The Seedy Side of Texting

In the old days, parents relied on a sweet little allegory about the birds and bees to talk with their kids about sex. Today's parents don't have it quite so easy. The conversations are starting earlier, they're getting much more detailed and they're carrying more weight than ever before. Take "sexting," for example.

This new-ish term describes the trend of sending and receiving sexually explicit photos via text message. And before you write this one off as bizarre, a national survey suggests as many as 20 percent of teens admit to participating in sexting.

This trend is disturbing on many levels, but aside from the obvious ones, did you know many prosecutors are calling this child pornography? According to CBS News, six teens from Pennsylvania were charged with a felony for their participation in either sending or receiving a naked photo text.

Dr. Pete Stavinoha, a child psychologist at Children's and a father, himself, says all the recent news coverage of sexting can actually help start a dialogue with kids.

"Because sexting has gotten so much press lately, there is no shortage of stories about the damage this has caused in young people's lives. So instead of a parent preaching about the dangers of sexting, the adolescent gets to hear about the real consequences that have actually happened to someone their age."

Short of tossing his cell phone in the lake or locking away your teen in a tower, Rapunzel-like, what's the best way to safeguard your impressionable youth from the sexting sensation?

Dr. Stavinoha offered some great tips earlier this week on Good Day Texas, but one thing he says is a sense of belonging and strong self-esteem go a long way in helping kids feel less vulnerable to unsafe, unhealthy trends.