You’d think that with all of the conversations and warnings going on about sexting, that kids would be less likely to do it and parents would be more aware of what they are doing. (read Sexting: Harmful or Harmless?) Still, Sexting numbers have gone through the roof. In fact, one third of young people have engaged in sexting. The result is bullying, sexual harassment, and often suicide.
As bad as sexting is, the torture that follows it is worse. This is why it is in the parents best interest to take steps to prevent teenagers for engaging in sexting.
There are several ways to prevent your teen from sexting.
1. You can call your cell phone company and put a texting and internet block on your child’s cell phone. Both of my kids have internet blocks on their cell phones, not to prevent sexting, but to prevent the large bills from downloads. Such a block will cut back on cell phone usage in general use as well as prevent any chance of sending these images over the phone.
2. Purchase no-frills cell phones for your teens that have no camera function. While they may be able to still send lewd images using the internet they will have to do a lot more work to get the pictures sent. Hopefully this will give them more opportunities to think about it. Some of these phones include the Motorola i335, the Samsung Knack, the LG Flare, and several others.
3. Take away the cell phones. For kids who can’t seem to control themselves and who you worry will continue to use the cell phone inappropriately, you may need to take away the cell phone. You can’t send a text message without one.
4. Communicate with your kids about sexting. While the above mentioned tactics may be useful, the first and foremost approach to prevent your kids from sexting is to talk to them. Discuss what other kids have done and he repercussions. Don’t leave out the gory details about betrayals, bullying, and even suicide. Kids need all of the information to make good decisions. Otherwise, it just becomes more tempting as mom and dad said not to do it.
~If you liked this you should also read my other posts at the home blog, the homeschooling blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.
Can You Be Too Strict with Teens?
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