Texting is the number 2 use of mobile phones. Number one is checking the time!

It has become such a popular, addicting and distracting habit that the number of casualties being reported due to texting while walking or driving has increased tremendously. A recently released study by the National Highway Safety Board found that four out of every five highway accidents were caused by people texting or talking on their cell phones.

I've seen many "safe texting" campaigns on the Disney Channel and recently at EXPRESS, where I usually shop. I even received a free T-shirt that reads "Hit the road, txt l8r" supporting RADD's "text-free focused driving". RADD's started out as "Recording Artists, Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving". I call texting "the new influence".

Another objection to texting is the increased tendency for teens to engage in inappropriate conversations with a sexual or profane tone, exchanging or being exposed to nudity or other obscene content (also known as "sexting"), or to be tempted to cheating in class. There are millions of texts sent by kids every day in the U.S. alone. Last spring, I sat next to a girl on a flight whom I would probably deem to be between 14 and 16 (all the make up can be deceiving at times) and she was eating her plane meal with one hand and texting with the other without even looking at her phone! She'd look at the message she got and then she'd start texting back single-thumbed. I think I stared a little bit.

Truth is I text all the time. I find it convenient, instant and private. I get it. While my kids are far from getting a mobile phone, let's face it, it's just a matter of time. It's just the way the world is moving. As positive parents, our responsibility is not to keep our kids locked away from everything that could potentially harm them. If you look at it this way, they'll never ride a bike, swim, or even take a shower. The worst could happen even on those apparently harmless situations.

I bought my girls a computer and its use is, of course, highly supervised and an opportunity to talk about safety and privileges. When the time comes, that will be my approach to texting.

We can start by testing our text language knowledge, then learning every possible acronym our kids could use as code to communicate with others. Being informed, being involved will help our judgment and handling any challenges that may arise.

Then, it is necessary to set limits and guide them to responsible use of the technology. Educating our kids of the potential harms. Explaining that sharing explicit content will not only bring disappointment to you as a parent, but it also can result into a potential viral spread within friends and even strangers, causing embarrassment and humiliation.

A few parent surveys have actually revealed that over 70% of parents feel that kids, tweens and teens are more responsive and easier to reach through text messaging than other forms of communication. Texting is less intrusive and discreet and, therefore, kids feel more comfortable with communicating with parents this way. Cell phone companies are coming up with unlimited text messaging family plans and have parent-friendly guides to text messaging available for download and in print at their stores.

The bottomline for me is: the purpose should be defined, boundaries set, consequences explained, praise given, discipline consistent, but I will definitely allow and embrace any form of communication that allows me to get closer to my kids.

What do you think?

Note: I posted this note on Facebook and on the Positive Mommies Network and just thought I'd share it with you all to find out what your opinion is on this matter.

Facebook Notes are used for marketing purposes. According to Facebook Terms of Use, Facebook Profiles should not be used with the objective to sell or market a product; however, you can create Facebook Notes on you Facebook Business Page (AKA Facebook Fan Page).

Because of their text-based nature, many Facebook users find Facebook Notes dull and ineffective; however, Facebook encourages you to cheat your way to better Facebook Notes, by using a little HTML. By clicking on the Facebook Notes Cheat Sheet, you can learn commonly used HTML commands that will also work on your blog and on your website!

Here’s what they’ve got:

I don’t use underline much because underlined text has become a standard “heads up” that there is a file linked to it (even an HTML document or web page is a file).

Another HTML command or “tag” I love to use is <br>, which is located at the end of a particular paragraph and whose function is to send the text to its right to the next line like a hard return would.

An important reminder is to use photos of “what you are marketing” or that invoke “pain or pleasure”, by communicating your prospect’s situation without your product or service and the added benefits if they were to do business with you.

You can use an image that you have already uploaded to one of your Facebook Albums or Facebook Profile Pictures, or an image that you can find by browsing through your local content.

Tag me on your next note!

From left to right:

1-The One With the Most Real and Accurate Insights, the playful one, the one who makes everyone laugh at the not-so-funny-moments, the youngest one, the musician, the peace promoter, the one who's been making fun of my height since he was 10 years old and taller than me LOL

2-The One Who's Been An Angel To Me, my support, "Medicine" when I've been sick or hurting emotionally, the one who rescued me when my life seemed over (over and over again!), the giver, the diplomatic, the mediator, the smartest person I know.

3-The One Who's Belief in Me Never Fails, the one who taught me I coud have and be what my heart desired, the one who taught me to love myself no matter what...the one who always says the right thing to make me feel better, even when he has no clue I needed those words, the funniest man ever.

If you have created a Facebook Fan Page, it is now time fo your to link it to Twitter!

Simply go here and you will be asked to link your page to Twitter automatically so you can share everything you publish...

When you click on the green "Link a Page to Twitter" button, then you will be able to choose the page (you may have more than one to link to the Twitter account of your choice).

You will be able to share way more than status updates to all your followers on Twitter direclty from Facebook: you can share your links, photos, notes, and events, too.

You can also choose only certain things to be shared betwen both on Twitter and Facebook by checking and unchecking the boxes.

You can also unlink the Facebook page from Twitter at any time. It's all up to you.

I love it. Do you?

Marketing is all about perception. Your brand is not who you are but who you are perceived to be. There are certain features and benefits attached to that perception.

I am subscribed to a service called “The Morning Minute”. This service sends a video and PDF message to my e-mail every day at midnight (beginning new day) with the purpose to help me start my day with the “right” attitude.

Today’s thought was presented to me as a question:

“What one word would you want people to use to describe your time on this Earth once your life is over?”

I translate everything I read or hear in terms of either motherhood or marketing. So of course, I wondered “What word would I want my children to use to describe my time with them?” Then I expanded: How about my family? Friends? Colleagues? Clients?

The speaker added “Everyday you paint a picture of who you are to others…which creates their definition of you.”

o If your existing clients were to define you or your services with one word, what would it be?

o What word do you think your past clients would use? What did they say right after closing?

o Does the word refer to a feature or a benefit?

o Does that word describe exactly what you want to be perceived as?

I encourage you to reflect upon these questions and decide to take consistent action based on the results. I always say “you become what you do most!” So let’s start practicing and stop preaching.

My self-check was pretty powerful. How about yours?