I've been keeping an eye on various responses to both the Rehtaeh Parsons suicide and the Stubenville case. Emily Bazelon over at Slate has an excellent article on the topic of how to talk to your teens about these issues that I recommend reading. The takeaway points for me are: 1. It's great to want to preserve our kids' innocence, but we also want to be the first people to talk to our kids about these issues, including sexting. 2. Girls and boys need plans in advance for how to handle situations involving alcohol as well as social media. 3. Forwarding material meant to shame or bully is an aggressive act. Bazelon also linked to this really great video. As a mom to two boys, this is the kind of thing I want in my arsenal. We've also got a great piece online about how to stop your teen from binge drinking. Here's another one on how to help your child with a bully. By the way, if all the talk about sexting is making you think kids are crazy, bear in mind that 52 per cent of women who answered the 2013 Canadian Living Sex Survey have sent a sext. It's not just the kids doing it! Excuse me, I have to go send a message to my husband...