Whatever You Do, DO NOT Give This To A Toddler.

DO NOT under any circumstance, hand your phone over to a toddler. If you do, it will be gone. Forever. As in, bye bye phone. The toddler will become obsessed with it, NOTHING will compare.  They will search you, your pockets, handbag... EVERYWHERE, until they find their precious.  And when they find it, your...

  • Calls-Missed... Except those from people you are trying to avoid.  They answer those calls. 
  • Texts-Replied to with something similar to this, 'shjd;$@!32'- (Actual text sent by my toddler) 
  • Apps-Gone. Poof! Take screenshots of your phone pages so you can easily figure out what Apps have been compromised.
  • Social Media- New friends requests will be sent. In-laws unfriended. Wars started.
  • Photos, Music & Videos-Subject to toddler purging as well.
  • Passwords-Changed- Try something similar to--Dmns12zdn.';'f
  • Settings- Changed-Think 'Airplane Mode.' ALL DAY!
  • Buttons & Cracks- PACKED with peanut butter, jelly, bananas and Goldfish.

Should you fail to heed this warning, and hand your phone over to a toddler...
  • DO NOT Panic-...once you completely and utterly hate yourself for the poor choice. Panicking will cause you to make more poor choices.
  • DO NOT Chase After Them in an attempt to get it back. Most likely they will think it's a game and begin laughing wildly at you, whilst out running and mocking you.  
  • DO NOT Scare Them-Once they see the anger in your eye, and realize the game is over, that is when they scramble for a hiding spot. This is where things get very dangerous for the phone.
  • BACK OFF! If you are coming up to a body of water during the chase, STOP! The toilet is not where you want this to end, and they are more than happy to go for that. In fact, just back off the chase all together; it will not end well for your phone. Most likely, the toddler will panic when you get close, and try launch the phone with everything their little Peyton Manning arm has got. So should you be near an area that provides a large drop, hard surface, or deep opening when the phone is launched, its game over for your phone. So again I say, BACK OFF!
  • Play Dead. Your best bet is to play dead, while your toddler calms down in a quiet corner with their precious phone... and then MOVE IN! Grab it back.  
  • REDIRECT-If you want this acquisition of your property to go smoothly, you will need a redirect object, something like a cupcake, cookie, ice cream cone, chocolate or candy should suffice. Try to make the switch so fast they notice the cupcake before the loss of the phone.
  • NOW RUN! Once you have your phone back, RUN... to the nearest toy store and by something resembling the phone or a tablet, and pray like you have never prayed before that the new phone will work. If it does not, sorry my friend, the damage is done.  Go get your toddler their own phone/tablet and thank your lucky stars you made it out with all of your fingers and limbs...

Note: According to the 'Property Laws of a Toddler' (see below) anything, once handed over to a toddler, will become THEIR property. The minute you try to take back THEIR property, all toddler hell will break loose. Think: Hell Hath No fury! Your toddler will loose it all over you, innocent bystanders, roaming animals, furniture, food... pretty much anything within ear and arms reach will be subject to that hell. To prevent further mishaps, read the following list carefully...

The Property Laws of a Toddler.  (I didn't make this up, another genius did.)



Quirky Chrissy said...


I don't even have a tiny human of my own, but I learned real fast, the minute they discovered Auntie Chrissy has Angry Birds on her phone, they want it. All. The. Time.

Why are they soooo angry?!

Because you won't give Auntie Chrissy back her phone.

Mrs. Loquacious said...

Buy him his own iPad mini! I swear that this is the only way that my phone was spared!!

April McCormick said...

Yes... This list is from first hand knowledge, and failed attempts to get the phone back. Phones are toddler gold

April McCormick said...

FTD said the same thing. We are going to get him his on tablet this weekend.

Christy Garrett @ Uplifting Families said...

This is why we invested in my son his very own tablet when we got an email deal from Tigerdirect for a 7" tablet for 20 dollars after rebates. With shipping and tax it ended up being closer to 30 but still it beats my toddler running off with my phone or his dad's tablet.

April McCormick said...

I think there are great pluses to a toddler having access to some of the learning apps available. Ollie is amazing with Zoodles and PBS Sprout, but not at the cost of my $500 phone! He is definitely getting a tablet. And a Cheap one with a strong case is where we are starting!

Anonymous said...

And that's why we don't have smartphones! I'm not kidding. But she still wants them. She even called 911.

Mel said...

Phone spends the majority of it life on the tallest cabinet in our home for this very reason. I may miss a few calls and txt but at least it's not broken or lost. My phone also has a touch 911 button that you don't have to unlock the phone to use. That was how I got to meet the cops on the town we just moved to. 3 Damn times!!! So phone now lives a lonely existance up very very high.