When pictures go BAD!!!

Another great day here is Garrison and another baseball victory for my son last night driving in 2 runs. Enough about my family.

There are so many benefits in today's technological society. Cell phones for example, while cell phones are great for conveniently tracking down our children in a time of need their are a lot of risks that come with teenagers and phones with cameras. Sexting. What is sexting. Sexting is taking pictures of oneself and sending out for others to view. Unfortunately it seems to be a real issue that many parents/guardians with teenagers have been facing these days. Here's what immediately comes to mind in terms of communicating with your child further in the event that you find yourself in this uncomfortable situation. (Or use the following in hopes of preventing this from happening) I hope this helps to create a framework from which a good and grounding conversation can result.

1. Open communication and listening. Raise what you found and listen to what your child says.
2. Express how much you love and respect them.
3. Calmly discuss the way that you want others to view and respect you. Ask her how she
wants to be viewed by boys.
4. Reiterate, how women/girls should be respected- how your child should be respected.
5. Talk about trust that has been broken.
6. Brainstorm with them and discuss how to earn trust back.
7. Talk about how much you love them and how sometimes kids seemingly benign and innocent
actions can lead to bigger and more serious things.
8. The reality is:
a) kids (even under 18) can be arrested for sending pictures of themselves. From an online
source: "Sending risqué photos comes with an additional risk: you can be arrested for
trafficking child porn, even if the images are of yourself! A 15-year-old Ohio girl was
arrested in January on felony child pornography charges for allegedly sending... (sexy) cell
phone pictures of herself to classmates."

b) sexy texted photos are often shared with friends, even innocently, which then are passed
around by that friend. a picture of your child could be sent around very very quickly. does
she want herself to be considered the "slut" amongst her friends? Even worse, the photos
can end up on the internet.

Message of the day is that this is reality in today's world. No matter how great of a parent you are this is a possibility. Open lines of communication are the best prevention. Don't be afraid to discuss these issues. No matter how uncomfortable.

Best of Luck
Todd

PS: Summer is just around the corner. Start planning now so you can make this year the best summer yet!! Mark your calender May 24Th. Summer ready parenting workshop 7-9 pm.
This workshop is guaranteed to over deliver on content.
That's all for today.