subject: Monitor Your Teenagers 4g Phone Use [print this page] Most families these days buy cell phones together as a package. There are many advantages to your children having cell phones, which you have clearly considered before making the purchase, but there are also downsides to giving them access to these brand new technologies. So when you give your teenagers (and pre-teens as well they are a precocious bunch!) a new 4G phone, keep these possible pitfalls in mind so that you can prevent any dangerous misuse before it happens. These are some common problems you might run into with your children, and more importantly a bit of advice on how to avoid them.
1. Your teenager might engage in inappropriate text messaging.
Text messaging is one of the most innovative and useful features of cell phones. Instead of having to call each other, people who want to communicate short bits of information can simply send short messages to each other with their 4G phones. Unfortunately for you as the parent, your kid might be sending inappropriate messages. A good way to avoid this is to sit down with your son or daughter and discuss topics, words, or activities that are inappropriate and that you will not tolerate. This could be anything from curse words to bullying to topics such as drugs or sex. While your child can always delete record of messages being sent, you can periodically check his or her phone to see what kind of text messages he or she has been sending.
2. Your teenager might engage in sexting.
You might have heard of sexting by now. If you have not, it is when someone takes a cell phone picture of themselves naked or scantily clad and sends it to a love interest (or potential one, as the case may be). But sometimes these photos can be sent beyond the confines of your Amarillo neighborhood and reach those who would hope to do harm. In addition to this being an activity you probably do not want your children engaging in, minors who send naked or particularly suggestive photos of themselves with their 4G phones could actually be in violation of child pornography laws, depending on the state. While this is obviously an extreme scenario, the point is you do not want to reach this junction in the first place. Be explicit with your children about what they are allowed to use the camera portion of their 4G phones for, and make sure they know that no nudity is allowed.
3. Your teenager talks to their friends after a designated bedtime.
Your children can bring their 4G phones into their bedrooms and talk away the night without you ever knowing. Even if you do not give your kids a specific bed time when they reach their high school years, most parents would hope that their children are getting to sleep by 11 or midnight, if they are going to be awake and ready for school the text morning. A good solution to this problem is to take the 4G phone away from them at night. Simply keep it in your bedroom as it charges up, and problem solved.
