Mom Goes Viral With Son's Phone Code Of Conduct

Mom goes viral with son's phone code of conduct Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 10:03 am, Monday, January 7, 2013 Mom goes viral with son's phone code of conduct Eighteen strings, to be exact, in a written code of conduct that placed the mommy blogger at the center of the debate over how parents should handle technology in the hands of their teens, especially younger ones just entering the frenetic world of social networks and smartphones. Thousands of people, including those bemoaning too much helicopter parenting, commented and shared the funny, heartfelt agreement posted at the holiday by the Cape Cod, Mass., mom of five. Of the latter Hofmann advises her teen, Mow a lawn, stash some birthday money. Police in Rocklin, Calif., said two girls, ages 15 and 16, used a prescription sleeping medication recently to spike the milkshakes of one's parents so they could log onto the Internet after 10 p.m. There's little data broken down by age on the number of Internet users whose lives are negatively impacted by smartphones, tablets, laptops and other technology, Greenfield said. In the general population, studies range from 1 percent to 10 percent of users whose digital habits interfere with their lives. In a recent report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 81 percent of parents with online teens said they are concerned about how much information advertisers can learn about their kids' behavior and 72 percent said they're concerned about how their children interact online with people they don't know. Nearly 70 percent said they're concerned about how their children manage their reputations online and 57 percent of kids ages 12 and 13 said they're very concerned about it. An increasing number are joining their kids on social media, but older parents may be approaching their kids' lives there with the wrong emotional filters. In parts of Europe and Asia, for instance, kids learn how to handle their digital lives as formal training in third or fourth grade. [...] she gets downright inspirational toward the bottom: Leave your phone home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision. Aisha Sultan in St.