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Jade Small
Jade Small
February 28, 2024 ·  3 min read

Man uses an “X-Plan” coded message to keep his kids safe

Being in high school is tough enough with having to meet extraordinary expectations. From the demands of their teachers to the instructions of their sporting coaches, many students feel pretty burned out by the time they graduate. Then, there is also the risk of seeming uncool or lame. Because this is the end of the world for most high school students, they will stop at nothing to fit in with the “cool kids.

Thankfully for one teenage boy, his father came up with a particularly nifty plan that involves a coded message. One that will allow him to avoid looking “uncool” but gets them out of a situation they are feeling uncomfortable in.

The X-Plan, and Other Code-Words

Kids will always be kids. They can only become adults by going through various rights of passage. Unfortunately for many parents, this means they must watch them enter the line of fire. This is in reference to the many parties so many teenagers and tweens attend before they graduate. Yes, they may start small and innocent, but they end up as ragers striving towards college-grade parties. As they grow older, they become more and more curious.

Teens and Tweens like to party
image credit: Pexels

From time to time, teenagers will be faced with a choice. And more often than not, they make a bad decision in the hopes it will elevate their social status. One father, Burt Folks, a pastor from a line of pastors, has devised a plan to help his son, Danny, navigate the cruel world of adolescence. He has called it the: X-Plan. It involves sending a coded message to his parents as a cry for a lift home.

Image Credit: Bert Fulks

His clever idea has enabled his son to avoid the bullying he might receive if he were caught calling his parents to come to fetch him from a party. Many kids would seize the opportunity to bully him into staying. Peer pressure might be one of those things teenagers have to learn to cope with. But sometimes, it just gets a little too much to handle by oneself.

So, Burt and the rest of their outside-the-box thinking family have made a plan that many parents have been applauding them for all over the internet. A Reddit thread was opened up, where many other parents have shared similar tactics.

Read: Woman shares the safety hack she uses in all Ubers and rideshares

Coded Message With Parents

Danny’s dad instructed his son to determine whether he feels safe in a situation. If he is unsure, or feeling uneasy, he should send Burt a coded message that reads: “X.” When Burt reads it, he knows immediately what to do. One family member would phone Danny and pretend there was a family emergency. That way, Danny would have an excuse to excuse himself from the party. Additionally, his friends would have no reason to call him lame or boring.

Teens send coded message to parents to get a sneaky lift home
Image credit: Pexels

Another parent shared their tactic for an escape route for their child. “My kid just texted me 🌭,” the post starts. “It’s code for I want to come home, but I want it to be your fault. He was supposed to be staying the night with a friend, so I was concerned when I get this text after I’d already gone to bed. I called him and told him ‘You were supposed to unload the dishwasher before you left, and now you’ve lost your privilege of spending the night. I’ll be there in five minutes, have your stuff gathered up.”

She then added that when she collected her child, she enquired what was wrong “He got in the car and I asked what’s up,” read the post. “He said his friend’s grandpa was making him feel uncomfortable. But he didn’t know how to tell the friend he wanted to leave. Then he thanked me for getting him out of there,” the poster shared.

Keep Reading: ‘She’s Not Going’: Single Dad Praised for Canceling Teen Daughter’s Date

Sources

  1. X Plan Coded Text Messages Family.Shareably. Ryan Aliapoulios. July 12, 2017.
  2. Parents Are Sharing The ‘Secret Codes’ Their Kids Use When They Need A Way Home Fast.Scary Mommy. Sarah Aswell. August 11, 2022.
  3. “X-Plan: Giving your kids a way out (#xplan)” Bert Fulks. February 2017.