By George Pitlik, Contributing Writer

I was not a conventional parent. My three children say they “survived” my parenting style. They still talk about the written test I gave them before they could date. Eighty percent of the questions pertained to sex education. Rumor has it that I originated “No pass, no play.”

So is it any wonder that my grandparenting style might be viewed as a little different? I have nine grandchildren, five in college. I’m a student myself at SRSU and can’t help but notice the amount of cell phone calls and texting that students do.

The use of a cell phone while operating machinery has made the news lately. I think it was a train in California that rear-ended another train while the engineer was texting. Another incident I recall was a subway driver texting when he plowed into another train. People were killed in both accidents.

The media reports that research shows text-messaging while driving is more dangerous than driving while under the influence of alcohol. Scary stuff. Six of my nine grandchildren drive.

When they started kindergarten, I used money as an incentive for good grades. Every school reporting period, I would receive a letter containing a copy of each of their report cards and a hand written note from the child. Kindergarteners used crayon. I sent each kid a chart of the “Grandfather’s Cash for Grades Reward System.” It was very expensive for me. There was a hundred dollar bonus for straight A’s for the entire year. Several Junes, I wrote checks totaling $900. Talk about mixed emotions! There were times when I wished for lower IQ descendants. But guess what? Five of my grandkids are on academic college scholarships. The other kid of driving age is still in high school.

I have never seen my grandkids without their cell phones. I feel certain they used them while driving, so in an effort to change their behavior, I devised a money-based scheme. Call it a devious plot.

First, I decided to search the Internet to learn what people in other countries and states are doing about cell phone use while driving. Amazed is not a strong enough word for what I learned: countries that some consider far less “advanced” than the U.S. have strong laws. Egypt bans all cell phone usage while driving. Islamabad, the capitol of Pakistan, bans cell phones. The Netherlands is really serious: fines are as high as €2,000 or two weeks in jail.

Even Italy has fines of up to 124 U.S. dollars per infraction. (I never thought you could get an Italian to stop talking – at least not my relatives.)

In Bahrain, offenders face fines – possibly prison – if they use their cell phones while driving. (Do you know where Bahrain is geographically? I had to look it up: the Middle East.)

In the U.S., laws vary by state, but typically state legislatures seem more concerned about being reelected than safety. Few states ban cell phone usage, though a good number ban school bus drivers from using a cell phone. Duh.

Back to the manipulation of the grandkids. Below is a copy of the letter I sent them and the contract they had to sign and return to me. (After reading the contract, you are probably thinking they might lie to get the money. My grandkids? No, never. Well…)

Here is the challenge, and big money is involved.

The challenge is that you will not send or receive any text messages while you are driving, regardless of whether the car is in motion or not. No texting while at traffic signals of any type. The car must be parked and out of gear before you can send or receive texts. Challenge runs for two months and begins September 1, 2009 and ends October 31, 2009. Note that cash can be earned for either month or both months. If you want to participate, you must sign and date the following contract and mail to me as specified below. One contract for each month, starting with the contract for September on the bottom of the page.

No hard feelings if you choose not to participate. If you want to participate, send me an email to let me know. I want to know who is suffering.

I ________________________ agree to the conditions of the “NO TEXT CHALLENGE.” This contract is for the month of _________ 2009. If I am successful in following the conditions specified above, I will cut and send this signed document to Grandfather, and he will send me $100.00.

Mail this signed document no sooner than THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH.

 Date __________________I certify that I met the conditions.

Signature ___________________

So, how many kids signed on? All six of them did, and you might find their comments of value. I have not edited their responses.

*******************

Hi Grandfather,

I am emailing you to inform you that I want to do the challenge:) !!! I think it is an awesome idea!! Very original yet benefitial. Hope all is well with you guys. I just started classes up again last week....very challenging. Lots of math classes. I am in linear algebra, calculus 3, honors math problem solving...and some other non math classes. Love you.

Love, k [nineteen-year-old female college student]

Hello Grandfather!

How are things going for you? My mom called yesterday and told me about the letter you wrote to all the grandkids of driving age containing the text messaging/driving contract. I just wanted to let you know that I will be participating in the “no-texting-while-driving” challenge :)

B [twenty-two-year old female college student]

Dear Grandfather,

GUILTY!! I would though love to accept this challenge of yours! It sounds like only good things can come of it! I hope all things are well with you and Janet. Nursing school starts for me tomorrow morning. I now wake up at 5:30 am to catch the Metro bus into town. I feel very professional-like. I quit my job so now I am just solely focusing on school. It is going to be a hard year and a half, but I am ready! Send a “HI!!” to Janet for me!

With love, J [19, female college student]

Hello Grandfather!

This is T [sixteen-year-old male high school student]. I received your letter/contract about texting and I’m in! I have to admit, I started off being a very cautious driver and never texting, but slowly I’ve grown braver and braver and I have started texting or reading messages at stop lights and signs. This is a bad habit to get into for sure and I’m glad I now have a challenge to stop. I already started the “no texting rule” this morning and am excited to continue for the next two months. Thank you so much for this deal.

Hey Grandfather,

Brilliant idea about the NO TEXTING contract. It really is dangerous. I will admit I am guilty of this from time to time. Maybe this will help me get into a habit of ignoring it from now on, even when these two months are over. Anyways, just letting you know that I am definitely going to do this! Thanks! I will send you that first one after September 31st :)

T [21, female college student]

Well that was a surprising letter I found in the mail today! I had to show all of my friends, and we all agreed it is a marvelous idea, but I will definitely be participating for everyone on the road’s sake! I already started policing my phone while on the road today to get in the mood for September! You always have the funniest, coolest ideas Grandfather!

Love, K [19, male college student]

Will these contracts change their behavior? My thought is that two months is long enough to change habits. Hey, I am an optimist.

My spouse Janet and I do not text while driving, but to participate with the kids we decided that for two months we would not use a cell phone while driving. Recently, while driving to Austin, my cell phone rang. For some reason I keep it in a deep zippered pocket, and getting it out in a timely fashion is quite a feat. As I went through the contortions to answer the phone before if flipped to voice mail, Janet said, “What the hell are you doing?” Good question.

There may be one or two readers who are thinking, “Do his grand kids really call him Grandfather?” Yes they do. It was my idea, and back then no one thought I could get those diaper-wearing, drooling babies to call me that, but I did, and they do.

NEWSFLASH: The results are in for the month of September!

Five of my six driving age grandchildren signed the contract stating they completed the month abiding by the rules. My oldest granddaughter failed When I asked her what happened, she wrote that she “started” to text her boss while she was stopped at a traffic signal. A few days later I wrote asking her if she followed the contract for the remainder of the month. She did, so not being a miserly old goat I sent her fifty dollars. The other kids got a hundred dollars as per the contract.

I also received several nice notes from the kids that I appreciated very much. I firmly believe that after another month of no texting while driving they will continue the practice.