For Scratchy’s 12th birthday last month he had two things on his list. Plus one.
- phone
- BB gun
- bike
Phone: We had discussed with Scratchy that we thought it was a skosh too early for a cell phone – his sister got her’s in 7th grade – but she was a year older (and as a girl – let’s be honest – more mature). Since last year Scratchy had been begging for us to let him download the “FREE UNLIMITED TEXTING” app for his iPod touch.
BB gun: I found out I have a rule against guns in my house (which I didn’t realize I had until Scratchy told me he wanted one – I’d never thought about it before!).
Bike: This is the “plus one” because the Hubs talked Scratchy into this one. Understandably, as his current bike is much too small for him.
So it came down to a bike or a phone. And the reality is – that while we joke about Scratchy’s ability to bend the rules in new and unusual ways – he is a really good kid.
And that is how we came to get Scratchy a new smart phone for his birthday this year. And how, within 48 hours of getting said phone, he had a text that read,
“Stop texting my wife or I am going to call the police.”
So, we had gone over multiple phone scenarios with Scratchy and rules about where and when he could use his phone. And rules about safety so the phone wouldn’t get damaged or stolen. And rules about giving his number out to strangers, etc. But the one thing we forgot? Rules about texting with his friends…
Rules like:
- If you are texting your friends you should not use any profanity or implied profanity. You’re 12. Fart is okay. A$$hole is not.
- If you are texting someone you think is your friend on your new phone and the response you get is “you have the wrong number” you should stop texting and find a way to verify the number.
- If you are texting someone you think is your friend who has said “you have the wrong number” you should not try to convince them you do not have the wrong number by giving them your full name and the name of the school you attend. In fact, you should never give out that information over a text. If you are texting with someone it is okay to text with – they already have this information.
- If you are texting someone you think is your friend who has said “you have the wrong number” 3 times, you should not tell them that when you see them next you are going “to kill them.” Threatening anyone – friends, family, random strangers with a number one digit off from your friend’s number – is not okay. EVER.
- That when you get a text that says, “Stop texting my wife or I am going to call the police” you should probably bring mom and dad in on the sitch.
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Love it! such a lesson and you guys never had to deal with it as kids so there was no way of knowing the trouble he could get into.
Sounds as tho you handled it extremely well. Give him a hug for me.
mimi
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Will do, Mimi!
Thanks for the support – you are very good to us.
Much love,
Cate
Ha! These rules are hilarious… and SO something that I am going to use when my kids get to that point… Although my twins are just under a year old. By the time they’re of cell phone age, there may be something new and exciting for them to use to communicate… like teleportation
Soooo funny!! Thankfully my son has never gotten into any of these texting quandries..but perhaps we’ll have a sit down.
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