Category Archives: media

LOL BCUZ

October 8, 2009mediaKirsetin

I laughed out loud at this text message described in the NY Times:

“Wuz4dina?”

This cracked me up. How do you answer? Pza?

If you’re a texting neophyte, you can find links to lingo sites here, which comes in handy when you’re deciphering your children’s messages.

As for dinner, tonight the kids are on their own with mac and cheese or some other food-like item. Because for my husband and I, it’s hot wings, a big side salad, a cold cerveza, and The Office. Really, is there something better we could be doing with our Thursday night?

I know, I know, this is not a family dinner. But I make exceptions sometimes, and tonight is one of them.

g2g. syl.

Should My Child Have A Cell Phone In Her Bedroom? Ummm….Are You Crazy?

September 16, 2009media, ParentingKirsetin

So you know I love my iPhone, right? I mean, if the house were on fire, after the kids and the photos were out, my iPhone would be right there on the “get it out now!” list.

You might also know that I’ve been guilty of texting while driving, which I completely regret and for which I offer many apologies. I applaud Utah and their new law. We just shouldn’t be driving and sending messages at the same time. No way. No how.

I used to worry about kids driving and talking on their phones. A few years ago, our friend’s nanny was driving, and talking, and accidentally ran a red light. By all accounts, she was a very nice girl and a great nanny, but her error killed a 10-year old boy in the other car and all of their lives have been changed forever. So my worry wasn’t misplaced. There are enough things to distract a driving teen. They really don’t need to be talking about what Jason said to Brittney in math class while they’re behind the wheel.

As if talking while driving weren’t enough, then the texting began. And e-mails. You can check your e-mail on your phone! Now this is a terrific feature if you have downtime between a class or meeting, or are in an extremely long and unproductive meeting, but it’s a horrible temptation for a teenager behind the wheel. If you think kids aren’t paying attention while driving and talking, I can’t imagine how focused on the road they are while driving and texting.

Then today, I read that a new study shows that incoming text alerts are affecting the sleep quality of half of all 16-year olds. It’s the little beeeeep, I guess, that’s waking them up. I’m no expert, but let me just tell you that if my kids (or I) don’t get enough sleep, it’s not pretty around here. The good news just keeps coming. Although, I must say, I’m less worried about lack of sleep because of text messages than I am about kids not focusing while driving because of text messages. But then, one can lead to the next, couldn’t it? A sleepy kid driving and texting…now that’s a scenario I hate to imagine.

But back to the point. When I read this study, I had one question, and it was this: Why do these kids have their cell phones in their bedroom?

What parent thinks this is a great idea? You’ve heard of sexting, right?

Come on, parents!

Back in the day, we used to want a regular old land-line phone in our bedrooms because it was cool. We wanted to have privacy. We needed privacy to talk about why Jim and Carla were arguing or why Bridget and Mickey broke up for the third time this semester. These were weighty issues folks. We needed that phone.

I didn’t get one, of course. Thank goodness, really, because now I know that an old-fashioned phone cord can be stretched around multiple corners and will fit under doors when necessary.

I also learned a little something about limits. And without going off on an extremely long tangent about setting parameters on cell phone use during family time, let me suggest that there is a time to turn those phones off. Period. Designate a place in the kitchen, office, or family room for phones to be re-charged at night and leave them there. Until morning.

Kids sleep in their rooms. Phones don’t. Sleep problems solved.

Look at that, I saved you a trip to the doctor’s office. Don’t mention it. You’re very welcome, of course.

Any dissenters? Other thoughts? Let’s hear ‘em.

Hooray for Utah, and No Texting While Driving

September 4, 2009media, NY TimesKirsetin

Utah has got it goin on.

Let me preface this by saying I have not been paid by the state of Utah, I am not Mormon, and I have only been to Salt Lake City once, at which time I ordered a glass of white wine with my dinner and was politely told that “(ahem) You are in the city owned by that very large church across the street so we will not sell you alcohol, but we will certainly pray for sinners like you.” Those may not have been the waitress’s exact words, but I’m fairly certain that’s what she meant.

So now, almost 15 years later, here I am cheering Utah on because despite their confusion about white wine, they are showing some serious common sense.

In his NY Times article about a law that recently took effect there, Matt Richtel explains it this way:

“The new law, which took effect in May, penalizes a texting driver who causes a fatality as harshly as a drunken driver who kills someone. In effect, a crash caused by such a multitasking motorist is no longer considered an “accident” like one caused by a driver who, say, runs into another car because he nodded off at the wheel. Instead, such a crash would now be considered inherently reckless.

“‘It’s a willful act,” said Lyle Hillyard, a Republican state senator and a big supporter of the new measure. If you choose to drink and drive or if you choose to text and drive, you’re assuming the same risk.’”

Now that makes sense to me. And I text. And I will admit that I have texted while driving. I am busy and efficient and hey, look at me multi-task. But that’s a bad one. I was lucky and realized I was insane and I put my darn phone down. Isn’t it bad enough that we’re flying along at 75 miles an hour engrossed in a conversation on our cell phone? Do we really need to answer our e-mail and texts on the road, too?

No, we don’t. We really don’t.

We need to put our phones away. We can put them in the glove compartment or in the back seat or at the bottom of our purses. But we should put them away for so many reasons. We should put them away if for no other reason than our children are watching, and they’re learning and you know how that works. Despite our best efforts they will often do as we do and not as we say.

And, God forbid they ever text while driving. It’s not worth the price, friends. Don’t you agree?