Texting with your kids ?...

[GIMNEPIWO]

Just wondering what other peeps think about texting as a way of communicating with your kids ? ... I had this convo with my brother at the begining of last week when we were in Florida together ... He said that he told his kids that if they need to talk to him to call him, if they were going to text them, he did not want to hear from them ... My kids text me all the time, call if they need to talk and visa versa ... The result after the week in Florida was that my brother recieved 0 calls from his kids & of course, 0 texts ... I heard from all my DD's by text every day, or almost every day and spoke to each one at least once during the week ... The variables here are that he has 2 boys not 5 girls, and I don't think they are as close a family as we are ...

* I do think my youngest DD's ( 18 ) are a little too consumed with texting and we had a few imposed 'no cell phone' days during the holidays for everyone ...

[CrushersDad]

Texting is the reality of youth communication for today. If I required my kids to "call me" I would never get a call.

I personally have no problem with texting.

[carolinafan]

I absolutely LOVE texting!!! I am able to communicate with my kids without the extraneous bs that occurs (mostly their whining) when they "need" something......texting allows me to succinctly get across what I need to with my two brats.....ah, I mean my great kids! Now texting should never replace calls that are important in nature....for example: "mom, I am thinking of having sex with my boyfriend". (she is at his house) Now that conversation should be on the phone - voice to voice.....while I am speeding to Mendham going 110 mph!

My DH refuses to text and is much like your brother. He just learned how to use the internet about 2 years ago and finally got himself a business email and website....but, it took me at least 5 years of nagging him to do it.

[Skarp]

I text with the little brats all the time. The advantage of texting is that neither person needs to be available to talk in order to get a message through. You send your text, and it's waiting for her when class is over, etc. Much more convenient.

[hit4power]

I and my DW text them a lot. In the case of the older (boy), who is two time zones away at college we have a rule that he must phone home for real conversation every other week at a minimum - mom needs to hear his voice. To enforce the rule, I don't deposit his monthly meal allowance if the requisite phone calls have not happened. But during the week its mostly texts and some email - works great to stay in touch. For my DD (age 15), its mostly about arranging last minute logistics in the complicated and ever changing family schedule - we still manage to grab dinner together (and torture DD for information) several nights a week in between work, school, softball, and friends.

[Blind Squirrel]

Particularly now that both my kids are out of state most of the year, I appreciate any instances that suggest they are not only thinking of me, but they are sufficiently moved to make the effort to communicate something to me. They are 19 and 20 years old if that matters.

John

[Bleacher Creature]

Unlimited text on the phone plan here. I get the updates and plan changes from school every day. Hell last week I was on the phone w/My sister in law and the brat was texting her from school?

[anonlooker]

Texting is the fastest and easiest way to leave a message and we use it all the time.

While the kids would rather have an entire conversation via texts, I tend to call them if the text exchange, once started, seems destined to go beyond 2 or 3 back and forth.

Voice mail, on the other hand, is pretty much obsolete around here. None of us really listen to messages, we just check Missed Calls and return the call, or more often, text back. It's just more efficient.

And with voice recognition technology these days, it won't be long before we no longer have to type our texts. Nice.

[DonnieS]

Texting works for me - its very convenient. If the kid is in class, they answer afterwards. I want to hear from them, if it takes smoke signals or mirrors from the mountain top - I dont care, I just want to hear.

[Joe]

Problem is it takes me five minutes or so to type something like, "where are you?" or "what time will you be finished?". Takes DDs about 2 seconds to reply. Then again, I have no choice when I know they're hitting the 'ignore' button when I call