Now more than ever parents worry their kid will get in trouble for sexting and dramatically alter their future. We’ve talked about sexting before and how this is a growing problem with increasingly harsh penalties. Brian Hunt is a Cape Cod father whose son was recently caught up in a sexting scandal. Hunt is now using his experience to provide tips on how to prevent sexting.

Hunt’s experience, penned by author Annie Winston, is entitled “A Father’s Sexting Teen.” The story is about Hunt’s son, Ben, who forwarded a semi-naked picture of a female classmate. Five other teens were involved in the incident as well and all faced sex offender charges for the possession of child pornography. The charges were eventually dropped, but the incident had a lasting impact on the Hunt family. Brian – who favors education over harsh punishment – hopes to help parents teach their kids about oversharing before they damage their reputation.

A major theme of the book is accountability. While Brian thought criminal punishment was too harsh, he does acknowledge that the kids involved should have known better. The reality is that kids don’t always “get it” when it comes to what’s right and wrong, and it’s our job as parents to make them more aware when it comes to protecting their online reputation and staying out of trouble on social networking sites.

How should we best educate our kids about online dangers?