A 10-Year Old's Lesson in Texting Etiquitte

A hard lesson was learned the other day in the danger of texting. A friend made Carter mad, so in retaliation he texted mean things to him. To be fair, the friend says mean things, it seems, on a regular basis. But he says them, he doesn't text them. Normally Carter just turns the other cheek, but this time something finally snapped.

He knew that what he had done wasn't right. The kid's mother found the texts and sent one back, a warning that she would call me, something she never did, which I found a little odd. Guilt, perhaps prompted him to show me that message and so I had a look at all the messages and was shocked at the words I found. I had to explain the permanence of a text, evidence that can be used in a case of bullying and that it was never O.K. to say things like the things he wrote in those texts, to anyone in any form, under any circumstances.

He sent a text of apology and begged for forgiveness, but spent a long night and morning of anguish worrying that his act would be get him expelled from school. The friend forgave, though I suspect the friendship will never quite be the same again. Or maybe it will. They are 10-year olds after all. But I was glad for the anguish, because I know that a lesson has been learned the hard way, making it one that will never be forgotten.