I recently received an invitation to interview renowned child psychiatrist Dr. Charles Sophy who is the Medical Director for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. Dr. Sophy has also made feature appearances on television’s “Celebrity Rehab.”
After submitting my questions about teens and texting I received a video response. It enlightened me to a few things about teens and texting that I had not really thought about before.
The first thing that really hit me was how statistics show that half of parents are texting while driving. My first thought was, “How could parents do that?” However I began to think about my own driving habits.
Think about it. What do you consider to be texting while driving? I always considered it to be someone whose car is in motion yet they are stealing moments to quick send a text. Well I don’t do that.
However here is what I am guilty of doing. At red lights I will frequently check an incoming text message or quick type one. So after I received the video responding to my questions I decided to ask my 16-year-old son who is now learning how to drive, if he considers what I do as texting while driving.
To my surprise he said yes. I feel ashamed and a bit stupid to admit that I honestly never considered what I was doing to be texting while driving. I justified it because I was stopped at a red light. The next question I had to ask myself, “Would I want my son to text at red lights?” I certainly do not.
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in this video session with Dr. Sophy. It enlightened me to the reality of what I am doing and the importance of demonstrating a good example.
I might be really putting myself out there to admit to this; however, clearly I am not alone if statistics reveal that 50% of parents are also texting while driving.
The good news is that I am changing all of this. It puts a new perspective on things when suddenly you are teaching your teen how to drive and you need to set a good example. I guess its time I learn the same.
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