Warn Your Teens and Twenty Somethings that Texting and Driving Don't Mix

Warn your teens and twenty somethings that texting while driving can be a fatal mistake.  A distracted driver is the leading cause of car accidents.  Texting while driving is a major driving distraction that teens are found to be doing more than any other age group.  Ninety-four percent of surveyed drivers agree that texting while driving is dangerous, yet more than one third of those surveyed do it.  I would like to note here that I think that this is a low estimate because it relies on self reporting. 

There were six thousand deaths and five hundred thousand injuries last year from car crashes involving a driver who was texting or using a cell phone as reported by Healthy Day.  The government website reports a much lowere number of three thousand six hundred.  No matter which is accurate, the number is way to high.

Florida (where I live) and twelve other states do not currently have a law banning texting while driving.  Happy to say that most of the twelve are working on it.  Many states include in their law a ban against teens talking on their cell as well because that can be just as distracting.

Here are the statistics on other distracters drivers report doing:  86% eat or drink, 37% have sent a text, 41% set GPS, 36% read a map, 20% have styled hair, 14% have put on make-up, 13% have surfed the web.  How many of these have you as a parent done while driving with your teen in the car?  I am not proud of my answer to this question.  We as parents need to always be thinking of the role model that we are being for our children.  There is no way that a law is going to eliminate all those distracters, so we as parents are going to need to educate our children on this growing problem. 

Eleven percent of all drivers under the age of 20 who were involved in a fatal crash were distracted at the time of the crash.  This percentage is higher than any other age group.  Make sure that your teen or twenty something understands the seriousness of this issue and sets their phone down while driving.

What Age Is Too Young for a Cell Phone?

While I was shopping yesterday, I past a toddler talking on a cell phone up and I thought "I hope Mom had the sense to lock it before giving it to her little one to play with".  I glanced up to get Mom's attention in order to let her know that it appeared that her little one was actually talking to someone on the phone and noticed that she was talking on her cell phone.  Mom laughed at me and stated that that was her baby's cell phone.  A toddler with a cell phone of her own, really?  When is enough, enough?  I am not sure the exact age a child should have a cell of their own but I am pretty sure that it comes after their ability to identify numbers.  Children in most elementary schools are not allowed to bring phones to school, and will lose them if they are caught with them out of their backpack.  Some divorced parents would argue that they would never hear from their children if they didn't have their own phone.  So the debate is on, when is the appropriate age for a child to have a cell phone of their own?  One thing I think is important to consider is whether your child understands how billing for these phones works.  If they don't you may be in for some outragously expensive phone bills that you are ultimately responsible for.

Unplug Today and Reconnect for a Lifetime

"Unplug for a day and reconnect with your children for a lifetime!" This would make an excellent catch phrase for parents today. As parents, we are constantly connected into the world through our cell phones, and computers. Whereever we go, we go connected to the rest of the world. We are distracted by it all from something that requires our undivided attention, our children. I suggest that you take one day a month and disconnect from all that is electronic and spend the day reconnecting with your children. This means no cell phones, no computers, no TV, no iPods. Leave it all behind and reconnect with your children in a way that you may not have in years. Play games, take a walk, have a picnic, take a bike ride, or do whatever your family finds fun.

The world will not fall apart if you are not connected to it for 24 hours, but your family just might fall apart if you don't disconnect every so often. So consider unplugging this weekend. If you noticed there were no blog postings this past weekend. I took my own advice and unplugged for a long weekend. I find myself energized, my mood uplifted and feeling very close to my family after this past weekend. I wish the same experience for you this coming weekend.

Note: Teenagers may be resistant to this idea, but it is important for their wellbeing that they disconnect at times as well.