Kentucky State Police Release List of Teen Texting Lingo for Parents

Today's technology allows all of us a variety of ways to communicate with one another which is great. However, the speed at which that technology is evolving, and teenagers' ability to adapt to it quicker than their parents, opens doors many parents likely feel their kids aren't ready to open yet.

For his 12th birthday last summer, my wife and I broke down and added an extra line to our phone plan and got our son his own phone. He was one of the last kids in his group of bros to have one, and we felt he had proven himself mature enough to handle the responsibility.

Now then, ask me how many times I've checked his text messages since he got that phone six or so months ago. The answer is zero.He's a straight A student, runs around with a good group of friends, stays out of trouble, and has been complimented by his teachers for how well he behaves in class along with his willingness to lend a helping hand to his classmates. He's not given us a reason to check up on him, and, to some degree, he's earned that right. With that said, kids will be kids. There are, and will be, temptations to push the envelope and see what they can and can't get away with.

As any parent will tell you, there's a strong internal desire to try and allow your kids to keep that "youthful innocence" for as long as possible before the harsh reality of the big, bad world smacks them across the face. In order to do that, it requires a check of their online and texting practices. But what exactly are you looking for when it comes to texting? We were all kids once, so we know hiding things from your parents requires a degree of craftiness. Even if that means manipulating the English language in text messages in a such a way that you're able to hide your intentions in plain sight.

Kentucky State Police Public Information Officer for Post 16 in Henderson, Corey King is lending parents a helping hand in what to look for, releasing a list of popular abbreviations teenagers are using these days to ask each other a variety of things, some as simple as letting the recipient know the sender's parents are close by, while others are more deviant (for lack of a better term), asking for explicit photos, or planning a hook up.

If you happen to stumble across any of the above language in your teen's phone, it will likely lead to an uncomfortable conversation, but one that must be had. It will probably also lead to your teen accusing you of invading their privacy, and "hating" you for a while, but the day will come where the light will come on in their head, and they'll understand why you did it in the first place.

[Source: Trooper Corey King via Twitter]