5 Tips to Avoid Parent Text #Fails

By now, we’re all familiar with ‘Damn You Auto Correct.’ But the pitfalls of parents and texting extend beyond the misuse of Auto Correct. After all, even the best of us fall victim to this tyrannical tool. We'll admit that parents can have an especially tough time keeping up with texting trends. Whether it's trying too hard to incorporate Emojis, or sending greetings like an old fashioned letter, there are some blunders that a lot of parents fall victim to when texting their tech-adept children.

Here, we offer up five essential pieces of advice about how parents should and shouldn’t text:

1. A Text Is Not A Letter
The text message isn’t like a letter, or even an email. There’s no reason to write “Dear _____” or even “Hello _____.” There’s also no need to sign your name at the end.

2. Learn The Language of Emoji
If you’re tech savvy enough to have figured out how to install Emoji, great. Now you have to learn how to use it. Emoji isn’t just for random strings of pictures. There’s an art to communicating in symbolic language. We don’t have to all be virtuosos with the medium, like this artist who rendered the entire first episode of the Breaking Bad premier in Emojis, but a little thought into how you emojify your messages goes a long way. Wondering when you should or shouldn’t use Emoji? This flow-chart will help you decide.

3. Understand Acronyms
Acronyms can help or hinder conversations. Use them only if you’re sure of their meaning. Case in point: YOLO is not a warning (yes, parents commonly get this one acronym wrong). But really, don’t use YOLO at all.

4. Make It Readable
While autocorrect usually makes it so that the words you text come through are at the very least words (however inappropriate), sometimes mistakes slip through. Put your reading glasses on and double check that there are no numbers in between your words or any other intelligibility. On a slightly unrelated note, nobody uses ‘4’ instead of ‘for’  - or any other variation of numbers replacing words -  so please don’t do that.

5. Goodbyes Not Required
A text message conversation doesn’t require a definite ending. While you may think it’s polite to always end a conversation with “goodbye,” in text-speak, it’s perfectly okay to end a conversation with “okay,” “haha,” or “cool.” It may seem counter-intuitive, but ending a text conversation with “goodbye" can come across more rude than omitting it and letting the conversation end naturally.

Top 5 Things NOT to Text Your Mom this Mother's Day

We all know there’s many ways to say “I love you” to your Mom. It could be in person with a giant hug, a greeting card in the mail or a phone call if you’re miles away. Or, you could also text your mother and share a message with her that makes it clear just how much she means to you.

But be forewarned -- there are just some texts that you just shouldn’t send to your Mom on Mother’s Day. She might remember these texts forever, and not for a good reason.

The 5 worst texts you can send to your Mom this Mother’s Day:

#5 Sorry Mom. I totally forgot it was Mother’s Day last week. Hope you had a happy day.
Tip: Don’t be late. Send her a text on Mother’s Day which is Sunday, May 13th.

#4 Even though you are old and getting gray, I still love you. Happy Mother’s Day!
Tip: It’s never good to remind your Mom of her age. Tell her how beautiful she is instead.

#3 Hey Mom- Can I have $20 to buy you a Mother’s Day gift? 
Tip: Asking your Mom for money to purchase her a Mother’s Day gift is just wrong. You can always make her a gift. She’ll love that you took the time to make her something special.

#2 Hey Mandy, Wanna go out tonight? I’m trying to avoid my Mom for the day.
Tip: Make sure you send the right text to her-- not one meant for someone else. This could be bad- very bad.

#1. THX 4 being so gr8. ILY :)
Tip: Stay away from texting her shorthand. She might not understand what you are trying to say. Take the time to write everything out for her.

Now that we’ve covered what not to do, let’s focus on some awesome texts that you should send to your Mom: 

#5. Thank her for everything that she has done for you.
If I have never said thank you for everything you’ve done for me, I'd like to do that now. Happy Mother’s Day!

#4. Thank her for being more than just your mom.
Thanks for being my biggest fan and my best friend. Above all thanks for being my Mom. Happy Mother’s Day!

#3. Thank her for all the times she has been there for you.
You've seen me laugh and you've seen me cry. I may not have always said it, but thanks- I love you- Happy Mother's Day.

#2. Tell her just how unique and special she is to you.
You're my mother, I would have no other! Happy Mother’s Day!

#1. Keep it sweet and simple.
I love you. Happy Mother’s Day!

What will you text your Mom this Mother’s Day?