3 Tips for Teens and Texting

Suddenly a privilege of teenage life has drifted down to the tweens, who are even less equipped to deal with the pressures and addictive nature of screen-time and texting.

That happened fast, didn’t it? Suddenly a privilege of teenage life has drifted down to the tweens, who are even less equipped to deal with the pressures and addictive nature of screen-time and texting. A quick skim through a group of questions meant to unveil an addiction to screen time reveal behaviors many tween parents struggle with on a daily basis. “Does your child become listless, tearful, irritable or even aggressive when they can’t use a screen device?”Sound a little over the top? Any parent who has tried to de-device their tween child knows exactly what this is referring to.

Beyond the facade that we are cramping their techie style, children are not always willing, nor do they know how, to admit when group texts have left them feeling exposed and uncomfortable. Tweens need limits and boundaries age-appropriate to their developmental stage, screen time included.

We as parents and guardians have the opportunity to address“now or never” questions and engage in character building conversations while they are still listening. Here are 4 ways to parent your texting tweens.