My husband and have a 13-year-old son, “Ben.” We were just contacted by the parents of his female classmate, “Chasey,” who informed us that Ben and several other boys have been making obscene phone calls to their daughter. Ben has apparently been the ringleader. They recorded some of the calls, and I am absolutely appalled by the filth he unleashed on her. He has been made to apologize to Chasey and has lost his phone for the foreseeable future. But Ben has complained that what he did “wasn’t that bad” and thinks his punishment is excessive. The trouble is that my husband thinks grounding him for a few weeks would be sufficient. How do I convey the seriousness of my son’s actions to him when I can’t get his dad on the same page with me?
—Mom of a Phone Fiend