I remember when taking pictures with a phone
started gaining popularity. I thought to myself,
“Why would anyone ever want to take a picture
with their phone and send it to someone?” Now,
using phones for pictures or videos is one of the
most popular uses of today’s cell phones.
There are many great things about this
technology. I love being able to send pictures of
my kids instantly to their grandma, to capture
and share those precious moments quickly with the
ones I love. But, like every piece of technology out
there, there are healthy uses, and uses that concern
us as parents. Sexting has become an unfortunately
popular way that people use phones. When it comes
to our children, we need to know what’s going on,
and how to protect them. Sadly, many parents just
go with the flow, buy their kids the phone, and have
no idea what their teen is doing with it.
Statistics According to the Pew Internet and Life
Project, nearly one out of six teens who own cell
phones have sent or received nude or nearly nude
pictures via text message from someone they know.
This same study found that older teens were more
likely than younger teens to send sexually explicit
text messages. One out of six. Think of all the teens
and pre-teens you know who have cell phones. Hard
to imagine, but many of them are likely involved in
sexting. So what can you do as a parent to protect
your kids?
Education The first thing you have to do is educate
yourself. What are your kids sending and receiving?
It’s your right and duty as a parent to know. Don’t
give in to the social pressure that you should let your
13 year old “have their space.” If you’re paying the
bill, you have the right and duty to know what the
technology is being used for. Utilize the web, and
form networks with other parents of teens to share
ideas. Communication and education can go a long
way.
Communicate The Dangers Once that picture
arrives on the other person’s phone, you can’t get it
back. You also can’t control how it’s used. You can’t
guarantee that it won’t wind up in the wrong hands.
Some of these situations, unfortunately, have ended
very tragically. The story of Jessica Logan, in
Cincinnati, who committed suicide after photos that
she had sent to her boyfriend ended up being
forwarded to lots of people around the school, comes
to mind. She was harassed for the pictures and
couldn’t handle the harassment that followed after
her ex-boyfriend sent the pictures out. These
situations are very serious, and, as parents, we have
to be aggressive in communicating and checking on
our children to make sure they’re being smart about
their smart phones.
Criminal Charges Depending on the situation, you
could cause someone to be charged with child
pornography, or you could be charged with child
pornography yourself. Many people use photo
backup and auto-sharing features on their phones,
which means a copy of that picture might instantly
appear on someone else’s phone. If your teen is over
18, and they send something to someone under 18,
they could be charged with distributing
pornography to a minor.
Take Strong Action Besides many other
conversations about healthy relationships that are
based on more than physical attractiveness, I
recommend having some strong conversations and
boundaries around the use of texting technology in
your family. I even recommend taking it a step
further, if you feel like you need to, in order to
protect your child.
There are several programs out there that will allow
you to monitor the use of the cell phones in your
household, even to the point of getting a report of all
text messages sent and received. I’ve linked a
couple of these websites below, please take the time
and research your options. You do not have to stand
by and allow these types of things to happen to your
child. Be the parent, they’ll thank you later.

This is a great topic!
I believe that a 13 year old doesn't need the lastest phone. A regular no picture sending phone will do the trick. Kids today need to understand that until they are adult, a phone is for basic needs such as communicating with adults when needed. I see so many kids today with iphone 4 and 5 and there is no way for the parents to know what they are sending because the kids will always delete messages. I think it's a way to give a kid too much freedom to do whatever they so choose. I don't like the idea of a device in which I can not monitor the actual activity on it.

@obioma, Can you please revert with the websites