I send a text message to my children’s “real or wrong” children’s questions to keep them sending text messages to me

• When my children left to the college, I wanted to know more about their lives.
• A silly game started to make them deal with me through the text while they are in the college.
• I still love life updates from her, but we exchanged fun remained in contact.

Many parents of teenagers and young people may be associated with this development on the old example of the horse to water-you can pay the plans of mobile phone to your children, but you cannot re-send them to you.

This never felt more than when my children left the college. On the meter of missing persons and the desire to check and see how things go, I will send them a lot, “How are you? How are you? What’s new?” Or “What do you do until the end of this week?” Texts.

Sometimes, I will get a good “good”. Maybe I receive “Capture on Lee” or “Meet with a Study Group Now Ttyl.” Other times, hours, or days will pass without a response. Understood. I knew they were busy.

When I was in college in the early nineties, in the days before sending text messages or even a large -scale e -mail, my mother was calling the hall phone in my residence at 8 pm on Wednesday and Sunday. If it is used, we will attend another time.

Modern technology can be a blessing and curse. Just because my children can be accessed, they do not mean that they are easily available.

I started a ridiculous game by chance

However, I wanted to know what they were and they would continue, always hope to get a response. I tried to send pictures of our cats with a message “Bubbles and shoes say good night!” But I was lucky if these texts got a heart or thumb.

Then, purely by chance, I discovered something that made them respond almost immediately. In a text conversation, she wrote: “Right or wrong: I just entered a man who uses the toilet in the gym because he did not close the door to the single bathroom.”

Within seconds, my phone was wearing: “Right … I hope it is a mistake”, and “Yixes, right, but please say wrong!”

After confirming that it was already true – and very embarrassing – she wondered: If you had discovered them in a little magically from the time of the simultaneous stop, or were you on something?

After a few weeks, I sent another. “Correct or wrong: A woman has just retreated from attendance to my book because she is preparing her dog to colonoscopy.”

Again, my phone is harmonious seconds after sending it. “OOF, very specific should be true (and sorry for that if you are right)” and “correct – the poor dog”.

I was allowed to remind them of things as well

Well, so I didn’t get long or useful paragraphs about her daily adventures, but she was evidence of life and certainly more than I would have been getting before. Once I receive their attention, can I use it as a starting point to transfer more important information?

I tested it – “true or wrong: Grammy came for dinner tonight and just finished filming her test ball for the Golden Bachelor.”

“Error” and “Oh no, please say wrong!” It appeared after minutes. I told them that they were right. It was a liar, but I also reminded them that her birthday was coming and that they needed to contact her.

What about this game made it more effective than the best pets? Have they attracted their competitive souls, and their desire to choose the correct answer? Do you raise their curiosity? Or maybe it is easy, a low commitment. They knew they could write one word and move forward.

Whatever the reason, the trick did. We continue when they are at home in the summer.

Another nice thing in this game is that they started starting. When my younger son returned from a short course outside, he wrote a text message, “Right or wrong: I changed my ticket, and I will already go to Barbados instead of returning home and returning to school.”

I wrote, “False, but if it is true, I will be happy to fly there to capture you!”

Although it will be great to receive detailed texts full of updates about seasons and friends and anything else they choose to share, and sometimes there is a short and fun exchange is all you get. Maybe this is enough.