I’ve been Re-Ambassadored!
This is sponsored content from
BlogHer and LG Text Ed
Yes, apparently I was born to reign.
The LG people have had such a great response to their TextEd campaign that they decided to extend it just a tiny bit longer! It appears that all of this talk about online and cell phone safety has kind of hit a nerve out there, which is a really good thing. I’m of the opinion that the parents, grandparents, friends and family members of teens and ‘tweens would be very wise to bring up the complicated issues surrounded texting early and often. Avoiding a (possibly uncomfortable) conversation with our kids about things like bullying or sexting isn’t doing anybody any favors– the boundaries and the consequences both need to be made crystal clear, and we don’t need to assume they just automatically know this stuff.
So, for my last hurrah as an Ambassador (ess?) and for the last word on the subject, we decided to open the floor up to you guys– you supply the questions and I’ll supply the horse’s mouth. Well, ‘mouths’, actually. That’s right, I’m hereby bestowing temporary Ambassadorships upon the fruit of my loins, Madi Rose and Charlotte, and they are going to personally answer any questions you might have on the subject of teens and texting!
With only a minimum amount of looking at me like I was crazy, rolling their eyes, sighing and shrugging, my lovely chirren graciously agreed to participate in this important campaign by offering their firsthand experience and opinions. All you have to do is come up with some questions and leave ‘em in the comment section of this post, and then I’ll “interview” the girls and give them a chance to answer in their own words. (I’m even thinking about videotaping the whole thing and posting that– whaddya think?)
ALSO– remember that great organization I told you about, dosomething.org that LG donated .50 towards every time someone commented on any of the TextEd posts? Well, to get the ball rolling and to encourage everyone to jump right on in here, BlogHer is now going to pony up a matching donation, so now dosomething.org will get $1.00 for every single comment, question or suggestion you leave on this post!
It’s really kind of cool to be able to help out a good cause AND to have my girls involved in this whole thing, too. I would really appreciate it if you guys would help all that happen by coming up with some questions and conversation starters for them. And if you can’t think of anything to ask, just leave a comment anyway so we can rack up some $$ for charity.
I mean, after all– while the LG people certainly have assembled an impressively credentialed council to weigh in on the topic of teens and texting, wouldn’t you also like to hear from some REAL experts…?
Of course you would! So please leave a comment!
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First thing that came to mind when I saw this photo: We sure have two very pretty young ambassadors! And, I am going to love reading all of their replies….and I vote for as much videoing as possible, mom.
Okay, my question: Do you enjoy texting rather than talking and hearing a voice talking back to you?
My understanding is, Tori, you are interested in a numbr of posts instead of all questions onone post. So, here is another question for those sweet girls:
What are the ros and cons of texting?
Okay, okay, so this one isn’t completely above-board in the texting department…..but I just have to tell those girls that I sure do love them! And, I think this is a terrific idea.
How did you learn txt speak? When you first started texting did people have to verbally tell you what things mean, or are you left to figure it out for yourself … or have teenagers just genetically mutated to naturally understand it?! Just wondering, because if you are left to figure it our for yourself is it possible that different people think abbreviations mean different things? I can also imagine some potentially embarrassing situations caused by confusion. Has this happened in your experience?
Also, do you try to control who gets hold of your phone number? I imagine that the many dangers of txting would be severely limited if you could somehow make sure it was only friends that you knew and trusted that contacted you that way – not random aquaintances, friends-of-friends or luntatic gaither fans for example? Is there a way of limiting who gets your phone number or blocking messages from people who you didn’t want to have it in the first place?
At what age do you think it is best for a child to get their first mobile (oh, sorry, cellphone)?
Congrats ! All the best with this = )
Rachel, that was the question I was going to ask! LOL My granddaughter is in 3rd grade and she’s lobbying for a cell phone for Christmas!! THIRD GRADE!!!! I think that’s way too young. She says she’s the only girl in her class without one. Is she fibbing? Do kids as young as 8 have them?
Okay, this is probably a weird question, but I’ve been thinking about it when I see kids thumbs flying across those little keys on their cell phones while texting——have either of you had typing classes? I would think typing classes would be a neccesity when using a computer. And doesn’t that just get your fingers all mixed up ’cause you’ve learned one way to type words using all your fingers and thumbs, but you can’t use the same technique on a tiny cell phone keyboard?
I told you it was weird.
Oh dear, I just happened to go back and rad my questions and discovered I put an r where I should have put a p; i.e., pros and cons not ros and cons) But if you understand text talk then perhaps you understood what I was trying to say….hopefully. Have to admit, in reading the questions that have been asked by everyone, I am very interested in hearing the answsers.
Have you girls ever had an inappropriate text message? What did you do about it? Do you feel comfortable coming to your parents and letting them know?
Someday when you have children of your own, what are YOUR rules going to be concerning their cellphones and texting? And what will YOU tell them when they whine that all the other kids they know don’t have such rules?
How many minutes a month do you feel is adequate for a teen your age? Do you pay your own phone bills? If not, how do you feel about paying your own bill out of your allowance and will that cause you to use it less? Would that be a good idea for teens that are on their phones way too much? Do you know kids that you think are on way too much?
What do you girls think about the theory proported by some experts that cell phone use may contribute to brain cancer? Does that scare you? It does me!
All very interesting. We didn’t have this problem when our kids were growing up and are glad that they have to make the decisions for our grandchildren and not us. Looking forward to hearing the answers. How old were you both when you first had your own cell phones?
When you’re away from home, do you feel safer having a cell phone with you?
YALL LOOK SO PRETTY!
I enjoy your blog. I think it’s great that you care enough to give your time to this cause. My “child” is 42 years old and things were a lot different back then. I can see where cell phones and texting could be a problem. The biggest part of our teens and tweens have cell phones.
Is Madi Rose still seeing that really sweet radio guy ?? The one mom set up a date for ??
Does anyoneone reading this make cinnamon candied apples ?? Or know of someone who does, or where to get them ??
Who do the girls spend the most time texting with ?? It can be a general answer, not a specific one.
A video of the girls answering all this would be cool. Those of us who’ve not met them yet could sort of see them in action and hear what they sound like.
If Charlotte got interested in a boy, would she start texting him to break the relationship ice, or expect him to ??
I guess that could lead to the question of how important is texting in a teen dating relationship ??
Do Christian teens try to ‘spread the Gospel message’ through text messages ??
I’m serious about those cinnamon candied apples, by the way.
What sort of phone do the girls use ??
I love you guys! And these are great questions, thanks!
(jonny– NO, honey, that boy is LONG GONE! And i’ll start looking for a cinnamon candy apple recipe, though I am actually more of a caramel apple girl myself.)
Oh well, mister ‘Long Gone’ made a sweet first impression = /
i had to have a caramel apple fix a few years back. Quite a few people enjoyed them. They’re easier to make, and get a hold of, but haven’t seen a cinnamon candied apple in over twenty years; I believe.
This probably fits in with the ‘bullying’ catagory, but how do, should young Believers deal with text message gossip ??
Do you girls ever make up a code to use when you’re away from home and want to communicate with your parents but don’t want the kids around you to know you’re texting them? My granddaughter (who lives with us) and I made up a code—–100 means “I’m okay, just checking in.” 200 means “Please call me and I’ll act annoyed but I have to speak with you.” And 300 means “Help! Make up some excuse to come get me out of here!”
jonny, you are just obsessed with those cinnamon candy apples, aren’t ya? And you’re making ME want one now!
Ya know, when we were in school, we passed notes back and forth during class. And if we liked a boy, but were too afraid to tell him, we wrote him a note saying so and asking a friend to deliver it to our love interest. I guess teens have always found ways to communicate with other kids without saying stuff to their face. Notes, text messages, same same…….only notes are cheaper.
Yeah, a bit obsessed. It doesn’t happen that often, though. First was Captain Crunch cerial around twenty years ago. Then egg nog around fifteen, but that was short lived. American pancakes around ten years ago, regular/normal Cheerios around five. There was the caramel apple thing, but that was a one off. Oh, and also big on root beer, especially when viditing the states. I’ve made my own root beer over here from time to time as well. But the other day I realised that the cinnamon candied apple may indeed be an endangered treat Americana. I just have not heard of them, or seen one in quite some time, but remember them always being around somewhere as a kid = /
Do you get nervous if you have to put your cell phone away for some time/reason? I mean you could miss a text message and it might be way too late to answer it…
jonny, what is a cinnamon candied apple???
You can google ‘cinnamon cadny apple.’ They are also called candy Apples. It’s an apple, often more sour than sweet, coated with hard cinnamon candy, and with a pop-cycle stick stuck in it. More difficult, or challenging to make than a caramel apple.
OK, I clicked into a site that offered them for sale on-line. Looks like they only ship in the US of A, but it’s THE EXACT SAME PLACE I remember eating my last one back in the mid-to-late eighties !! It’s Marinis on the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk, for what it’s worth. http://www.MarinisCandies.com.
Sorry, “Marini’s” Candies !
Thank you so much, jonny. Looks delicious…now my mouth starts watering – not very helpful while preparing tutoring lessons :-/ Or I have to make this a subject, then we can drool together
Madi, I remember when you got your first cell phone! Your mother wrote about it on her blog—I think it was when her blog was in the Tennessean newspaper. She told us about how you would talk to your dad and text him while he was away singing somewhere. Do you think that brought you and dad closer?
Gee, we’re just watching you two grow up before our eyes via your mother’s writings! And what a privilege it is——and what lovely, charming, kind, personable, not to mention beautiful young women you have become! Thank you so much for letting us follow your lives and thanks for answering all these questions! I hope it doesn’t feel like “homework”!
jonny, I’ve found several recipes for making cinnamon candy apples and it looks relatively easy. They use those little “red hots” candy melted into a sugar syrup cooked to a hard ball stage. I may try this sometime soon. I’ll save you one!
You got that right, Linda B. Those Taffgirls are special all the way around……and belong a little bit to us because their mom has so lovingly shared them with us.
I bet I know when a friendship between teens is getting a bit serious…..it’s when they stop texting so much and start calling more….because they want to hear one another’s voice.
Okay, I asked my granddaughter if I could share this story and she said I could. It’s kind of gross, but it illustrates a point so well. Want to know how important that cell phone is to some young people—–she was sick last week, some stomach bug, and when I walked into the room to check on her, she was throwing up…. and SHE NEVER TOOK THAT PHONE OFF HER EAR! I couldn’t believe it!
Well, that will put the candy apple discussion to rest, won’t it? LOL
Who was on the other end ??
Just what I was wondering – If I was on the other end I’d have hung up (after making sure she was being looked after of course)!
Well, should we ask our two experts what they would do under similar circumstances ??
jonny, must have been someone with nerves of steel (or rather with a stomach of steel :-/)!
It was a girlfriend of hers who did one of those “BRB” things. Ya know, they HAVE to keep the line open at all times in case they think of something profound to say to each other! LOL
I can picture one of those ‘text addicts’ in such circumstances constantly typing their condition…
However I’m sure that there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that our young Taff-ladies would face a similar situation.
Okay, now my age is showing……has it bothered you hearing that it is dangerous having a cell phone to your head so many hours a day? Or, is texting your answer to that?
Linda B, I’d say that is what is called a friend through thick ‘n thin.
You got that right, Ms. Lloyd! That’s a true friend!
Delighted, I sure hope you’re right about the young Taff ladies being above such grossness! I just wanted to tell them that story so they will know what cell phone addiction can lead to if they are not careful.
jonny, so that’s the reason I have a weight problem and you don’t——your cravings are years apart! Mine are 30 minutes.
Do you girls ever just want to get AWAY from the cell phone?
I was telling my daughter (age 16) that, when I was in high school (watching dinosaurs roam the earth), we had drama. People had crushes on each other, Girl A stole Girl B’s boyfriend, etc. But, at the end of the day we went HOME!! MAYBE we had an occassional phone call to a friend (tho’ I do remember party lines when you couldn’t talk long!), but we got away from the drama. My daughter can have drama going on 24-7 if I let her. She’ll get texts in the middle of the night, or they’ll talk about it on Facebook.I would get very tired of that!
On another note, I’m on a Yahoo Group for doulas (childbirth assistants). There was a thread recently about women wanting to be “connected” so texting their friends as they labor with updates. Some women said it was very comforting. The doulas wondered if that kept them out of that relaxed “zone” women try to get into as they labor.
OK, back to the candied apples. I went googling for recipes, just to satsify my curiosity. I found a cool, word for word, 1929 recipe ! Interestingly enough, it was for considerably more candied apples than the newer ones. But to my surprise, some recipes had NO cinnamon included in them AT ALL !! In at least one, it was optional. BUT, they still would add red food coloring to them !! Other flavouring ingredients would be cream of tatar, not sure what that is, gloves and vanilla.
Sorry, ‘cloves;’ not ‘gloves.’ I knew it looked funny for some reason = / Oh, and fresh lemon juice.
For some bizarre reason I have a LOT of cream of tartar,….some Girl Scout thing a long time ago. It’s used in meringue, which I have never made. I’m not the greatest cook,..I’m quite sure if I tried to make candied apples, they’d taste more like “gloves”!
lol ! Well, I quess you could sent it over to LB to help her out with the ones she’s gonna make !! = )
OK, back to the questions for the girls. Are any teenage girls of today into cooking, or guys for that matter, and if so, would they ever swap a recipe or two via a text message for the sake of doing so, or so that they could say they’ve actually done that ?!? Or is that something that has yet to be attempted !?! I think it would be pretty cool to send a 1929, or earlier, recipe via a 2010 text message !! Mercy, and Whoa nelly… !! = )
Just heard a report on CNN that to be considered a hyper-texter you would be sending 120 texts a day. How many texts a day, do you think the average texter sends?
“I’m even thinking about videotaping the whole thing and posting that– whaddya think?”
I’m looking forward to it! That would be terrific!