As the mother of a six-year-old, my phone is filled with contacts such as “Mary LeilasMom” and “Dana MaddiesDad.” It’s how I keep track of my daughter’s new friends and the personal assistants who keep their schedules (AKA their “parents”). This labelling method helps my brain connect the adult to the child, but it’s clunky and awkward. And poor Mary and Dana will never have proper last names, at least in my mobile device.
Writer Jordon Dyrdahl-Roberts shares a better way. On Twitter, he writes: “Free parenting life hack: Use the ‘Company’ slot in your contacts to keep track of which of your children’s friends belong to which adults. Saves you from listing people as X’s Mum or Dad.”
Free parenting life hack: Use the “Company” slot in your contacts to keep track of which of your children’s friends belong to which adults. Saves you from listing people as X’s Mom or Dad. pic.twitter.com/ofEelpz9KC
— Jordon Dyrdahl-Roberts (@dyrbert) June 26, 2019
I tested this on an iPhone, and it works brilliantly. In a new contact, I entered my husband’s full name and number and then listed his company as “Maggie’s dad.” When I asked Siri to “Call Maggie’s dad,” it did. (I found that you can also list the child’s friend under “nickname” instead of “company.”)
On Android, you’ll want to list the child’s friend only under “nickname” if you use Google Assistant to text or make calls.
This tiny hack lets us be more than someone’s mum or dad, dammit. (I say this as I fetch my child more water, upon her request.)
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