Color by number

They may not pay phone bills yet, but children are using the telephone at earlier ages, and not just to dial 911.

For this reason among others, Bell Atlantic hasn't forgotten Maryland's youngest residents as the state makes the transition to 10 digit dialing all the time. Beginning May 1, Maryland residents will have to dial the area code plus phone number for every call.

Adults have been alerted to the change through newspaper, radio and billboard advertisements, and bill inserts. But to target children, especially those in kindergarten through third grade, Bell Atlantic developed a coloring book with help from a consulting group. The "Phone Fun: The Ten-number Number' coloring book reminds children to use 10 digits when calling parents, friends or their neighbor next door.

Targeting the youngest schoolchildren made sense, said Linda DeKowzan, public affairs manager at Bell Atlantic. "At that age they're just learning their numbers, their addresses and how to spell their names," she said. "Since they're at that point anyway, why not teach them the right way to do it?" Maryland, like most other states, is running out of numbers for cellular phones, second lines, pagers and fax machines. The state split and added a second area code in 1992.

"We thought that would take us into the next century," a Bell Atlantic spokeswoman said. "We were wrong.

The state is adding an overlay of two other area codes, which will give it four in all. So, for example, when numbers in the 301 area code run out-which is expected to happen in early 1998-new residents or businesses will be given a number starting with 240. Eventually, new residents with homes in the 301 area code will have a 240 prefix.

Phone numbers with the new codes are not expected to be assigned until later this year, the spokeswoman said. "But we wanted to get people into the habit of dialing 10 digits all the time so by the time the change comes it won't be so new," she said.

The Phone Fun book includes space in the back where children can begin their own personal number directory and a card with stickers on which parents can write the phone number so that their children will always have their home number with them.

Pacific Telesis targeted a similar campaign at children in grades K-8 when a new code was introduced to the Oakland, Calif., area in 1991. Activity books of Patches the Cat and the Phone Tones-cartoon characters created for the campaign-were given out in schools. Older children received pocket-sized address books and posters showing the geographic split .

"It was such a major change that we felt like we had to call a lot of attention to it at all levels, especially for latch-key children. We didn't want them to pick up the phone one day and try to make a call and get a recording," a spokesman said.

Ameritech also considered latch-key kids-children who come home to an empty house and let themselves in after school-when working on its education campaign every time the Chicago metropolitan area has added a new code, said a spokesman.

"We sent notices home with the kids from school and we did some other stuff like refrigerator magnets," he said. "Reaching the children is another way of reaching the parents, who are our customers and have so much going on they may miss another change. If it affects their children, they're more likely to remember.'