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Dear Ann Landers,
suppose you will say we got ourselves into this, and you are right, but we need help and we are counting on you to give it to us. Our sixteen-year-old daughter is an attractive, peppy, popular girl. In fact, she's too popular. She discovered the telephone at age fourteen. After that it became virtually impossible for anyone to get our line. Out of frustration we gave her a telephone of her own for Christmas. Almost immediately her grades began to slide. Her last report card was the worst. She almost flunked two subjects. Every night this week she has been on the phone till midnight. The telephone has become such an important part of her life, we are afraid to take it away from her. You once wrote, "A telephone is more than communication, it is an emotional out-let." Please tell us how to handle this.-Frantic Parents
Dear Frantic,
Your daughter is obviously trying for per-manent possession of the Bell Trophy. You'd better set up some controls at once. No teen-ager should be permitted to yak endlessly even if the phone is her own. Tell her the limit is one hour on school nights and two hours on weekends. She can spend all her time with one party, or she can talk to twelve different people. Let her know that if she breaks the rules you'll yank the phone.