Lately, my husband and I have been chatting with our oldest about certain things....growing up, making choices, and possibly finding himself in situations that he might not want to be in, or shouldn't be in (irresponsible behavior, underage drinking, etc.)... we talked about "guilt by association", and more...
My husband told our oldest that if he found himself needing to get out of a situation that was not good, he could (and should) always call us if he needed us to pick him up.
As I was getting ready this morning, I recalled a great idea that I had heard in the past. (Forgive me for not remembering who to give the credit to, but I think I have heard more than one person talk about doing something like this anyway.)
The great idea is to have a family code word that you have all decided upon....that code word would mean "please come and pick me up...I need to get out of the situation!"
They could text it to you, or call you....no questions asked, but know that mom or dad better go and "rescue" their child.
Having a "code word or phrase" might help them actually use it, instead of calling, "Mom, could you please pick me up...I want to leave now...."
Now, hopefully my boys will never have to use this code word....hopefully they will always pick good friends and make good choices. That is what I pray for, as a parent. But, I think it is better to be prepared. Unfortunately, even "good kids" make mistakes, as we all do!
Code words don't have to be just for use in this type of situation....when my husband and I were engaged, he came up with a code "phrase" that meant "I love you". So romantic! I'm not going to tell you what it is, because it is still our "secret code word." :)
Do you have secret code words in your family?
This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday, at We are THAT Family. Pin It
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I like this idea a lot. My husband and I have a code word that means "be quiet now, or it's gonna get bad"... In terms of speaking with someone else. Like if one of us notices signals from someone, but the the one who's speaking doesn't notice those signals. It started with my crazy aunt. My sweet hubby was calmly talking about a situation involving Amtrak trains a few years ago. Out of nowhere, she got all upset, started arguing & yelling! It was quite unexpected, and so ridiculous, it was difficult not to laugh! So, if he or I are ever speaking & the other of us know it's a touchy subject, or the person's getting upset, or it's just the wrong person to be talking to about that subject - we say Amtrak. Of course then we usually laugh as well.
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