Texting,driving and teens-- horror of horrors!

I got home from work on Monday just in time to catch the season premier of the Dr. Phil show.

The topic was teenagers, texting and driving.

Anyone with teen drivers, or even adult drivers who are addicted to texting, needs to see this.

Here's an excerpt from the season premier show...

"My daughter, Chelsea, is absolutely addicted to texting and driving," says Candace. "Every time Chelsea pulls out of the driveway, my spine just tenses up."



"From the minute I walk out the door, I'm completely on the phone with texting," says Chelsea, who received her driver's license four months ago. She estimates that she sends about 5,000 texts a month. "I don't feel afraid that I'm going to get into a car accident while texting because I feel that I'm a good enough texter."



Chelsea reflects on the recent tragedy of five cheerleaders who were killed in a car accident. "I think [they] died because they weren't great texters," she says. "I feel bad but I don't think that they should have been doing it. A good texter must be able to text with one hand, one finger. They have to be able to text in under 30 seconds with T9 word and without looking at the phone."



Since Chelsea has been licensed, she has had three accidents due to texting. "I did get pulled over for going 80 in a 55 mile-per-hour zone," she says. "I didn't realize there was a speed change."



"Short of taking [the cell phone] away from her, I don't know how to stop her from actually doing it," says Candace. "I expect to get a phone call and find that she's been in a pretty serious accident because of her text messaging."


Oh my goodness!

What these kids are doing is terrifying and we, as parents, are allowing it! I believe that parents are allowing their children to walk all over them - to the detriment of the child's safety and those around them.

Let me tell you a little something I've learned about texting and cell phones over the last few years...

TEXTING CAN BE DISABLED ON A CELL PHONE.Don't let the cell phone companies tell you otherwise.

One of my children got grounded and the punishment was loss of their texting. After a lengthy phone call to Sprint, who told me it couldn't be done, the texting was turned off. The child got it back much later, but we were able to temporarily suspend it.

Don't let your children intimidate you! Time and again the world of privilege that surrounds us seems to give our children an unspoken right of privilege that, in my day, we had to EARN. I had to show that I was responsible and then I was allowed privileges like driving a car, or staying our until midnight.

Don't be afraid to do it. They won't love you less, in spite of the anger that will ooze from their very pores. Look at those stories on Dr. Phil. How many of our children have narrowly escaped these tragedies and we don't even know it?