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You chose to buy your preteen/teenager a used cell phones, that’s not a big deal. Your child calls you on it when she/he is staying after school or going to a friend’s house. At home, she chooses to use her cell phone rather than the house phone to talk with her friends, leaving you full access to your landline phone. She takes it everywhere she goes including the bathroom. You think to yourself that you’re glad your phone is not tied up. Then out f nowhere, friends and neighbors begin asking you about how your kid uses their cell phone. You believe she is safe; but as her parent, should you be troubled?

What is the Concern?

Start by asking yourself the following:

- Do you know what your child is talking about on their phone each time they talk on it?
- Do you know who they are talking to?

The truth of the matter is that it can be difficult to keep up with all their conversations on that unlocked cell phone. After all, they can use the phone anywhere they are. It’s highly possible that you don’t know all the people they are talking to, especially if they have met someone one the Internet. If they are talking to somebody they met on the ‘Net, they can use the child’s cell phone to narrow down where he/she lives. The person could even try to get your kid to meet them somewhere. It’s for this very reason you need to be aware of whom your child is talking to when they are on their refurbished cell phone.

The same can be said for text and picture messaging. Did you know that texts can be easily posted to the Internet? For instance, if your child chooses to reveal personal information about you and/or your family through their text message, you have no way to retrieve it and stop it from spreading like a forest fire.

So What Can You Do?

Parents need to be aware that kids using cell phones can be dangerous to both the children themselves but also the entire family. Once things go out “on the wire” there is no way to stop them. As a parent, you must do all you can do to keep your child safe. Thus, get in the habit if checking their phone regularly to see who they are texting, calling, and sending pictures to and what those messages include. You can also contact the local cellular customer service to retrieve all the data sent from your child’s phone. You can’t stop the information from being spread but you can narrow down who receives it.

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Tags: cell phones, children, parenting, safety, teens