More on Sexting

Dr. Phil had an excellent show on last week that addressed the issue of sexting. He spoke to members of two families impacted by the issue. I didn't see the whole show, but I saw the father of a boy who is facing charges for forwarding a picture he received. The father stated that it is the responsibility of parents, schools and the cell phone providers to do something about this issue.

I live in Howard County, MD and the police sent an alert about sexting to parents of middle and high school students. They also prepared a PSA that was shown to high school students. In Fairfax County, VA, there will be a forum tonight to help educate families on what they can do to protect their children from falling into the sexting trap.

When: Monday, April 20, 7-9 p.m.
Where: Kingstowne Library, 6500 Lansdowne Centre, Alexandria
More information: 703-246-3271

Cell Phone Companies Provide Solutions, Too
After the father on Dr. Phil mentioned cell phone providers, I became curious about exactly what companies like Verizon, AT&T and Sprint are doing to combat this issue. I called Verizon and spoke to an incredibly knowledgeable woman. While Verizon doesn't provide educational materials on teen cell phone use, they do have an incredible range of usage controls. Simply put, you can pretty much turn your kid's phone into a paperweight. For a fee of $4.99 a month, you can limit all features, including picture and text messaging, Internet use, who your child can call and receive calls from, times they can use their phones. The list is limited to your imagination. I checked with Sprint and AT&T and they also have many parental control features.

The solution is in our hands as parents. There are many scary stories that you can share with your teens on the consequences of sexting. The cell phone companies make it very easy to control how your child uses their phone, but you do have to take the time to put the controls in place. My phone-free 12 year old heard me talking to Verizon and asked me if I was going to limit the way he used his phone (when he gets one) and I told him I was. Of course he looked annoyed until I asked him a few questions. Earlier this year, he was the subject of some unwanted attention from a female classmate. I asked him if he wanted that classmate calling him dozens of times a day and sending him pictures of herself in underwear or less. He replied emphatically, "NO!" I then told him that is exactly why his usage would be limited. He was truly relieved.

I urge you to look into these controls for your kids' phones. Our kids may spin circles around us when it comes to their knowledge of electronic media, but they do not yet have the life experience to understand the responsibility that comes with that knowledge, or the possible consequences of inappropriate use.