A reluctant Pioneer.

There’s a set of House Rules in our home, one of which is: “If it rings, answer it”.

Considering there are four teenagers in the house whose mobile phones never leave their side, it seems a superfluous rule. But the kids rarely answer the landline because it rarely tolls for them.

It occurred to me the other day that I am a pioneer parent in the mobile phone revolution. We are the first generation of parents to endure the plague of mobile phones that has beset our children. In the same way our parents watched in horror as we left the house in satin disco pants and a weave perm during the disco era, their parents worried about Elvis’ pelvis and the corrupting influence of rock and roll.

But mobile phones and their impact on family life are more sinister and far-reaching. An article by Erin Jansen, author of NetLingo – The Internet Dictionary states: “For teenagers, texting is like knowing another language. Since it is an online language, it is global .. and is quickly becoming a universal form of English,” she explains.For parents it might as well be a foreign language.

I use my mobile for texting, but can’t bring myself to compose a message without correct grammar and punctuation. I know that l8r means “later” and cu@8 means “see you at eight”, but what does AFAIK mean?

A recent study by Queensland University surveyed 218 teens and found 93.6 per cent had been a victim of mobile-phone bullying. m-bullying involves using a mobile phone to harass or offend someone. It can include sending obscene images, threatening to start rumors, or inappropriate and unwanted messages of affection.

Those sobering statistics suggest we pioneer parents will have to confront this problem sooner rather than later. So what can we do? Pondering this led me to the realization that with so many victims, there must also be a lot of bullies. How would I feel if my child was one of them? How would I know? Does an unintentionally terse or tactless SMS that has hurt the feelings of someone else count as m-bullying? I think it technically might.

The advantages of SMS are obvious. It’s a cheap and it’s fast. The disadvantages are the risk of our kids losing other important communication and social skills. If your children haven’t yet been given their first phone, you’re still in the box seat. Hold off for as long as you can and carefully establish ground rules from the outset.

Stay tuned for some tips from the experts on how to manage mobile phones and please post your stories and experiences for us to share.