Search Results for: blog cell phones can be a safety measure

The Whopping Family Cell Phone Bill

Cell phones as we know them are only a few decades old, and yet it is hard to think about living without them, despite the fact that humankind survived centuries without cell phones. It isn’t unusual these days to be spending $250 or more a month for your family cell phones. In some families, the cell phone expense may be the second highest monthly bill, after the mortgage or the rent. Doing without other things, from eating out to dental care (in some cases) in order to afford cell phones has become the norm. How did things get so crazy? … Continue reading →

Cell Phones Can Be a Safety Measure

On one of my past blogs, Letting Children Grow Up Too Fast, I received a number of comments. I really appreciated hearing all the feedback and discovering that I am not alone in having a child who wants to be older than he is. One of the comments made raised a good point about the use of cell phones. A reader referred to cell phones as being a safety feature. I completely agree with this. In fact, I have heard even Dr. Phil defend parents who give their children cell phones for that very reason. I like to have access … Continue reading →

Texting Your Child While in School

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 … Continue reading →

Risky Behavior Associated with Texting and Social Networking

I just read in the NY Times that a new study was presented last week by the American Public Health Association in Denver that indicates teens who spend most of their time on social network sites, like Facebook, or texting are at risk for certain behavior problems. The researchers indicated that teens are at a higher risk of unprotected sex, smoking, depression, missing school, eating disorders and substance abuse. This came after the researchers presented questions to about 4,000 students in a variety of high schools in Ohio. The findings showed that approximately one tenth of the students spent at … Continue reading →

Lessons from Disobedience

I don’t know if any other mom can relate to these words but I hear them often, “You treat me like I’m a baby.” Sometimes I feel like saying that if I was really treating them like a baby, I would stick a pacifier in their mouth so they couldn’t talk. Okay, it’s a joke but seriously, it can be frustrating on both ends. At times my children truly do feel like I am treating them like a baby. Yet at the same time I often believe that toddlers and teens aren’t that much different. Besides, don’t I know what … Continue reading →