Sexting worries parents, worries me

The word “sexting” cannot be found in Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary…yet.

Still, some 20% of teenagers in the United States have done it says some estimates. Sexting is yet another epidemic spreading at U.S. schools.

A 14-year-old girl in Orange County, California took photos of herself and sent them to at least one friend. That ‘friend’ circulated the girl’s photos.

A 15-year-old girl in Warren County, Ohio said she sent a photo of herself via a text message on her cell phone to another minor.

The girl’s photo was discovered on a cell phone from a boy in a high school classroom.

“Sexting” — where people send sexually explicit images via electronic communication — is much more prevalent now than it was just a few years ago.

Another study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy finds that two in five teens say they have posted sexually suggestive messages to others. Nearly one in two say they have received such messages. Young adults – three in five have sent or posted sexually suggestive messages via their cell phones.

One police detective in Colorado say “on something like that it’s child content. If you take that picture, you’re manufacturing it; if you send that picture, then you’re distributing it.”

Parents and educators think there is a need for schools to have and follow a consistent cell phone policy.

Nope…parents need to do more parenting and educators more educating on how the whole ‘sexting’ thing plays out.

I have a little girl. I predict that when she is old enough to have a cell phone, she’ll be able to push a few buttons and just talk to the person on the other end. Oh, wait, that’s already possible.

How do you recommend we teach our kids to not do the sexting thing?