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Home › Articles › Teenagers › Learning the Lingo

Learning the Lingo

Does Your Teen Have a Secret Language?

By Tamekia Reece

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Next time you hear your teen ask a friend if she has any Oxy, don't assume she's trying to zap a zit. Or if you overhear your son bragging about his ADIDAS, there's a chance he's talking about something a little more sensual than his muddy tennis shoes. Nowadays, teens have come up with all kinds of terms to talk about drugs, sex and other things without their parents (and other adults) being able to figure out the real topic of discussion. Guess what? You can crack the code and learn this secret lingo.

Why They Do It
When asked, a group of teens said they use code words and other jargon because sometimes they don't want others to know what they're talking about. Red flag? No. Wanting privacy doesn't mean they're up to something.

Erika Karres, Ed.D., author of Mean Chicks, Cliques and Dirty Tricks (Adams Media, 2004), says teens need their own lingo, even if it's just text messaging abbreviations. "It empowers them, helps them to know and grow," she says.

That doesn't mean you should take in everything as harmless slang. "If the language is dangerous or harmful, a parent has to step in," says Karres. How does a parent know when it's time to step in? You have to be in the know!

Teens Translated
Many parents would be shocked if they knew that the "bacon" they heard their son bad mouth the other night was actually a bash at police. Patricia Baronowski does know this. Because of her open relationship with her teen son and his friends, she can ask them what's what in the teen world. This keeps her well-informed and on top of her game.

But for parents who don't have open relationships with their teen, Karres says there are other ways to learn the lingo. She suggests parents network with other parents and swap some of the words they've heard. She also says parents should hit up the high school teachers and ask what lingo they've heard floating around the school.

Because Baronowski knows her son and his friends don't know every single word out there, they search the Internet and find tons of words that have double meanings. Internet safety experts at CyberPatrol

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