Letter of the day: Parents, do you know enough about texting?

As a substitute teacher in a large metro school district, I see the impact of text messaging and cell phone use on a daily basis, in all grades. The recent spate of lewd, criminal acts ("Anoka-Hennepin school worker charged with sexually explicit texting to boy, 11," May 5, and "Teens use e-nudity to get noticed," May 5) sadly comes as no surprise.

I spoke to a fifth-grader (10 years old) last week when I saw him texting, and he informed me that his parents buy him "unlimited" texting on their plan. He was a late bloomer in acquiring his cell phone -- fourth grade.

By high school, cell phones are ubiquitous. Although banned during school hours, students play a cat-and-mouse game of hiding their cell phones under desks and behind purses, and find other creative ways to carry on conversations with people who are sometimes sitting at the next desk over. While a passed note or leaning whisper is usually seen by a teacher, the texting is not. Ask any teacher and they will attest that this competition for attention is a huge concern.

Unlike a home computer, which can be easily monitored if placed in a central location, cell phone use and texting are nearly impossible to supervise. Sadly, parents in most cases find out after the fact if their child has been harmed.

Children will inevitably make poor choices as part of their maturation process. When parents blindly place a cell phone in children's hands, they are also facilitating and multiplying the possible ways for their children to get harmed. Sexual predators understand this newfound accessibility to children much more than parents do.

Next time you glance at your child's messages, look for "99." It means that a parent is no longer watching.

JAMES NORMAN, WOODBURY