I haven't yet entered the territory of parenthood wherein my kids ignore my text messages – they're so disinterested in their phones that they're more likely to have no clue where they are, rather than deliberately not replying to me.
But I know lots of parents with teens and kids a little older than me who, by all accounts, are an absolute nightmare to get hold of.
'We both have smart phones so I can see that she's opened my text, and I sometimes sit there thinking she's about to reply because I can see the little dots which suggest that she's typing. Then silence. For hours. It's infuriating. Why don't teens just text their parents back?!' says one mum I know.
Well, one dad has taken matters into his own hands by inventing an app that locks your child's phone until they text you back.
Metro reports:
Parents, are you fed up of texting your children and never getting a reply? Yes, so is dad Nick Herbert – which is why he has created an app that physically forces his teenage son to message him back. The 45-year-old said he reached the end of his tether when 13-year-old Ben kept screening his calls. So the new app stops children doing exactly that – by locking their phone until they respond. And if that wasn’t enough, ReplyASAP also takes over the recipient’s screen and sounds an alarm, which can only be turned off by texting mum or dad back.
We covered a similar app a few years back and I've got to say, I think this is a pretty harsh measure. I'd rather engage with my kids about their lack of response, and have them agree to mend their ways out of respect for my boundaries as their parent.
I know, I'm probably a bit naive. And by the time my kids are refusing to text me back, I'll no doubt by downloading this app quick than you can say Mary Poppins.
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