New rules needed for teen texting.

• Position: Cell Phones

Between the proliferation of cyberbullying that has been dominating the headlines and the inappropriate communications that cell phones enable among young people, the author of YNK--You Never Know believes it is time for parents to set up new rules for their adolescents regarding the technology that has become an intractable part of their lives. "The common joke with teens is that they're all developing oversized thumbs from all the texting they do on their cell phones," notes Jacquie Ream.

"The truth is that technology has moved faster than parents' ability to keep up with it. Only five years ago, it was not terribly common for teens to have their own cell phones. Today, most kids use them, and the only rules they get from their parents concern not texting over their cell plan's limits. Kids need more. Parents have to be able to explain to them the complexities of how this technology can affect their lives, and how to prevent the negative phenomenon of cyberbullying and more."

Ream has written a set of rules--a new ABCs--for parents of youngsters with cell phones:

A is for acknowledge. Parents should acknowledge and accept that technology is here to stay, and it likely will move faster than they can keep up with it. "We need to stop and try to calculate the ramifications of having that technology, and it goes beyond worrying about making sure our hair looks neat before we answer the video phone."

B is for beware. When we were kids, bullying was restricted to the...