This Is The Best Hack To Get Your Kid To Memorize Your Phone Number

Let’s face it: No one memorizes phone numbers like they used to back in the day. With the universal prevalence of smartphones and the near-extinction of landlines, kids never have to dial home. While the 1980s home phone numbers of our youth are burned into our brain forever, today’s kids have no reason to commit theirs to memory.

It’s not a huge deal — until you consider that a kid knowing at least one phone number is important to their health and safety. If they get lost or get into trouble, knowing how to get in touch with you immediately is super important, especially in the years before they get their own cell.

But how do you get a young kid to successfully memorize an 11-digit number? It was rough going for me, and apparently for a lot of other parents, too.

Then a genius — @reasonablesaltshaker on Reddit — shared their solution with the world.

“Child needs to memorize a phone number? Make it their tablet unlock code. I’ve set up my 5 year olds’ Amazon Fire tablet with mom’s phone number as the unlock password. He should have it memorized for all eternity by Tuesday.”

OMG, amazing! The answer was right there in front of us this whole time.

Down in the comments, everyone agreed that this is an absolute foolproof way to make sure your phone number never leaves their brains.

“Great advice,” shared one mom. “I have a special needs 9 year old with (legitimately) severe working memory deficits but an uncanny ability to remember things that gain her access to what she wants. 😉”

“Yes this works like a charm. My kids have my phone number memorized and their house address. I changed the numbers as they learned them,” another said.

Parents also shared other ideas for committing the number to memory:

“We did a song: when you need to call mom, dial (insert phone number). She sings it all the time,” one parent wrote.

I love this solution, too!

“I also had my kids enter my phone number for me every time we go to the grocery store for my rewards pricing,” another suggested.

“Or just make them recite it for like an hour,” another suggested — cheekily. “I still remember my older brothers old phone number cause he took me to a waterpark once out of state and made me recite it like 300 times over an hour (or 3). Lmao good times.”

“Doesn’t work quite as quick, but my older two know my number from hearing me say ‘Alexa, call 403...’ several times a day when I misplace my phone,” another shared.

Finally, someone noted that using a phone number as a password also works for adults who need a little help.

“This is how I finally memorized my spouse’s phone number,” one user wrote. “I used it as my password on my work computer 10 years ago and I still remember it.”