POS? Pay Attention to Teen Text Slang

Work with juveniles in the justice system? Know what these text messages mean? 
1. LM4a~~#ZZZZZZ>
2. WTG 4 a \%/
3. %*@:-(

 
Answers:
1. Let's meet for a joint.
2. Want to go for a drink?
3. Hung-over with a headache. 
("POS" stands for "parent over shoulder.")
 
CNN has a story on teen text-slang - especially related to drugs and alcohol. If you work with teens or you're a parent or caregiver, it's worth checking out.  The story lists multiple sites where you can get text-slang translated, such as the state of Idaho's Internet Lingo Dictionary (which includes "20 Internet Acronyms Every Parent Should Know"), noslang.com, teenchatdecoder.com, netsmartz411.org and 1337Talk.com.
And don't forget to let parents know about these sites. In my experience, parents of kids entering the juvenile justice system are either unaware of what their kids are doing with cell phones, or want to know but have no idea how to begin. Either way, these are great resources to give them.  (Hat tip to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.)
 
Photo: Fred Seibert.