Moxie, Thank you for sharing. I think this is a GREAT topic to be talked about regarding this child because if it can make parents aware of how their child MAY be texting/chatting and prevents ONE teen from being raped, abducted, molested, taken advantage of, etc.... Its worth it.
I TOTALLY think Ross should be and will be found guilty, no doubt about it, he was in the wrong and perverted and i'd have kicked his *advertiser censored* into a 6' hole if he had sent a pic like that to my daughter, BUT the teens knew what they were doing. They were not 'children' in that definition. They most likely were insecure or even headstrong teens experimenting with the world.
I have had an experience where I stepped in with my daughters friend who was doing the SAME thing, at MY house, on MY DAUGHTERS computer. Luckily my daughter (14) knew that her friend was getting in over her head and talked to me about it. I sat BOTH of them down and discussed the what could happen and why's over it. This girl was an honor student, smart, decent family, but craved male attention (her father was 'there' but not very active in family activities) and she had Double D' breasts in 7th grade... so it got her LOTS of attention and she used them for even more... Her mother knew NONE of her online life or that she was messaging with a 25 yr old and planned on meeting him. After our talk I gave her the choice of telling her mother herself or I'd do it with her, or seperately, her choice. But it was going to be done. I did NOT want her getting hurt.
I DO not BLAME the teens, but they must also take responsibility for their actions. They are NOT held up to much responsibility these days for anything.. and are given passes for things OUR parents would have kicked our butts for. The availability of these 'snapchat' hidden online worlds, is dangerous and it is parents responsibility to KNOW what their kids are doing. If you want to consider them children at 15 or 16 then PARENT them at that age. Don't give them total freedom. Spy, monitor, whatever you want to call it. KNOW what they are doing. Once they are at college, its a lot harder to do so if you don't do it in the mid teens, you WILL not be able to instill those morals/ethics and security of self for them to make the RIGHT decisions or think twice before making the bad ones (and we all do, its how we learn).
Not beating a dead horse, i love horses... and like I said, if just ONE parent on here talks to their teen about this, and their friends and the dangers of these websites/social media apps, and ONE teen is safer... then give me a whip.
MOO
