Parenting Reality

Does your child have a cell phone?  Great!  You may have just reserved a spot for your child on the sex offender registry of your state.

Do you think I sound a little crazy?  Well, the world is a crazy place.  Many teens and parents are finding out firsthand the horror of owning a cell phone.

You only need to google the words “teen charged sexting” to find out how many kids are being arrested and charged with possession and/or dissemination of child pornography.  If found guilty, many of these kids could wind up on the sex offender registry.

Most parents, by now, have heard of “sexting”.  For those of you still out of the loop, sexting is sending nude pictures of one’s self via cell phone or computer.  Being the recipient of such photos is just as incriminating as sending them.

Child protection laws were never intended to be used to charge and convict children but it is happening.  Parents shouldn’t wait for the government to step in and decide how these cases should be handled.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking like your teen, it can and will happen.

For those of you who are at least considering what I am saying, here’s some things you can do:

1.  First and foremost, talk with your child.  If you lack regular communication with your children or don’t seem to be able to get through to them, send them a link or text to one of the many cases of teens being charged with sexting on the internet.  (There’s one provided at the bottom of this post.)  Teens are naturally disbelieving creatures, so they may need proof before they decide to consider your advice.

2.  Purchase and install cell phone monitoring software.  There are many choices available.  Software options range from setting up a pre approved contact list to receiving a copy of every text sent or received on your teens phone.  Does this sound a little extreme?  Well, it is but so is being convicted of a sex crime.

3.  Don’t buy your children a cell phone.  Yes, abstinence works.  I already know the 500 excuses of why children need cell phones and I’m not impressed with any of the arguments.  (My 12 year old daughter can attest to this.)  There is a cell phone carrying adult within every square inch of the planet.  (Well, almost.)  If your child has a real need to use a cell phone, there will be someone nearby who won’t mind sharing.

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• ‘Sexting’ lands teen on sex offender list (cnn.com)

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Tags: cell phones in school, cell phones prohibited, children cell phones, protecting your teen, Sex Offender Registry, sexting, teen cell phone use, teen charged sexting, teen sexting

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 26th, 2009 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Parenting Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.