I hid my son’s iPhone last week. I was just so tired of arguing about how much time he spent glued to that screen and how it had taken over his life and interests. And while I’m at it, I might as well admit that I also took and hid his iPad. I put them both in a stationery box, one of six on top of a 7-foot-tall bookcase in my office. Pretty much undiscoverable, or so I thought.
Well, I was in San Francisco for a meeting Friday night for almost six hours. I didn’t think to check the box again until Sunday, and when I checked on Sunday, to my shock—GONE!
Of course, I immediately asked my son about it. He innocently said, “Maybe someone stole them?” I replied, “Ah, so they left the Mac laptops and big screen TVs but took your iPhone hidden away on top of a 7 foot bookcase?? Yeah, I don’t think so…” I had never realized before how gullible my son must think I am.
As the days have unfolded since, his explanations have gotten even more creative and farfetched. Next he wondered out loud, “Maybe I took it when I was sleep-walking, Mom?” REALLY???? Pull the other leg, son.
Anyway, under threat of having to go to Father Leo’s weekly confessional on Saturday afternoon, he finally fessed up yesterday. But then as a preemptive measure, he hid them somewhere he “can’t remember,” so the saga continues. Sometimes being the adult, however, is an advantage. Tomorrow I am turning off the internet service.
So I guess one way or another, this whole phone addiction situation will come to a head. Lucky for me (and not for him), I did just discover some pretty serious parental controls available through my carrier. One way or another, we are going to find a solution for this problem.
— Mom of Future Private Detective
