Found - Stolen IPod.. Problem - A Classmate Has It...

Here's the scoop.... A few weeks back my 15 year old daughter Nikki had a tennis match at a rival school.. She was late getting out of her history class and in her haste to catch the bus left her purse on a bench in front of her locker in the girls' locker room... When I went to her match that afternoon - she told me what had happened... I asked her if she called the school and she had not.. She left her cell in her purse and did not think to ask someone to borrow theirs... Any hoo - I immediately called the school - they sent someone to the locker room - they found her purse and I had fifteen minutes to get it... or wait until tomorrow - No problem.. yep - so I jumped in my car - sped down the streets like a mad woman drove across town - made it with two minutes to spare... I got her purse - wallet/check.. cell phone/check... $240 IPod touch/missing!

What was there to do? Nothing really... The school informs the students that they are not responsible for lost or stolen items and that expensive electronics should not be at school... So the stolen IPod was signed off as a lesson learned... Until...

Yesterday morning - Nikki was in her math class and a classmate two (2) desks in front of her whips out an IPod.. An IPod with a very distinct crack across it's top - a missing piece of glass in a certain corner and packing tape taped across and vertical.... (Yes - although it was "newer" Nikki dropped it on our tile floors a time or two too many..) Nikki approached the girl and advised her that the IPod was hers and that it had been stolen... The girl according to Nikki was surprised that the IPod had been stolen.. She told Nikki that someone gave it to her (and to a 15 year old daughter - that seemed logical at the moment...) and the girl told Nikki that she would take it home and delete her pictures and songs and bring it back to school.... This Mama - doesn't believe it.... Sooooo

This morning I went with Nikki to the school supervisor's office and let Nikki explain the situation... Although the classmate said she would bring the IPod back today - We thought it would be wise to go on record with the school just in case there was a problem... You never know what could happen.. The supervisor had Nikki write down everything that happened and what was said... Nikki did not know the girl's name but thanks to the electronic age and the fact that the girl was Asian with her hair dyed bright orange (kind of hard to miss) - the supervisor took Nikki's description and was able to pull up the girl's name and picture with a couple of clicks on the mouse... crazy isn't it?

This is where it was left... If the classmate brings the IPod back - Nikki is to go to the supervisor and show the IPod.. If the classmate does not bring the IPod back then Nikki is to go to the supervisor and show that she had not received it.... Wonder if the IPod is a show or no show...

What Do You Think Will Happen???

We Put Our Kids On A 40 Day Electronic Time Out

The other day I was trying to have a conversation with my youngest teen... I could tell she was not paying attention to my words... She was more engrossed in the text messages she was receiving every few seconds... When I asked her to put her cellphone down - the excuses and bad attitude began... The "I'm only reading what my friend sent me... I'm not texting." Another popular retort is "My friend gets really upset if I don't text her back right away." give me a freaking break

Every night before I go to bed - I check on my girls.. The time will vary between 11 PM and 1 AM. Every night - they are usually sleeping by this time... Or so I thought... It's funny how my girls have started Facebook Walking after midnight... Don't they know that I can see their posts the next morning?? Really girls? They know they are not allowed on their computers after 10:00 PM... so they have been using their IPODS to Facebook.... Wherever there's a will... there's a way, right? So I had to specify NO FACEBOOK... NO TEXTING... NO ELECTRONIC ACTIVITY AFTER 10:00 pm!!!!

My youngest who has had straight "A's" her entire school career has been receiving bad grades since January... Why you may ask?? January was when she purchased her IPOD with her Christmas money.... The slide in grades is that dramatic and a very large cause for concern... The other day I walked in her room and she was on Skype with her best friend.. They were both doing "homework"... I had to literally bang my head against the wall with that one... Another popular thing that she does (my oldest too) is that - whenever something happens... It doesn't matter what it is... They have to drop what they are doing so they can "post their status" on Facebook..

My oldest teen's grades took a large dip at the beginning of the year when she started public high school... She was more interested in her texting than what the instructor was teaching... I had to put parental controls on her phone - that helped a little - until she came home and the electronic madness would start again.... Even now that she is being home schooled - I have caught her with her cell hidden in her shirt.. I caught her - because she kept looking back with a very guilty look on her beautiful face... Yep she was BUSTED...

Every time my husband or I turn around our girls were either texting, Facebooking, playing on their IPODS, or watching YouTube... Whatever happened to reading a book? Going outside and enjoying the outdoors? Playing a sport? Hanging out with friends without sitting next to each other and playing on their IPODS.. Yes, the other day - my young one had her friend over... They were sitting on the couch - not talking.. not communicating with each other.. They were too busy playing with their electronics... No wonder our society is going crazy..... The art of interpersonal communication skills is a thing of the past... Patience is no longer a virtue - especially because you can receive instant results via your phone, IPOD, and/or computer.... Kids no longer "talk" with their voices... with their facial expressions... they talk with their fingers flying across the microscopic key pad....

On Tuesday - we (the husband and I) said ENOUGH!!!! No more electronics for 40 days... Why 40 days? In the Bible - a lot of miraculous things happened in 40 days and we are hoping that the girls will realize how electronics were ruling their lives... I am praying that they will appreciate the written word (in a book - not a cell text)... Want to spend "family time" together... Talk to us.. To each other... Learn how to entertain themselves without electronic mindless therapy.... We have to stand firm on this...

It's a different way of life today than it was when I was growing up... and that's okay... But I have to say this... I want my girls to know how to function if the Internet went down.. If the cell phones fizzed out... Just think the Egyptian government was able to close off the entire country from the Internet.... That could happen here too.. couldn't it? I want my girls to know more... know how to get the answers to questions by using common sense... and not just their IPODS...

What are your thoughts on our kids and their electronic devices?

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