We have the Baby Boomers, the Generation X-ers, and now should it be the Cellular Generation???? I don't know if my teens can communicate with friends without one. It seems very sad.......When I was younger, we had what you might call a party line. You only had to call the last 4 digits of the person you were calling if they were in your keystone. Keystone meant the first three digits. You had to ask permission from your parents first and no phone calls after 7pm. And boyfriend calls in High School were few. And definitely no calls from the girls to the boys, that was not proper. What would the teens of today do with these rules, if they had to live life like this now.
These days, technology plays a major role in a teen's life. It's not only a means for communicating with us as parents but it's the nexus of their social life. My teens only communicate with those in their groups through their cell phone texting. My daughter the Varsity cheerleader only finds out her meeting times, dress, and game schedule through the texting. I find that so odd. What if the cell phone was misplaced?, she would be late to the game with the wrong attire on......
I do enjoy the fact that my teens have the cell phones. However, as with all milestones in their lives, there are certain responsibilities that come with having a mobile phone. Similar to getting their driver's license, they need guidance, instruction and moral guideposts. I noted previously about the contract I have them sign. For us as a family, this seems to be the right thing to have. Is this something you do?
Or how about monitoring their calls or cell phone use. Is that something you do? Studies have found that parents are monitoring cellphone use, with 64 percent saying they have looked at their child's address book, call log, text messages and pictures. How often was unclear. And about 62 percent of parents say they have taken away a cellphone as punishment. I am one of those parents checking up on my kids. Or taking away the phone for punishment. But that rarely happens, because without it would be a punishment for me.
In the beginning, I wanted to make sure that there was no funny business going on. And I also wanted to monitor the amount of text that were coming in and out. So in that instance, we have a 300 per month limit, and they know that any amount over that they pay for. We don't have too many overages each month. I think if we had unlimited, that would be their only way to communicate.
In my next post, I will be interviewing my two older teenagers, 15 and 13. And asking them how they feel about their cell phone, (Can't live without it or not?). And what would they do if someone sextexted them...or has it already happened??? I am opening up my comment section for you my readers, and any questions you may have for my teens. Or something you feel is an important cell phone usage issue for you.
Because this topic is so important for our kids and their futures, BlogHer really wants to get the conversation about texting, sexting and safety going – both with our kids and among parents. It will match LG’s donation of .50 to dosomething.org for every comment on this post, so please give me your suggestions on questions for my kids. Dosomething.org will get a $1.00 for each and every one.
