Teen Texting - How Much is too Much?

How many texts do you send per month? Personally, I like texting; it is an easy way to say something quickly or ask a question without having to have a long, drawn-out phone conversation. However, what I don’t get is when people choose to have that long, drawn-out conversation over text. If it’s going to be a long conversation, make the phone call!

As I walk through the stores or (gasp) drive down the road, I see people texting. My teens are hermetically attached to their cell phones. You want to see panic in its purest form? Steal their phone when they’re not looking. Instant horror… Usually followed by – “Dad!” since he’s the king of stealing the cell phone.

My two oldest teens each texted over 11,000 times last month. One has FB sending texts to the phone, the other does not. Scary! 11,000 instances where their attention was diverted by a little tone emanating from the device. How does one study, bathe, eat, sleep, live and spend that much time staring at that little screen for commentary minutia?

My husband is on a tirade – he wants texting banned from our lives. I’m torn – I like it (see above), but there has to be some semblance of restraint. Can a teen function at 100% of their potential and have access to texting? The jury is out on that one. Preliminary evidence indicates – not really.

How does your teen handle texting? What are your limits or do you have them? If you allow it, how much is too much? When does their independence come into conflict with your God given responsibility as a parent to ensure they take full advantage of opportunity and not miss out because… Beep…

Which reminds me, I need to go charge my cell phone…