True Teen Crimes
There is one minor crime that many of us committed as teens.
It is considered a form of fraud, resulting in legal consequences and even imprisonment. We called it …GROUNDED!
Parents of teens, you know through personal experience that teens have a rebellious streak. When the reward outweighs the risk in their opinion, teens will throw caution to the wind and go for it! Admit it – YOU rebelled as a teen!
The crime I’m talking about is signature forgery.
Yes, that field trip form you forged at the last minute or the excuse for an absence note you wrote to skip school – you were a forger! I admit it.
I did it to skip school and head to the beach until I finally got caught. – GROUNDED!
There are three common outcomes of teen forgery:
- Victory: You handed your forged note to the teacher, and she glanced- no problem!
- White Lies: You scribbled a barely legible note. The teacher was suspicious, but you successfully improvised with convincing white lies.
- Fail: Your forgery was so bad; you might as well have written it in crayon. That teacher had your number, and she had your mom’s LAND LINE number, too!… GROUNDED.
GRAPHOLOGY (aka Handwriting analysis)
What is graphology? Considered a pseudo-science by many, it’s helped crack criminal cases nonetheless. Using graphology, or handwriting analysis, your handwriting can supposedly reveal your personality traits—so if you’ve ever forged your parents’ signature successfully as a teen, you were a graphologist and a minor criminal! !
TRY THIS ACTIVITY!
Let’s analyze your signature along with your teen!
It’s light-hearted fun and a great conversation starter! I am not a professional psychologist or graphologist, so remember this is just for funsies!
- Hand write the sentence: THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG
- Go to this link: https://www.wikihow.com/Analyze-Handwriting-(Graphology)
- Analyze: Compare your handwriting with your teen’s. You will laugh out loud together!
Your teens may bypass this right of passage crime: signature forgery. Why? These days many teens can’t sign their names in cursive much less yours!
But if and when they do, be kind and remember —
we’ve all been there –
and we were no teen angels either
Much love,
Conni Rasmussen
Founder of Simple Teen Life (and past teen forger)