave condition, wouldn't you want to know so you can go to the airport to try to catch the 6 am flight to that city? Or would you rather wait until you wake at 7 am, sit through rush hour traffic on the way to the airport, to try and catch the 11 am (or later) flight?
There is a documentary called "Breathe Nolan Breathe" about a college freshman that ended up dying from alcohol abuse in fraternity hazing. In the film, his mom describes how it was just after midnight when the phone rang. Why would any parent want to wait until they wake up the next morning?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZrqrzG3UA8

My daughter is going to college in another country. I worry about none of these things because I benefit from reasonable mental health. I don’t think catastrophizing is a good way to go through life.

Exactly!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t sleep with my phone in my room. My kids are both 2,000+ miles away. There is nothing I could do immediately in an emergency even if I answered. Kids are senior and sophomore.

If something was wrong, wouldn't you want to know ASAP? If it's 1 am and the emergency room near your kid's school is calling to say your kid is in grave condition, wouldn't you want to know so you can go to the airport to try to catch the 6 am flight to that city? Or would you rather wait until you wake at 7 am, sit through rush hour traffic on the way to the airport, to try and catch the 11 am (or later) flight?
There is a documentary called "Breathe Nolan Breathe" about a college freshman that ended up dying from alcohol abuse in fraternity hazing. In the film, his mom describes how it was just after midnight when the phone rang. Why would any parent want to wait until they wake up the next morning?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZrqrzG3UA8

Same here

[Anonymous]

I have my kids and husband set to breakthrough do not disturb so if they need to reach me they can

[Anonymous]

My kid has always been a night owl and often calls/texts late. Totally fine with me. We had some great midnight conversations while he was living at home. Happy to have that continue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have my kids and husband set to breakthrough do not disturb so if they need to reach me they can

And if your kids or husband's phone gets lost or stolen and they borrow a friend's phone, they won't be able to get through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can set it up for certain numbers to ring through DND.

I sleep with an EarPod in with white noise (dog and DH snore) and have received calls from college kids. Good news, drunken butt dials.

Yes, I set my kids' numbers to always ring even on dnd. I also keep me phone in a different room, but, fortunately, we still have a landline which has a loud ring, so they know to call that if emergency. Not needed so far. Phew!

[Anonymous]

I have ringer on and i also tend to pick up unknown numbers (but not the ones labeled as spam). I've been doing this for years whenever they were out of the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can set it up for certain numbers to ring through DND.

I sleep with an EarPod in with white noise (dog and DH snore) and have received calls from college kids. Good news, drunken butt dials.

In a true emergency, your kid might not be calling from their own phone. If they were mugged and their phone was stolen, or in ca car accident and their phone fell over a cliff or into a lake, they could be calling from a friend's phone.

Apple has a feature where you can have double calls break through DND. They just have to call twice.

NP. Could you explain how to set this up? Thanks! (I have it on DND, just don't see the double call break through option.)