Text Bullying...It is real and just as hurtful...

I am sitting here today after a really interesting night of a few arguements with my teenagers...It seems I have cut of their only contact with the outside world and I don't care according to them...I am the meanest Mother in the world right now...Let me tell you what happened...

My four eldest kids all have mobile phones as do most teenagers of today...They seem to think that there is no possible way they can grow up without having a contact to the outside world...Gee I wonder how most of us all survived LOL...Their main form for contacting their friends is through texting each other...Even when they are in the same room!

Text message bullying...

This is what happened in our home last night...A girl had sent a text message that was mean and downright rude to Michaela so she retaliated to this girl with a message just as rude and nasty...It went on between them and then the threats started...John got wind of what was going on and then also joined in on the text message  fight between these two girls...So he too was sending messages to this girl protecting Michaela...Michaela and Johne were  then recieving text messages from her big brother   who is friends with my eldest, Aidan...The other girl involved in this Text message bullying had then gone and told her brother that Aidan was also involved in some way So the big brother who is mates with Aidan started texting him and threatening him...Aidan calls me as he was in town and is furious  because he knows nothing about what has been going on...

I get off the phone to Aidan and head into Michaelas room and find her and John texting madly...I confiscate the phones and Ken and I go through them...What these kids were saying to each other would be classified as bullying if some of these words were spoken in the school ground to each other...I then rang the other kids involved mother and spoke to her so in turn she confiscated phones there also...

Kids need to be explained to that this form of texting is BULLYING and as much as they don't like it at school then other people are not going to like it in words...Words can be harsh and when they are written they can be re read and re read over and over again sometimes being more hurtful than spoken words...Our kids are so attached to their phones that having it confiscated is like having a limb removed to them...

My advice to you is sure buy your teenager a mobile phone when you feel they are old enough but set really strict rules...Let them know that having a mobile is a privledge and not a right and if they abuse the privlege they will lose it...Tell your kids that if they recieve a text message that is inappropriate to tell you...You will deal with it and go from there...

This is not the first time John has been caught doing this with his phone so he has lost it for 2 weeks and Michaela 1 week...Let your kids have a mobile if you like but explain the consequences clearly to them...Make rules and stick to them...

By the way if you do find yourself having to confiscate your teenagers phone...Be prepared for the fact that your teen will think their life is over and you have ripped their heart out and stomped all over it LOL...leaving them slowly fighting for life hehe...Well that is what it is like in this house LOL...

These are just my thoughts on something I wanted to share...
Have a great day
Cheers
Angie