Top 10 Texting Tips for Parents

By Lauren Kaelin and Sophia Fraioli, Authors of When Parents Text: So Much Said . . . So Little Understood

Do not text your child about their lost phone. They’ve lost it and won’t receive your texts.

If you want to recount specific details of your dreams (e.g., “We were tandem skydiving and landed on a herd of buffalos . . . “), you should purchase a dream diary.

Before texting a question to your son or daughter, ask yourself, “Could I Google this?”

We understand that parents feel obligated to discuss the birds and bees with their children. However, sex, contraception, or promiscuity is, nine times out of ten, inappropriate over text message.

Avoid using a cell phone while inebriated; there’s another website for that.

Funeral times, unaccepted family deaths, or the location of your will should NOT be discussed via text message.

Before inserting an emoticon into your text message, ask yourself, “Does this express an actual emotion?”

Punctuation is a crucial component of any well-formed text message. Text messages without punctuation may be misinterpreted. If you have not yet mastered such grammatical insertions, keep your text messages simple and light.

You don’t need to sign a text message with your name. We know it’s from you.

Your kids, as much as we begrudge you, love hearing from you.

Lauren Kaelin and Sophia Fraioli, authors of When Parents Text: So Much Said . . . So Little Understood, grew up in Montclair, NJ, and have been best friends since sixth grade. After graduating from Smith (Lauren) and the University of Vermont (Sophia), they moved back to Montclair and created the hugely popular website, whenparentstext.com. The two have since moved out of their childhood homes, but they still text their parents. They currently live in Brooklyn and make their own tacos.

For more information please visit http://whenparentstext.com, and follow the authors on Facebook and Twitter