What Does the Doctor Say about Children and Texting?

I was very excited to be offered a chance to interview with Dr. Charles Sophy about a recent topic I just posted regarding the boundaries and privacy surrounding the decision of letting your child text. It was amazing to me that just after I was fretting about my sons excessive texting and how to monitor it that I received this email. This is a great video to watch if you are wondering how to handle your fears with children and monitoring their text. After watching the interview I have to say I felt pretty good as a parent as most of what he recommends is how I am handling this situation in my household. It is all about communication not just between them and their friends but between you and your child. ENJOY!!

 

 

 

Many parents today consider themselves tech experts, especially when it comes to their phones. In fact, according to the “LG Text Ed Survey,” a national snapshot of texting behaviors among 13 to 17 year olds and parents of 13 to 17 year olds in the United States, 75 percent of parents consider themselves “texters” and 86 percent of those texters have used the medium to communicate with their teens. In fact, 90 percent of texting parents felt closer to their teen as a result of the medium.

Yet, the survey found that parents also engage in questionable texting behaviors and are unaware of their teen’s mobile phone misuse. The survey exposed parents participating in the following behavior:

28 percent of parents admit to engaging in some form of “sexting” and 43 percent of teens admit to doing the same. Almost half of all parents and teens surveyed admit to texting and driving.

42 percent of parents admit to texting someone while at the dinner table; whereas 69 percent of teens admit to texting at the dinner table.

Additionally, the survey revealed that many parents are unaware of teen mobile phone misuse:

45 percent of teens admit to texting and driving. And only 4 percent of parents believe their teens ever text while driving.

43 percent of teens admit to putting someone down or insulting them in a text, while only 10 percent of parents believe their teens had ever participated in this type of hurtful behavior.

41 percent of teens admit to sending, receiving, or forwarding a text that said something sexual, while only 11 percent of parents thought their teens had ever sexted.

---

Through the LG Text Ed website, www.lgtexted.com, parents can educate themselves on the dangers of mobile phone misuse, discover strategies they can employ to help protect their children from a multitude of potential problems and learn how to become positive role models of texting behavior. Other LG Text Ed Advisory Council members include best-selling author of Queen Bees and Wannabees (the basis for the 2004 hit film, Mean Girls) Rosalind Wiseman, and Dr. Joel Haber, a clinical psychologist and bully coach, and author of Bullyproof Your Child for Life. The advisory council produces monthly online articles, tips and videos via lgtexted.com. Parents can find additional information on the LG Text Ed initiative and mobile phone misuse by visiting the site.

---