limit the characters in a textarea + display 'n characters left'

the_jquer_code.js

$(document).ready(function() {

 $('textarea.word_count').each(function(){

     var maxlimit = parseInt($(this).attr('maxlength'));

     // ...on page load
     var length = $(this).val().length;
     if(length >= maxlimit) {
       $(this).val($(this).val().substring(0, maxlimit));
       length = maxlimit;
      }
     $(this).parent().find('.counter').html( (maxlimit - length) + ' characters left');

      // on keyup events
     $(this).keyup(function(){
       var new_length = $(this).val().length;
       if(new_length >= maxlimit) {
         $(this).val($(this).val().substring(0, maxlimit));
         new_length = maxlimit;
        }

       var counterToUpdate = $(this).parent().find('.counter');
       counterToUpdate.html( (maxlimit - new_length) + ' characters left');
     });
 });

});

the_view.html

<p class="the_parent">
   <text_area class="word_count" maxlength="140" ..>
   <span      class="counter"></span>
</p>