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Community Corner

Are You In Control Of Your Kids' Texting?

Cell phone technology–the good, the bad and the ugly.

A few years ago, a family member of mine who has teenage boys received a frightening cell phone bill. It was over $1,000!

Once the smelling salts helped revive her, she immediately changed her family cell phone plan to unlimited texting.

The reality is that texting is a major, if not the main, source of communication between teens today. As parents, we need to embrace the good aspects of texting and cell phone use while keeping a careful eye on the challenging ones.

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The Good

Texting is great if you want to quickly find out where your child is, if your son needs to be picked up from practice or if your daughter forgot her book for third period. As a mom of young kids, I love having the ability to text with a babysitter while enjoying a night out with my husband. A quick text can allow parents to relax knowing all is well on the homefront. The instant, efficient way of communicating with teens can be a big plus.

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The Bad

On the other hand, while mistakes with mind-blowing cell phone fees can be a pain for parents' pocketbooks, texting is a major distraction for their kids. Ever try to have a conversation with your teen while their fingers are dancing across the keys or they are giggling at what their "BFF" just wrote to them? It is hard enough to talk to a teenager without a cyber discussion distracting them from you.

Limiting cell phone and texting use is important; not just for having an uninterrupted conversation with your teen, but to know that your child is not texting when they are supposed to be studying for the SATs or writing college application essays.

The Ugly

The plain and ugly truth of texting is that it can have serious consequences. Texting while driving can be deadly, as John Hawk addresses in his recent blog post . Let's face it, teens are new at this driving thing and they certainly don't need any additional distractions. Tell your teen you will take away the keys if they text while driving. There honestly are lives at stake.

Unfortunately, there can be more trouble. While many parents do not want to think of their teens as sexual beings, the reality is that their hormones are raging and kids make mistakes.

"Sexting" or sending texts with photos of a sexual nature is an activity that happens and can have embarrassing and criminal consequences. First, in the wrong hands, these sensitive photos may be sent out to large groups of people to view. Second, if your teen took the pictures, they could be prosecuted, potentially be charged with child pornography and find themselves a registered sex offender. With a criminal record like that, expect many doors of opportunity to be closed to your child in the future.

If you want to keep in touch with your teen, learn the acronyms and start texting. It is instantaneous and easy but parents also must impose limits and maintain a level of control for their teen's well-being.

Chatham and Madison Parents - Tell us what your concerns are regarding kids and texting. How do you impose limits? Are you in control of your kids' texting? 

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