During a particularly difficult time for my daughter, she sent me a text one day from school. She needed to tell me something. I responded, she responded, I responded…it turned into a 20 minute “texting” conversation. All of this was while she was in a class.
I felt a twinge of guilt. Should I really be texting my daughter while she is in school? I’m sure most parents would say no. But the circumstances wouldn’t allow me to say, “We’ll talk about it later.” The reality is that she may not have been ready to discuss what she was.
Now don’t get me wrong. This was a rare circumstance. I don’t normally carry on text conversations with my children while they are in school. But there have been the occasional ones I have sent and received.
It got me thinking about whether or not I am the only one who does this. So I did a very informal survey on Facebook to see if other parents have done the same.
Out of the 12 who responded, only one indicated she doesn’t text during school. But that may be the result of her children attending a private school where their phones are turned into the office at the beginning of the day and given back at the end. Even then, she indicated that she does sometimes send a text once school is out.
Okay, so I’m not the only one. Feeling a little better…
However most of the parents have established guidelines as to when they will text. For instance they may only text or expect a response when it’s lunch, study hall, between classes or after school.
There also seems to be similarities in how often texting is done. Some parents say only when something important comes up or there are changes (such as getting picked up). But other parents utilize texting for medical issues, to informing their teen of something that happened, to sending a Bible verse, and asking for prayer.
I had one mom who has young children respond. She is a teacher in a K-8 school and indicated that the students are expected to turn in their phones to the school office and pick them up at the end of the day. If a student is found with their phone, the parent is notified.
She also pointed out that teachers are allowed to use their phones during lunch or prep times. However, some of the teachers feel that they should follow the same standards as the students are expected to.
Most of the parents indicated that they appreciate the fact they can get hold of their child if they need to. I know for me it has been an easy, efficient way to let my kids know if I’m running late or if there is something else important I need to tell them.
Good or bad…texting is probably here to stay. Now my next question is…where was the teacher in my daughter’s class when she was texting with me for 20 minutes?
Do YOU text your child while they are in school?
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Photo by peasap in Flickr