Hold the phone: Did I just write skool with a k? What happened to that English major from that prestigious institution? Shouldn\'t I be the defender of the faith? Shouldn\'t I know better? After all, I\'m old enough to remember those subway ads that promised me that "If I cld rd ths, I cld mak gd $" as a secretary. (No one has secretaries anymore.) How did it come to this? Simple. My kids have trained me to text, not talk. I pay the bills on the cell phones they won\'t answer but use as SMS machines -- to the tune of thousands of messages a month.

If you have a teen or tween, none of the above is headline news. 75% of tween girls now have cell phones -- and I would bet that 99.9% of them don\'t answer them when "Mom" flashes on the caller ID. In fact, 41% of tweens say they use their phones to send SMS messages, versus the 17% that actually employ them for that old-fashioned talking business. But what does this mean (I ask as I spy my daughter\'s fingers moving with soft clicks under the table without her even looking) for this generation? Forget spelling. I\'ve already ceded that to spell check. But how about conversation? If you check your kids\' "in" and "out" boxes, you\'ll see that most of their texts are completely devoid of nutritional content. They\'re a way of making plans and sending photos -- and they\'re about reaching through the airwaves and making contact with someone else.

My kids actually aren\'t interested in hearing my voice -- that would require them actually stop what they were doing and talk. Instead, in their little business-like ways, they\'re attending to the basic requirements of being my child -- reporting where they are, who they\'re with, when they\'ll be home, and whether or not my chauffeuring skills will be required.

What\'s in it for me? A quiet little way to reach out and touch someone, as the old AT& T ad once urged. A tiny moment of contact with those I love but with whom I no longer speak. My kids have dictated a new agenda -- and it\'s brief. And if I want to talk to them, it\'s on thr trms.

If you\'re lucky enough to intercept younger kids before they become texting tweens, check out a few media options that are focused on literacy:

TV Shows
Jane and the Dragon
WordWorld
WordGirl

Video Games
My Word Coach
Mia\'s Reading: The Bugaboo Bug

And, of course, there\'s always the old standby -- books!