Be Careful What You Wish For

My son, a freshman in high school, seems to forget his lunch money on a regular basis. Now, some would say "Let him go hungry a few times and he'll remember", which is probably true. But, I'm a softy and don't want him to miss lunch and go through the afternoon distracted or lethargic. I recently made a trip to the administration office to leave his lunch money. The secretary asked me, "Could you text him to let him know to come to the office?". Wow, is it just me or do you not remember sending that notice home that it's best that students NOT bring their cell phones to class? Cell phones are either a blessing or a curse, and I'm not sure which much of the time. Most schools don't like cell phones in the classroom because of distractions, rings, and the potential for cheating via text. My own son got into trouble when I noticed text messages on the bill during school hours.

Recent reports of teens "sexting" have been surfacing in the news. While prosecuting teens for child pornography because of sexting between kids seems a bit absurd to me (there has to be a more appropriate punishment), I have to wonder why it has come to this. I don't think parents know what is going on, particularly that their teens are taking provocative pictures of themselves and sending them out into the etherworld. While they may be meant for only one person to see, once sent these pictures can circulate among other teens, adults, and even hit the internet. All of that can come back to haunt someone, as is the case recently with a teacher who was fired because of provocative pictures which showed up on the internet. Concerned parents didn't really care how they got there. The fact that they were there was enough. Kids need to be educated as to what can happen if they put their fate in the hands of other kids, some of whom may not have the best judgment.

So much for the theory that most teens have poor body image! I'm not sure what has changed in the years since I was a teen to cause kids to feel open enough to expose themselves so easily, but the phenomenon is disturbing, given that this is going on with not only teens, but grammar school children. I do agree that something has to be done to prevent this from happening and to protect naive children from giving these images to the wrong people, or anyone for that matter. I am going to look into a non-camera phone for my son. I think it might be too tempting for an adolescent boy not to look at potentially lewd pictures. In my day, the boys had to go out searching for pornography. Now it comes to them!

Well, for those of you who are about to adopt or who have young children, be careful what you wish for! You'll be dealing with teens soon enough. And don't get me started on science fair!