View Post

Thirteen Things to Talk to Your Teen About 13 Reasons Why: Episode 4-Teenage Sexuality & Sexting

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

[Note: It has recently come to light that the author of the book this video series was based on has been expelled from The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for violation of their harassment policy as reported by Deadline.] Thirteen Reasons Why, a video series based on a best-selling teen novel, is the story of a 17 year old …

View Post

Sexting Is In The News Again

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

Well, another story about teenagers sexting and trading pictures of their naughty bits hit the news recently.  According to the New York Times, it seems that a large number of guys and girls in a Colorado high school formed a kind of club that collected and traded naked pictures of their peers (themselves included, presumably).  From the advent of widely …

View Post

Hiding Phone Apps In Plain Sight

In The Blog by Dr James Wellborn

Giving your teen their own smart phone is a privilege and responsibility.  It will include setting some limits on acceptable uses for the phone and any other devices that connect to the internet or wifi. Once again the speed of technological advances (driven by the availability of teen’s disposable income to buy relatively inexpensive apps for their phone) has complicated …

View Post

Cyber Citizenship Part 6: Code of Conduct

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

Cyber Citizens should abide by a strict code of conduct based on the rights, privileges and responsibilities of being a member of the cyber world. Obey the law.  □   Copyright Infringement:  using, selling or distributing products or creations without permission of the copyright owner □   Plagiarism:  presenting the words, music, thoughts or ideas of others without giving them credit □   …

View Post

Cyber Citizenship Part 5: Civility

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

Civility is the foundation of civilized society (and not just because of te common derivation of the words).  It is how we get along with each other.  Civility is treating others with fairness and consideration for their feelings and needs.  It is treating others as people worthy of respect and dignity.  It is the golden rule:  do unto others as …

View Post

Sexting Part 5-What to Say If Your Kid Has Been Sexting (continued)

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

Talk about the risks.  Here’s the list. Sending pictures of yourself when you are younger than 18 is distributing pornography.  Having a picture of yourself stored on a phone, computer, etc. (or recoverable from the secret, undeleted areas of things you have deleted on your device) is possession of child pornography.  Having pictures of your sext buddy who is under …

View Post

Sexting Part 3-Warning Signs

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

This article is the third in a series on how parents can address the issue of sexting with their teenage children.  The first part of this series emphasized the importance of educating yourself as a parent and talking to your kids about sexting as well as internet and social media issues.  Part 2 reviewed some of the ground rules to …

View Post

Sexting Part 1-Having the Talk

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

There is a perfect storm that has arisen around teenagers and sex: the internet, technology, the sexualization of our culture, stupid teenagers (and politicians and professional athletes and . . .), the rise of Romance and the ability to be anonymous (or at least avoid direct, face to face contact) when interacting with other people.  All this has conspired to …

View Post

Tech Free Family Renaissance

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

Technology has taken over our lives in both wonderful and annoying ways.  Here’s a particular question that can have a troubling answer.  What is the longest you and especially your kids have gone without using electronic technology?  Most of us don’t realize the ways in which our reliance on and responsiveness to technology has filled every moment with some kind …