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Community Corner

Pleasanton Mom Helps Parents Read Between the Lines

Shawn Marie Edgington, Pleasanton author and mom wrote the book "Read Between the Lines: A Humorous Guide with Texting with Simplicity and Style."

The secret to bridging the communication gap between generations has eluded many families. But Pleasanton mom Shawn Marie Edgington may have discovered  the answer one fateful day while visiting her mother in Palm Springs.

Edgington's mother wondered why her teenage granddaughter, Nicole, was difficult to reach via email or phone. Edgington told her to try texting.

Teaching Edington's mother how to text was surprisingly easy and within minutes, a whole new door opened that would keep the grandmother in the loop.

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Edgington saw how texting brought her mom closer to her busy grandkids and how easy it had made her own life as a mom of two teens. She began to wonder.

"How can I get the Baby Boomer Generation to understand why they need to learn how to text?," she asked herself. "How can I explain to them that not only will they be able to be more involved with their children and their grandchildren's lives, but they'll also be able to use texting in hundreds of other ways?"

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Edgington said the answer was to write "Read Between the Lines", a book that goes into a list of why's, how's, when's about texting. 

Edgington said as the popularity of texting grows, so has awareness of its usefulness in emergency situations. She said schools, for example, have began using text messaging in their emergency broadcast systems.

Likewise, texting can be used when in a low signal area or when a cell phone does not have enough battery life to make vital calls. Edgington said anyone who owns a cell phone must be versed in the art of texting.

As a mom Edgington also knows how texting can help bridge the communication gap between parents and teens.  Her guide gives tips on how parents can maximize the new communication tool especially for busy, working parents.

But it also educates them on the dangers, such as sexting or the sending and receiving lewd and inappropriate messages, and how parents can protect their kids. Its a guide written by a parents for other parents who may not be very tech savy.

Edgington, herself, is a working mom, who runs an insurance brokerage firm with her husband. 

Shawn enjoys living, working and raising her kids in her hometown of Pleasanton. "Being a "working mom" is a never ending balancing act, which I felt would be easier for me to handle working in the same city that my kids attended school."  

Edgington attended Foothill High School, where her her son Derek is a sophomore, and her daughter Nicole is a senior. Texting to communicate with her kids will especially be useful when her daughter goes off to Saint Mary's in the fall.

To learn more about the book visit Edington's website. She's also working noon the companion mobile phone applications, OMG and LOL, which gives you the entire dictionary of texting terms right at your fingertips.

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