Inappropriate Parents
Thursday night my fifteen-year-old called his girlfriend at 9:30pm. They talked for a few minutes and by 10:00pm he was in bed.
At 2am his cell phone rang. It was his girlfriend’s mother. She told my son, “I would appreciate it if you don’t call my daughter after 9pm.” My son was apologetic and said he didn’t realize she had a phone curfew but he would only call before 9pm from then on.
Does anybody else see the irony in a grown woman calling a fifteen-year-old boy at two o’clock in the morning (on a school night no less) to tell him not to call her house after 9pm?
I just found out about this today. And I was fuming when I heard. I have a couple of issues with this woman’s approach. (1) You don’t call a fifteen-year-old kid at 2am. My husband’s first thought was that she is a drinker and had just gotten home from the bar when she called. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that maybe she has a second shift job, but either way it’s highly inappropriate to be calling your daughter’s teenage boyfriend at 2am. 2am calls are reserved for emergencies and booty calls, neither of which apply to my son at this point in his life. (2) If her daughter has a phone curfew she needs to take that up with her daughter who would then pass that information on to her boyfriend (my son). They’ve only been dating for about a week. This woman doesn’t even know my son. If he knew she had a curfew he would not call that late. He’s not perfect, but he is respectful (well at least to people who aren’t his parents 
).
If I was petty and immature I would call her at 3am on Sunday night/Monday morning and tell her I don’t appreciate her calling my son at 2am. Luckily I’m a responsible adult and will not stoop that low. But it doesn’t mean I won’t blog about her.
Hmmm. So, what example is she setting for her daughter? No calls after 9pm because daughter needs to be in bed, mom doesn’t like to be bothered…oh, wait! Let HER call at such a godforsaken hour and disturb/frighten someone.
I commend your restraint in not contacting her tit-for-tat…me? I’d have called and blown my top. But I’m a hothead that way. (However, I *have* noticed how satisfying it is to blog about things like this, instead.)
Funny, before I even read what your husband thought of this lady, I was thinking the same thing: that she was probably drunk. I honestly can’t think of any other reason why a rational adult would do something like that.
Glad to see that you’re taking the high road and not stooping to her level, but please do blog away!
Another thought, she made sure her daughter didn’t know about the call. Raises eyebrows to me.
Yeah, I’d be checking out this looney tune on
a open court records site….totally odd behavior
for an adult.
I thought “drinker,” too. Or, perhaps she thought she would get your son’s voicemail instead of a live person on the other end.
I can’t believe you are serious, lol. How on earth can someone call at 2am to complain about a 9:30 call, too funny. Not to mention the calling a 15 year old boy at 2am. That is a tough one, I’d have been mad too. That would have been a bit funny if you did call at 3am.
Seriously?!? She called your boy at 2 am! I’d be so mad. I honestly thought she was drunk too. Props to your son for handling her in a much more mature manner than she deserved.
Sounds like a nut-case to me.
No reason to believe she was drunk or irresponsible. She may simply be one of those parents that obsesses until she does something about it. My mother would have done the same thing when I was younger. My brother, when he’s sleepy, pissed, and yes, sometimes medicated (legally), has done the exact same thing. Some people have trouble recognizing limits, especially when it comes to their children.
I’m glad you didn’t call her back, though. If it’s still bothering you, I’d call during normal daylight hours. How do you know she hadn’t already addressed it with her daughter? For all you know, her real irritation might be the daughter sneaking calls too late.
Or, she might just be a neglectful wasted drunkard.
It could be that her daughter wasn’t taking up the issue and she thought she’d drive her point home. I have a 9:00 curfew on phone calls. I think between 9 and 10 should be wind down time and that kids shouldn’t be on the phone disturbing my home time with my family. Call earlier, email or instant message. Those can all be turned off or tuned out. My kids take care of the issue themselves and let their friends know, and their friends are respectful of that. If she disturbed the whole family, maybe you as parents would make sure it didn’t happen. However, I wouldn’t have called the son’s house. I would have taken away the car keys or grounded the daughter, so that she knew I meant it. I know that my rules aren’t everyone’s rules. My brother in law used to get phone calls at 2:30 am which made it difficult to visit my m-i-l. I wanted to make clear what my time limits were now.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! She reminds me of those parents who smack their kids across the face for hitting their sibling or something, or scream at them for yelling in the house. Way to set an example!
I’m so glad you can have a sense of humor about it.
YOU are setting a good example for YOUR child.